University of Technology, Sydney

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University of Technology Sydney
UTS logo
Motto: Think. Change. Do.
Established: 1988
Type: Public
Chancellor: Professor Vicki Sara
Vice-Chancellor: Professor Ross Milbourne
Staff: 2,576 (2006)
Undergraduates: 21,371 (2006)
Postgraduates: 11,337 (2006)
Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia
( 33°53′1″S, 151°12′3″E)
Campus: Urban
Affiliations: Australian Technology Network, Association of Commonwealth Universities, ASAIHL
Website: www.uts.edu.au
The Tower Building on Broadway
The Tower Building on Broadway

The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), is a university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the third largest university in Sydney in terms of enrollment numbers. Founded in its current form in 1988, it is also the only university with its main campuses within the Sydney CBD. UTS has been ranked in the World's Top 100 universities by the Times Higher Education Supplement and was given A1 ratings across all major disciplines in 2007 by the Federal Government Education department. The Business faculty has prestigious AACSB accreditation.

Contents

[edit] 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]

[edit] Timeline

  • 1893 - Sydney Technical College established - the precursor of the NSWIT.
  • 1940 - NSW Parliament passes Act to establish an Institute of Technology, World War II intervenes.
  • 1945 - Technical College Annexe of Sydney Teacher' College was established in the late 1940's - ITATE developed from this Annexe.
  • 1946 - Lectures commenced at Balmain Teachers College with an enrolment of 210 students.
  • 1964 - Establishment of New South Wales Institute of Technology (NSWIT).
  • 1965 - NSWIT enrols first students into Science and Architecture; SE Barratt appointed Chairman of the Interim Council and the first Council.
  • 1967 - NSW Institute of Business Studies established and teaching commences at the Brickfield Hill Campus, George Street, Sydney. Professional recognition of NSWIT engineering courses.
  • 1968 - Amalgamation of the NSW Institute of Business Studies and the NSW Institute of Technology.
  • 1971 - William Balmain Teachers' College moves to Lindfield site (Kuring-gai Campus) NSWIT incorporated and Faculty organisational structure set up.
  • 1973 - William Balmain College declared a College of Advanced Education.
  • 1974 - William Balmain CAE renamed Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education (KCAE). NSWIT commences post graduate courses; occupation of Tower on Broadway begins.
  • 1976 - NSWIT establishes the first Law School in NSW outside the then university sector.
  • 1981 - Sydney CAE incorporated - ITATE was one of five semi-autonomous teaching institutes.
  • 1984 - NSWIT Brickfield Hill Campus relinquished in December after eighteen years - Faculties of Business and Law and the Library move to the Haymarket Campus.
  • 1985 - The new Haymarket Campus officially opened, the building shared between NSWIT and ITATE.
  • 1987 - Announcement on 8 October of the granting of university status to NSWIT, which was followed by the passing of the University of Technology, Sydney, Act 1987 and the appointment of Professor RD Guthrie as Vice-Chancellor.
  • 1988 - The School of Design of the former Sydney College of the Arts was incorporated into NSWIT on 25 January and on 26 January NSWIT became the University of Technology, Sydney, known as UTS.
  • 1989 - University of Technology, Sydney, Act 1989 No 69 assented to 23 May, forming the new UTS in combination with KCAE and ITATE from Sydney CAE.
  • 1990 - New UTS established from 1 January; inaugural meeting of Council on 15 November.
  • 1991 - Academic Structure of nine Faculties and 25 schools established - Faculties being Business; Design, Architecture and Building; Education; Law and Legal Practice; Mathematical and Computing Sciences; Nursing; Science; Humanities and Social Sciences.
  • 1999 - Sir Gerard Brennan QC installed as Chancellor. [2]

[edit] Faculties

The University has faculties of:

Tower
Tower
  • Business
  • Design, Architecture and Building
  • Education
  • Engineering & Information Technology
  • Humanities and Social Sciences
  • International Studies
  • Law
  • Nursing, Midwifery and Health
  • Science

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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. 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.

