Australian Catholic University (ACU) has officially begun construction of a new STEM Centre of Education Excellence at its Strathfield Campus, marking the launch with a sod-turning ceremony attended by NSW government and community representatives.
Key points:
- ACU has begun construction work on a new STEM Centre of Education Excellence at the Strathfield Campus
- ACU secured $45 million in funding from the New South Wales Government Western Sydney Infrastructure Grant Program to help launch the STEM Centre
- The project will build on ACU’s strengths in education and health, and help meet national STEM priorities
The STEM Centre of Education Excellence will provide state-of-the-art learning, teaching and research facilities designed to support the next generation of innovators, and serve the local community in Strathfield, Western Sydney and beyond.
Helping break ground on the new project were ACU Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Zlatko Skrbis, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Julie Cogin and Member for Strathfield Mr Jason Yat-Sen Li. Representatives from Strathfield Council, including Mayor Benjamin Cai, were also in attendance.
Professor Skrbis said the project represented a significant investment in future-focused education.
“It is exciting to see construction underway on the STEM Centre of Education Excellence, a project which has been many years in the planning,” Professor Skrbis said.
“The STEM Centre is more than a building project.
“ACU’s strength has always been in education and the health sciences, and this centre builds on those foundations.
“The knowledge and innovation economy calls for creative thinking, fresh solutions and a capable workforce to meet unprecedented social and technological challenges and opportunities.
“This centre positions ACU to play a leading role in responding to this transformational change.
“It will allow us to continue to prepare the teachers who carry STEM into classrooms, broadening how our students learn across these disciplines, and work more closely with the schools, industries, government and community partners around us.
ACU’s STEM Centre of Education Excellence will help us to meet national STEM priorities, engaging people in this exciting area of learning, and preparing them to respond to changing workforce demands.”
ACU secured $45 million in funding from the New South Wales Government Western Sydney Infrastructure Grant Program in 2023 to help launch the STEM Centre.
It will house an engineering workshop and science laboratory, an immersive technology hub, a maker space for the community, STEM garden and flexible spaces for teaching and collaboration.
ACU will work with NSW high schools to increase subject offerings in STEM through blended program delivery. School teachers will benefit from professional development opportunities in areas including maths, science, technology, and literacy.
The Centre will offer short courses and micro-credentials covering general STEM skills to help empower learners of all ages.
The project is proudly funded by the NSW Government in association with Australian Catholic University.
