Originally written by Dylan Gane in May, 2021.
A multistorey inner city future for Edith Cowan University is on the horizon, As part of the Perth City Deal with both the Federal and State Governments, ECU will build a new campus adjacent to Yagan
Square in the CBD, The City Campus wil feature schools, programs and initiatives including, WAAPA, Art, Design and Communications, the WA Screen Academy; Kurongkurl Katijin, Business and Law as
well as Technology and Cyber Security. From 2025 the new city compus will offer state-of the art teaching and learning facilites for students.
Although there are many potential positives which come from the move into the city, there are also a number of problematic issues which wil need to be examined in order for this new campus to realise ts full potential.
The new project is expected to deliver a massive jolt of energy to the Perth economy; supposedly boosting the state’s coffers by $1.5 billon and creating more than 3,000 jobs during the building of
the campus and more once the campus is established.
Workshops were conducted in October of 2020 to enable students and staff to give their input and concerns about the move. The Mount Lawley Student session was sparsely attended, and many students were unaware that the consultation was taking place. Whether this problem was due to a lack of promotion, short notice or disinterest is hard to say.
Now that the design process has commenced, however, ECU is collborating with the Student Guild to establish a “Student User Group, a group of 26 students from across ECU who will directly Inform the
campus design as It develops. The diverse and representative group wil participate in a series of workshops between now and the end of 2022, which are designed to ensure that students’ lived
experiences, ideas and feedback inform campus design that learner centred.
The Student User Group is part of a wider student engagement plan that wil also include on campus pop-ups to give students opportunities to comment on designs, students specific spaces and feel
materials, and test furniture options.
Student consultation will continue throughout the campus design process, and feedback wil be sought
on overall design, student specific spaces, and on bulding principles such as accessibility and equity safety on campus, and technology and sustainabily.
The Lead of Learning Futures in the University of the Future Program, Professor Rowena Harper, said the University is committed to purposeful student engagement that seeks out diverse voices.
ECU stives to continue providing a sector leading student experience, so student involvement in the
design process is vital for ensuring the new campus helps us realise this aim.
It is imperative that we take into consideration the way that students use their campus on a day’to-day basis so that we have a vibrant, fit-for-purpose facilty where students will want to spend their time. It is
a valuable opportunity for our current students to leave a legacy for future students by helping to create a learner centred campus of the future”, Professor Harper said.
Students are also encouraged to send ideas and voice their concerns about the campus through the feedback form on the City campus website: https://wwwctycampus ecu.edu.au/discover.more
I spoke with some current students at the Mount Lawley campus about the new city-based chapter of
ECU, and most of them didnt know much about it other than that it was in the city. Students seemed thrilled by the location, pointing out that close proximity to public transport was a big draw card for them, reliance on public transport however has problems too. ECU is not planning to provide much dedicated parking for the new campus 50 staff, students and service providers wil all be using public transport whether It sults their needs or not. Presumably there will be a significant number of short term drop-off style parking bays. Of course, we are stil years away from the move, there is ample time for this issue to be addressed.
Students I spoke with were also concerned that security could potentially be a big problem for the new campus, and that there may need to be a larger security presence then there is on campuses currently. Students spoke about the fact that the emphasis on the use of public transport could create safety issues, especialy late at night. One of the students spoke about how he works in the city at night, “I dont take public transport after nine, always try and get a Lyft or an Uber” Responding to the idea of using alternative transport, the group came up with the idea that the university could have a designated Uber pickup area, allowing for students to have more choice when the use of public transport does not seem Iike the best option.
Students I spoke with also raised another issue connected with the new campus’ reliance on public
tansport, the problem of transporting heavy or unwieldy equipment. There are obvious issues for students studying broadcasting, music and musical theatre but there are bound to be concerns for students from all schools. Hopefully there will be enough short term parking to accommodate student needs. ECU move planners and architects are looking at these problems and the solutions used by other inner city universities.
An ECU spokesperson commented that there will be strong consideration given to the issue of student
parking during the planning process. When I asked about students who have to carry large instruments I was informed that loading zones were a possible solution to this problem, although that also comes with its own set of challenges.
In certain respects our university has a bright future ahead of it. The city move wil place ECU ahead of the WA tertlary education pack, with the campus design process taking account of the needs of all Students
Current ECU students may have graduated by the time the move comes around, nevertheless we are well placed to give input into the planning process. The effectiveness of student input will rely on the
process through which we can monitor and assess how our concerns are being acted upon.