[edit] Reputation and Achievements

  • In 2005, the Times Higher Education Supplement placed UTS in the top 100 universities of the world, at rank 87[3]. However, it did not make the top 200 university rankings by Times Higher Education in 2006 and 2007.
  • Each year UTS attracts the highest number of first preference applications for Creative Arts courses in the state.[4] 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, UTS Faculty of Business has earned accreditation from AACSB International. 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).[5]
  • 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).[6]
  • 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.[7]

[edit] Campuses

Haymarket Campus
Haymarket Campus


Campus Address Location Map
Haymarket Corner of Quay Street and Ultimo Road City Map
Broadway Broadway, Harris St & Thomas St City Map
Kuring-gai Eton Road Lindfield Map
St. Leonards Reserve Road Artarmon Map


[edit] Campus architecture

Building 10, formerly known as the Fairfax Building
Building 10, formerly known as the Fairfax Building

The University of Technology, Sydney is a unique 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. The Haymarket campus (building 5) is a mix of Colonial and Modern and the recently completed buildings 4 and 6 are designed with high-tech architecture.

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.[8]

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 is in the process of being demolished to make way for an extension of Alumni Green.

Fairfax building
Fairfax building

[edit] Libraries

The university provides two campus libraries: The Blake Library (City campus) and the George Muir Library (Kuring-Gai Campus). The Blake library is currently a 4 floor facility. Levels 4 and 5 are in the process of being re-furbished to create more learning spaces and room to house collections. The new library will be 'greener' as well with significant savings in energy usage.[9]

[edit] 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.

[edit] Student life

The UTS Union[10] 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", which have struggled to attact high ratings compared to other universities' campus radio stations.

A limited number of students (mainly from the Faculty of Humanities) are represented by the UTS Students' Association

[edit] Alumni

  • Rob Adams, CEO of Funds Management, Challenger Financial Services; Faculty of Business - Bachelor of Business
  • Michael Cook, CEO of Macquarie Capital Alliance Group - part of Macquarie Bank; NSWIT - Bachelor of business studies (accounting)
  • 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
  • Ross Gittins, economics editor at the Sydney Morning Herald; NSWIT - Bachelor of Business Studies
  • Morris Iemma, 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)
  • Hon. Justice Tricia Kavanagh, NSW Industrial Relations Commissioner; Faculty of Law - Bachelor's degree in law (1981), Doctor of Philosophy in law (1998)
  • Sophie Lee, actress; Faculty of Humanities - Graduate certificate in writing
  • Garry Lowrey, Chairman and Managing Director, Wilson HTM Ltd; Faculty of Business - Bachelor of Business
  • 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
  • Guy Templeton, CEO of Minter Ellison Lawyers; Faculty of Business - Masters in Business Administration
  • Debra Thomas, Chief Nursing Officer, NSW Department of Health; Graduate's certificate in bioethics
  • Karen Tso, Financial reporter; Nine Network Australia.
  • Julia Wilson, rower; Faculty of Business - Bachelor's degree

[edit] Staff

  • Professor Anne Bamford, the world's leading expert on arts education, was at UTS before moving to London.
  • Eva Cox, Faculty of Humanities.
  • Ross Jones, ex-Faculty of Business, now Commonwealth Treasury.
  • Antony Kidman, Faculty of Science, father of actress Nicole Kidman.
  • Theo Van Leeuwen, Faculty of Humanities.

[edit] Sports Clubs

The gold medal winning 2007 men's basketball team
The gold medal winning 2007 men's basketball team
The men's football team
The men's football team
  • UTS has a famous rowing club located at Haberfield. The UTS Rowing club produced all four crew members of the coxless fours at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and Julia Wilson, Monique Heinke and Victoria Roberts who were members of the team involved in the Sally Robbins controversy in 2004.[citation needed]
  • The UTS Bats compete in the Sydney AFL. Formed in 1999, [11] they won the A and B grade premierships in 2006.
  • The UTS Hockey club is one of the biggest sporting clubs at UTS, playing in the top grades of men and women's hockey in NSW.[12]
  • The UTS Northern Suburbs Athletic Club competes in the Australian circuit and has produced many National Champions. They won the national championship in 2006 and became the first club from NSW to win.[14] Its athletes include Nick Bromley, Stuart Paterson and Tristan Garrett.
  • The UTS Volleyball Club is the largest university volleyball club in NSW. Both the Men's and Women's teams compete in the state's premier league - the Sydney League.[15]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d UTS History. UTS official website.
  2. ^ Timeline
  3. ^ Top 200 Uinversities World University Rankings
  4. ^ Student Applications
  5. ^ AACSB accreditation
  6. ^ Learning and teaching performance fund
  7. ^ UTS recognised as an employer of choice for women
  8. ^ Tower Building SMH article
  9. ^ The Blake Library Building project
  10. ^ UTS Union Homepage
  11. ^ UTS Union Ltd
  12. ^ UTS Hockey
  13. ^ UTS Fencing
  14. ^ UTS Norths Athletics
  15. ^ utsunion volleyball

[edit] External links

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