Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The announcement by Monash University, in my electorate of La Trobe, that they were withdrawing their courses from the Berwick campus came as quite a shock to my electorate. But today I am happy to announce the great news that, after fighting alongside the local community and residents and working with Minister Simon Birmingham, Federation University Australia has come to the table and will be offering courses from 2017.

I understand the importance and value of higher education not only for individual students but for the flow-on benefits it creates both socially and economically. Having a university and research campus in Berwick is a huge advantage for our local community. Federation University will offer 15 different courses at the Berwick campus in 2017 and will assume full responsibility in 2018, while Monash will continue to offer around five courses next year.

Innovation and entrepreneurship have been a huge influence in La Trobe, things I have fought hard for. So I am pleased to announce that these two factors will be reflected in all courses offered by Federation University. This focus is to ensure students' employability skills and job outcomes in the future. Federation University has committed to working closely with local business to deepen engagement on STEM skills—science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This is a great day for La Trobe.