Flinders celebrates 50 years of growth
Born out of the rapid population and geographic expansion of the 1950s and 1960s, Flinders University has always reflected emerging social, cultural and economic trends.
The new Plaza and Student Hub at Bedford Park officially opened earlier this year.
Flinders was established as a new kind of university for South Australia, deliberately embedded in the city’s growing southern suburbs, far away culturally and geographically from the long-established University of Adelaide.
Its urban design and architecture provided interaction with the Australian landscape, which presented a fresh face to the world and created a distinct identity for Flinders University.
The Bedford Park campus and its fundamental principles were radical in the context of Adelaide society.
In half a century, the University has outgrown its Bedford Park footprint. Flinders is now a university with impact across the world, with teaching, alumni and research links in countries as diverse as China, the USA and Indonesia, after consciously established new locations for teaching and research to expand its horizons.
Beyond the borders of Adelaide, Flinders has a range of rural health centres in Casuarina, Alice Springs, Katherine and Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory; Warrnambool, Hamilton and Burwood in Victoria; as well as regional locations in South Australia such as Murray Bridge, Victor Harbor, Renmark and Mount Gambier.
The University also occupies space on five floors of 182 Victoria Square in the heart of Adelaide’s CBD, providing undergraduate and postgraduate classes on three levels, and hosting functions and meetings for staff and alumni in other areas.
Just a few minutes down the road from Bedford Park is the University’s six-storey science, technology and innovation hub at Tonsley, providing a new base for the School of Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics.
Flinders at Tonsley accommodates 150 staff and 2000 students, and has adjacent pods, which provide researchers with 2000sqm of space for heavy engineering equipment.
At Bedford Park, the original Plaza and Union Building were places for the University community to come together, celebrate, relax, work and play.
After an eventful 50 years, and in the changing face of University life, these central spaces have emerged from a comprehensive redevelopment.
The new Plaza and Student Hub at the heart of the University includes a modern, open-plan Central Library and student service centre, and a revitalised retail and entertainment precinct, and provides an accessible new front door to the University.
Not only does the new-look precinct meet key needs of students and staff, its award-winning design concepts allow the University to welcome visitors and the public on campus.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Flinders University today launches a special publication, The Investigator Transformed.
Named after the vessel of discovery captained by Captain Matthew Flinders, the University’s explorer namesake, the book profiles more than 100 of the leaders and pioneers of the past 50 years at Flinders University.
The Investigator Transformed book and accompanying exhibition feature some of the outstanding graduates, academics, researchers and trailblazers who have helped to reshape local, national and global communities in their diverse and varied fields of excellence.
A series of these inspiring stories will be shared in InDaily in coming weeks.
The dynamic new pictorial book can be purchased online for $29.95 (RRP).
