Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to congratulate the vision and passion of Lyn Farrell, Dean of Edith Cowan University's Bunbury campus, for the great interest generated by the University's first-year engineering course. Next year, for the first time, students from the south-west will be able to access a world-class, accredited engineering and technology course in Bunbury and not have to move to the ECU Joondalup campus in Perth until late in their first year. The year in Bunbury will also include lab work, thanks to an investment in equipment at the Bunbury campus.

Large local employers and the resource and construction industries are very supportive of this course. This program will see greater engagement, professional links and internships between regional students and the local industries that will need their skills and ideas in the future. It is this kind of forward thinking and regional engagement that Edith Cowan University is to be congratulated for.

South West students will be able to study mechanical, civil and chemical engineering and something that creates great interest—ECU's internationally known Bachelor of Technology. This is a motorsports program. Bunbury is the largest regional centre in WA and has the greatest growth rate. It needs to maintain a skilled workforce to support that growth. I congratulate Lyn Farrell and ECU for investing in opportunities for students, business and industry in the South West.