The University of Western Australia is considering establishing a tertiary education and research campus in Karratha.
The University of Western Australia is considering establishing a tertiary education and research campus in Karratha.
Business News understands the precinct, if green-lit, would focus on the resources sector, health, the green energy transition, and Indigenous-focused anthropology and archaeology.
UWA last week sought funding from the City of Karratha to build a business case for what it has labelled a Pilbara education, training and research precinct.
City councillors unanimously agreed to put $200,000 toward the business case at the town’s old hospital site.
City of Karratha Mayor Dan Scott said the town’s existing tertiary offering, the Pilbara Kimberley University Centre, was “bursting at the seams”.
Mr Scott said a multi-university hub with student accommodation would help young people in the Pilbara study closer to home.
“You can picture a campus going there that has PKUC, UWA, ECU, what we’re looking at still is a hub and spoke model,” he said.
“We can build a building that houses multiple universities that are offering multiple courses, and then behind that, we get student accommodation.
“Kids of the Pilbara, particularly Aboriginal kids… have a hard time of the thought of going to Perth, leaving country for further education.
“If we can have student accommodation here and offer the kids of the Pilbara to be able to do their tertiary education… on country or close to home, then we're going to get a lot better outcomes for our society moving forward.”
Mr Scott said he expected the state and federal governments, and the city’s resources stakeholders, to contribute to establishing the facility should it be greenlit.
Universities have long seen opportunity in the Pilbara to tap into the mining and energy sector but have not committed to establishing local campuses.
A UWA spokesperson said the plan was in its infancy.
“The University of Western Australia works with many key stakeholders in the Pilbara and is investigating a range of options to enhance its presence in the region,” they said.
“UWA recently joined the Northern Australia Universities Alliance, a collaborative initiative that brings together four partner universities with a shared vision for the sustainable development of northern Australia.”
If it gets up the UWA precinct would be the second major physical university presence in the North West.
Notre Dame has a campus in Broome where its Indigenous-focused Nulungu Research Institute and Majarlin Remote Health centre are housed.
The Pilbara Kimberley Universities Centre offers courses from other universities with in-person support at hubs across the North West.
Rural Clinical School of WA is another presence across WA.
It enables regional placements to medical students enrolled in university courses at UWA, Curtin University and Notre Dame.
UWA has a campus in Albany where it focuses on natural resource management, marine research, and rural medicine.
