Blog

1. University of Technology, Sydney

University of Technology Sydney
Motto	Think. Change. Do.
Established	1870s (as SMSA) 1988 (current form)
Type	Public
Chancellor	Professor Vicki Sara
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Ross Milbourne
Staff	2,555 (2008)
Students	32,027 (2008)
Undergraduates	21,125 (2008)
Postgraduates	10,902 (2008)
Location	Sydney, NSW, Australia
Campus	Urban
Colours	Green       & Black
Affiliations	Australian Technology Network, Association of Commonwealth Universities,ASAIHL
Website	www.uts.edu.au

The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), is a university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1988, although its origins trace back to the 1870s. UTS is notable for its central location as the only university with its main campuses within the Sydney CBD. It is part of the Australian Technology Network of universities and has the fifth largest enrolment in Sydney. UTS has been ranked 234th in the World’s Top 500 universities by the Times HES (2008) and was one of two Australian Universities given A1 ratings across all major disciplines in 2007 and 2008 by the Federal Government Education department.

1. History

The present day University of Technology originates from the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts (the oldest Mechanics’ Institute in Australia). In the 1870s the SMSA formed the Workingman’s College which was later taken over by the NSW government to form, in 1878, the Sydney Technical College. In 1969, part of the Sydney Technical College became the New South Wales Institute of Technology (NSWIT). It was officially unveiled by Neville Wran.

It was reconstituted as the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), in 1988 under an Act of NSW State Parliament. In 1990 it absorbed the Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education and the Institute of Technical and Adult Teacher Education of the Sydney College of Advanced Education, under the terms of the Higher Education (Amalgamation) Act 1989.

Although its antecedent institutions go back as far as 1893, they took new shapes from the 1960s, creating a new University focused on practice-oriented education with strong links to industry, the professions and the community, and with a growing research reputation and a strong commitment to internationalisation.^[1]

UTS has had three phases in its history. In the first phase, effort was concentrated on embedding an amalgamation of institutions which were culturally and structurally different. This strengthened the research culture and established a more consistent approach to teaching and learning.^[1]

The second phase, beginning in the mid 1990s, saw a strong focus on international student recruitment, combined with an expansion of professional post-graduate programs for domestic students. Greater emphasis on both research and flexible learning also became priorities during this period.^[1]

The third phase began in 2000 with a 10 year strategic vision. This involved concentrating research funding into four major research institutes, upgrading physical infrastructure at the city campus, enhancing teaching and learning, and continuing entrepreneurial activity.^[1]

Timeline of the history of UTS

1. Faculties

The University has faculties of^[3]:

The Tower building is the tallest educational facility in Australia with 32 levels

Faculty
Arts and Social Sciences	More than 2000 students are enrolled in the faculty of Education.
Business	The largest faculty at UTS and one of the largest business schools in Australia with more than 10,000 full-time equivalent students and an active global network of almost 50,000 alumni. The Dean is Professor Roy Green.[4] The schools of Accounting and Finance have AACSB and CFA accreditation respectively.
Design, Architecture and Building
Engineering and Information Technology	UTS Engineering is one of the largest providers of engineering education in Australia and teaches over 5,000 students, both within Australia and in international locations.
Law	Approximately 2,500 students and an average of 90% of undergraduate students working full-time.
Nursing, Midwifery and Health	UTS: Nursing, Midwifery and Health offers the only stand-alone Bachelor of Midwifery in NSW
Science

1. 5 Insearch

Insearch is the learning pathways provider for UTS. Insearch offers English language courses to prepare international students for entry to UTS bachelor’s degrees and post-graduate study. Insearch provides courses that lead to university degrees in the area of Business, IT, Engineering, Science, Nursing, Communication, Design and Architecture.

