100% future-proof

Source: Alamy

The Frank Gehry-designed Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, home to the UTS Business School

One Australian institution is producing a generation of graduates fully prepared for the workplaces of today and tomorrow, writes Attila Brungs.

The University of Technology, Sydney seeks to apply creativity and innovation to all its endeavours. Although not yet 30 years old, it has a bold vision: to become a world-leading university of technology.

UTS has a distinct model of learning, a strong research record and a reputation for engagement with industry and the professions. We have a culturally diverse campus and international exchange programmes designed to prepare graduates for the workplaces of today and tomorrow.

Located at the southern gateway to Sydney’s business district, the university sits at the heart of Australia’s creative sector, surrounded by 40 per cent of its head offices and 80 per cent of the country’s major international IT companies.

UTS has developed a reputation for quality: for example, the most recent Excellence in Research for Australia assessment exercise identified it as one of the few national universities rated world class or higher across all areas of work.

Having come so far in less than three decades, we now have the ideal platform to take our ambitions to the next level. We have invested A$1.2 billion (£620 million) in our campus, including the new Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology and the Faculty of Science and Graduate School of Health buildings. And then there’s the Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, designed by Canadian architect Frank Gehry for the UTS Business School.

The entire campus is designed to enable collaboration, innovation and the exchange of ideas between academics, students and industry partners, as well as providing access to world-class facilities: these include the UTS Data Arena, an immersive and interactive 3D visualisation facility; and the Super Lab, one of only two in the country, which can accommodate up to 200 students and run a number of classes from different disciplines simultaneously.

The campus and facilities support our distinctive teaching and research approach. We seek to ensure that our graduates are both work-ready and recognised as such, equipped with discipline-specific knowledge, critical thinking and professional skills. We blend face-to-face and group learning with technology to equip students with essential professional attributes such as communication skills within specific, business-related contexts. Our cutting-edge campus helps to provide a learning experience that ensures that UTS alumni are well prepared for the jobs of the future.

Our research is driven by a desire to deliver solutions for real-world problems at all levels, from national organisations to small- and medium-sized enterprises. UTS’ research centres span a range of disciplines, including applied economics, environmental sciences, nursing and quantum computing.

Our outlook is international, too: our Key Technology Partnerships programme has led to the establishment of research relationships with overseas institutions including Huazhong University of Science and Technology, the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and the University of Dundee. These partnerships underpin joint research centres, research programmes and staff and student exchanges.

Our international outlook is complemented by our student and staff mix: we take pride in being a global university, attracting and retaining staff from across the world.

Education is fundamental to prosperity: it can transform lives and forge a better future. We are doing just that through our research and the graduates whom we produce. We work to ensure that they have the skills and attributes needed to succeed in a dynamic and rapidly changing world. Above all, we enable them to give back to society and the community through the education they receive.

Attila Brungs
Vice-chancellor and president, University of Technology, Sydney