Campus facilities and IT update

ACU’s campus facilities and IT infrastructure are being continually developed. Learn about recent project highlights and milestones for key facilities and IT projects across our campuses.

Properties and Facilities

The Properties and Facilities Directorate coordinates and manages the planning, development, operation and maintenance of ACU’s physical infrastructure, including our buildings and grounds, to provide high-quality spaces for teaching, learning, research and engagement.

Current project highlights and milestones include:

Health Sciences simulation spaces expansion, Ballarat

This refurbishment has been completed and commissioned for the start of Semester 2 this year, increasing ward space by 50 per cent for nursing students and providing more efficient support and ancillary spaces for the academic programs.

Conversion of Mair St residential buildings, Ballarat

Building works to convert two former houses on the Ballarat Campus will provide much-needed space for academic offices as well as allowing enhancement of support space for the broader student community.

The university acknowledges the support of the Victorian Government for these two projects through the Victorian Higher Education State Investment Fund.

Tenison Woods academic program refurbishment, North Sydney

Works are now being finalised on the lower levels of this building, allowing the courses being offered at 213 Miller Street to be brought back into the main campus. The project has included works further up the building to consolidate the International team in one location.

Research infrastructure, Melbourne

Physical works are now complete in the Mary Glowrey Building ahead of the installation of a CT scanner which will support further research programs for Health and Exercise Science groups. This project, along with other investments in specialised equipment, will strengthen our partnerships with other institutions and extend our impact in these fields of study.

Social infrastructure for Camillus, Ballarat

Planning has commenced for the refurbishment of the Gillies Street school building, a former Department of Education and Training building that is part of the Camillus residences in Ballarat. The program will provide a social space for the co-curricular programs run by and for the student residents.

Main Street expansion, Blacktown

Design work has commenced on the next stage of the Main Street Campus, primarily on Level 4 of the building. A key requirement for this stage will be the creation of the Blacktown Campus Library.

Raheen Library upgrade, Melbourne

Planning is underway for a program of works in the upcoming period within the library, which has recently been showing signs of how popular it is with our student body. Carpet replacement, upholstery and other furniture replacements where required are to be scheduled to minimise disruption to operations.

Sports facilities

Investment in facilities to enable the expansion of recreation programs for our student cohort continues apace:

• The Banyo Track, designed to take advantage of the mild Brisbane climate, opened in time for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and was well supported by both students and staff.
• Work is about to commence on a Multi-Sport Court on the Canberra Campus, accommodating basketball, netball and futsal on the same surface, a concept that has also been adopted for the Mother Teresa Building in Melbourne.
• Contracts have been signed for the installation of lighting for the Strathfield soccer pitch, allowing extended use of the ground in the winter months.

For the latest updates on Property and Facilities projects, join the Properties & Facilities Updates Workplace group.

Information Technology

The Information Technology Directorate develops and delivers innovative integrated information technology and associated services to enrich experiences for our staff and students.

Below is a snapshot of some recent project highlights and milestones:

HyFlex and Active Learning room upgrades

In partnership with the Learning and Teaching Centre (LTC), this project aims to design and roll out modern, flexible learning and teaching spaces that more fully support today’s students and educators.

Expect rollout by mid-Q1 2022 and look out for more information on this exciting project.

Student Multi-Factor Authentication

Last year saw the rollout of Multi-Factor Authentication to ACU staff. This will be extended to students in 2022, and foundation work is underway to investigate and understand ACU’s student cohorts as well as plan a robust technical implementation.

Thank you to everyone who has met with the project team to share information on the students under your care.

Identity Access Management (IDAM)

IDAM aims to simplify and streamline complete lifecycle management of ACU staff, student, visitor, and contractor accounts. Vendor and platform selection is complete, and planning is underway for rollout and deployment.

ACU Online

IT is busy preparing to support the Provost Portfolio to roll out ACU Online. A project manager has been engaged, so things are really getting underway now, and the team is looking forward to helping to make this happen for ACU.

Educational Partnerships Register

Initiated by the Provost Portfolio, the Educational Partnership Register will provide one tool to manage academic partnerships for all faculties. Development work is due to begin in October and roll out to production in December.

For the latest updates on IT projects, join the IT Updates Workplace group.