Insearch has an operation at the University of Essex, UK ^[5]

1. Current standing

In keeping with its former nature as a Technical Institute and its current name, UTS designs its courses to contain a high level of practical technical knowledge as opposed to pure theory, and maintains close links with industries in order to do this. Its faculty structure also reflects this emphasis on technical knowledge; for example, its Law faculty contains a Practical Legal Training course, its Humanities degrees are heavily geared towards journalism and media productions and its IT and Engineering degrees offer one year of industrial training.

The UTS faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is widely known for its practical media/ communications degrees, along with its thorough focus on critical theory.^{[citation needed]} UTS is also host to the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (ACIJ). Graduates from this faculty serve as a feeder to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation conveniently located just across the road, and the Fairfax Group of newspapers.^{[citation needed]}

1. Reputation and Achievements

Each year UTS attracts the highest number of first preference applications for Creative Arts courses in the state.[6] These courses include the Bachelor of Design courses offered by the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building and the Bachelor of Arts (Communications) courses offered by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. In December 2006 the UTS Faculty of Business earned accreditation from AACSBInternational. To contextualise this there are only 5 institutions that have received this accreditation in Australia, and just 540 worldwide (less than 10 per cent of the world’s business schools). This comes on the back of being ranked in the top six business/economics faculties for the DEST Learning and Teaching Performance Fund (2007).[7] At the end of 2007 UTS became the first undergraduate CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Program Partner in Australia based on the Bachelor of Business with a major in Finance. The UTS Finance major is still the only undergraduate degree in Australia to be acknowledged by the CFA.[8] In October 2007 UTS received the equal highest allocation of the “Learning and Teaching Performance Fund” alongside the University of Wollongong. The university received an A1 rating for all four discipline groupings (science, business, humanities and health).[9] UTS has earned an EOWA (Employer of Choice for Women) citation every year since it was launched in 2001, and has been rated as a best practice organisation by EOWA for the past ten years.[10] The Australian Graduate Survey results (2007) showed that 90% of Graduate School of Business graduates secure employment three months after graduating with an average starting salary of over $80,000 while the average salary for undergraduates were $50,760. In 2008 UTS received the equal highest allocation of the “Learning and Teaching Performance Fund”. The university received the highest rating for all four discipline groupings (science, business, humanities and health).[11]

1. Campuses

Campus	Address	Location	< strong>Map
Haymarket	Quay St, Ultimo Road and Darling Drive	City	Map
Broadway	Broadway, Harris St & Thomas St	City	Map
Kuring-gai	Eton Road	Lindfield	Map
St. Leonards	Reserve Road	Artarmon	Map

1. 9 Campus architecture

The University of Technology, Sydney is an interesting mix of architectural styles reflecting the different periods in which the buildings and grounds were constructed and renovated. The famous ‘Tower’ building is an example of brutalist architecture with square and block concrete designs. Built following massive student protests in U.S. colleges like Berkeley and Kent State University, the building was designed to do away with large, outdoor areas and hence limit students’ ability to stage large protests. The Haymarket campus (building 5) combines a modern interior with the remaining exterior of the old markets building, and the recently completed buildings 4 and 6 are designed with an element of high-tech architecture.

Further information: UTS Tower

In October 2006, the university’s tower building was voted by 23% of the total vote in a poll hosted by Sydney Morning Herald as ugliest building in Sydney.^[12]

The University recently acquired the former Sydney Institute of Technology building that stands opposite to Building 10 (on Jones St) and adjacent to Building 2. This building was named Building 7, but was demolished to make way for an extension of Alumni Green.

1. 10 Libraries

UTS provides services through two campus libraries, the Blake Library (City Campus) and the George Muir Library (Kuring-gai Campus), and onlinewww.lib.uts.edu.au.

UTS Library is responsible for UTSeScholarship, providing a secure, stable, digital home for the scholarly output of the University’s staff, students and research community.

1. 11 Housing

The University offers modern, self-catering accommodation in four buildings named Gumal Ngurang, Geegal, Bulga Ngurra, and Blackfriars. Gumal Ngurang is the largest complex and is located on Broadway, just down the road from Bulga Ngurra.

