NEWS
campusreview.com.au
UTas plans arts hub
Image: University of Tasmania
State, uni pitch in for centre
to boost Tasmania’s already
growing reputation.
T
he University of Tasmania and
the Tasmanian Government
have announced a $90 million
partnership to fund and build a
Creative Industries and Performing Arts
Development in Hobart.
The project will deliver performance
and research facilities, including new
studios, theatres, ticketing areas and
disabled access.
$60 million of the cost is being provided
by the university and the state government
is funding the remaining $30 million.
“This project has been enthusiastically
supported by all sides of politics, at a state
and federal level,” university vice-chancellor
professor Peter Rathjen said. “It shows what
can happen when such broad support
galvanises around a powerful idea.
“This complex will become a beacon to
creative students across the country, helping
Uni looks better up close
Study finds that those who
grow up near a campus are
more likely to attend university.
C
hildren who live close to
a university are more likely to
aspire to attending one, research
has found.
An Australian Catholic University study
analysed data from 12,000 adolescents,
surveyed in a federal government
longitudinal study of Australian youth,
to explore the association between
distance to a university campus, higher
education aspirations, and which university
prospective students choose.
Researchers found those children
who grew up close to a university were
12 percentage points more likely to have
support and deliver further on the powerful
momentum we are enjoying across the
state’s artistic and cultural communities.”
Kit Wise, director and head of school at
the Tasmanian College of the Arts, said the
development would enhance the island
state’s reputation for creative output.
“This major investment in the creative
arts will benefit not just the conservatorium
and the theatre, but the school as a whole,
along with the wider community,” Wise said.
“The development will confirm Tasmania’s
place at the forefront of the creative arts
nationally, with real impact internationally.”
Tasmania’s reputation in the arts has
been growing, especially since the Museum
of Old and New Art opened in Hobart in
2011. There has also been the growth of
several music and cultural festivals, including
Falls, Dark Mofo, Party in the Paddock and
MONA FOMA, among others. One of the
hottest up-and-coming stars of the global
music scene, Courtney Barnett, originally
from Sydney and now based in Melbourne,
studied at the Tasmanian School of Art,
which is part of the University of Tasmania. ■
university aspirations – 63 per cent versus
51 per cent. Among those who decided
by the age of 15 they wanted to go to
university, there again was a correlation
with distance from home. Those who
grew up close to a university were
8 percentage points more likely to enrol by
age 19 – 50 per cent versus 42 per cent.
Lead researcher Dr Philip Parker said
there was more the university sector could
do to entice those who live far away to enrol.
“It's important that universities find
ways to help kids from regional, rural and
remote areas remain connected to their
community,” Parker explained. “Universities
can't just see financial costs as their biggest
barrier; they also need to look into logistics.
How can we help kids from rural, regional
and remote areas adjust to living in cities?
How can we help them manage the
emotional costs of moving away from closeknit communities and families?”
Parker said the culture associated with
Go8 universities, which are all based in the
south-east, also played a part. Students
growing up across northern and western
Australia were seen to be at a disadvantage in
the admissions process. ■
See “Higher (income) education”,
page 14.
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