Curtin University is in the early stages of planning a health and medical services centre that aims to attract multi-million dollar industry investment for the creation of specialist learning facilities.
Curtin University is in the early stages of planning a health and medical services centre that aims to attract multi-million dollar industry investment for the creation of specialist learning facilities.
The development of the health hub will be similar to Curtin’s $100 million resources and chemistry precinct, officially launched at the university’s Bentley campus in March.
The new health facilities will be built at the northern end of Curtin’s Bentley campus.
Curtin University vice-chancellor Jeanette Hacket was reluctant to provide further details until the university had further developed its plans, but said she hoped the project would be under way by next year.
Ms Hacket said the health precinct would need a minimum $30 million investment to get the venture started and the university would seek private investment.
She said private companies could own some of the facilities.
Mining companies have been big backers of Curtin’s resources and chemistry precinct, which is located adjacent to CSIRO Minerals’ office and is currently under construction.
BHP Billiton has agreed to contribute $5 million in cash over five years while Woodside Petroleum and Chevron have backed the university’s major oil and gas-focused research centre, which was established before the precinct development.
More than 300 professional scientists, engineers and support staff in areas such as hydrometallurgy, water quality and treatment, energy, forensic science, environmental and food chemistry, corrosion and biotechnology will eventually be based at the precinct.
Ms Hacket said that, along with resources, health services were viewed as an important focal point for the university.
She said Curtin had identified five key areas of focus: resources, mining and energy; health; emerging sciences such as information and technology; the business school; and social science such as community planning and sustainability programs.
Ms Hacket said the university was not focused on medical practice but rather health prevention and health science.
Curtin provides a range of health disciplines including health promotion and policy setting, which Ms Hacket said had become increasingly important due to the current obesity epidemic and the increasing importance on preventing health problems as the population ages.
Ms Hacket said while the resources boom had created demand for specialist training and mining graduates, the sector was also creating staffing headaches for the university, which had to try and attract skilled workers on high incomes out of the sector to teach its students.
She said creating the resources precinct would help the university attract good people.
Another issue arising from the resources boom was the declining demand from Western Australian students for university places.
“They’re taking up opportunities to go into the workplace instead,” Ms Hacket told WA Business News.