1. 12 Future infrastructure projects

2009 will see the construction of a new building on Broadway to house the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. In the medium term future UTS will make a significant investment in its facilities intending to create a world-class campus. This is part of the UTS City Campus Masterplan which was approved by the University Council in August 2008.^[14] This plan which was unveiled to the public on January 19, 2009 will commence in mid 2009 and involve:^[15]

• New buildings: a nine-storey “gateway” building on Broadway adjacent to Building 10; a five-storey building facing Thomas St; and, a nine-storey building on the former Dairy Farmers site in Ultimo Road
• New student housing in a multi-storey block to be built over the rear of Building 6
• Extension of the Tower podium to create a new entry zone, improved Broadway street frontage and a “student commons” hub
• Refurbishment of existing buildings, including a major reconfiguration of Building 2 to house an “integrated learning commons” comprising a new library and associated study spaces
• The rejuvenation of Alumni Green, including the construction of a multi-purpose hall under its northern end
• New intra-campus pedestrian networks, including the proposed closure of Jones St to create a pedestrian thoroughfare

1. Student life

The UTS Union ^[16] is the organisation which runs a range of on-campus student services, including food & beverage outlets, cultural activities, student social events, and is responsible for overseeing UTS clubs & societies, sports clubs and other recreational activities. The UTS gym has recently been renovated. The City Campus is home to two licensed bars, ‘The Glasshouse’ and ‘The Loft’.

UTS has its own community radio station on campus, 2SER FM. The studio is located on level 26 of the UTS Tower and broadcasts to the entire Sydney region. The station is jointly owned by UTS and Macquarie University, with a second studio at Macquarie University. UTS Journalism students help produce the station’s news and current affairs programs including “The Wire” and “Razors Edge”.

The UTS Students’ Association is the representative student organisation at UTS. It publishes the student newspaper, Vertigo (UTS), runs the second hand bookshop, and advocates on behalf of students both individually and collectively.

1. Notable alumni

Michael Cook, CEO of Macquarie Capital Alliance Group – part of Macquarie Bank; NSWIT – Bachelor of Busin ess Studies (Accounting) Chris Taylor, Australian satirist, radio presenter and writer; Member of The Chaser. Andrew Ferguson, General Secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU); Faculty of Law – Diploma in Industrial Law Anna Funder, author of Stasiland; Faculty of Humanities – Master’s degree in creative writing Nikki Gemmell, author of The Bride Stripped Bare – Bachelor’s degree in communications (journalism) Ross Gittins, economics editor at the Sydney Morning Herald; NSWIT – Bachelor of Business Studies Justin Hemmes, the prominent Sydney nightclub owner[17] Morris Iemma, former Premier of New South Wales; Faculty of Law – Master’s degree in Law Hugh Jackman, actor; Faculty of Humanities – Bachelor’s degree in communications (journalism). He was awarded the 2008 Chancellor’s Alumni Award for Excellence.[18] John Raciti, designer; Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building – Graduate Diploma in Design. He was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London.[19] Hon. Justice Tricia Kavanagh, NSW Industrial Relations Commissioner; Faculty of Law – Bachelor’s degree in law (1981), Doctor of Philosophy in law (1998) Sonia Kruger, host of Dancing With The Stars – Arts degree Sophie Lee, actress; Faculty of Humanities – Graduate certificate in writing David Murray, former CEO of the Commonwealth Bank; Faculty of Business – Bachelor’s degree in business (accounting) Tim Palmer, award-winning ABC journalist; Faculty of Humanities – Bachelor’s degree in communications (1991) Tanya Plibersek, politician; Faculty of Humanities – Bachelor’s degree Roger Price, politician; Faculty of Business – Diploma Henry Tsang, politician Karen Tso, Financial reporter; Nine Network Australia. Julia Wilson, rower; Faculty of Business – Bachelor’s degree Brod Wright, rugby league player; Faculty of Business (sport management)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia