UOW Global Enterprises (UOWGE) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Wollongong (UOW) and as a commercial entity, operates unencumbered and with the agility to deliver UOW’s global aspirations.

Since 1993, UOWGE has grown to become one of Australia’s most unique and successful global providers of tertiary education programs encompassing Vocational, Diploma, Associate Degree, Bachelors, Masters and PhDs delivered from our own campuses located in key international locations. It owns and operates the UOW College Australia (UOWCA), the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD), the UOW College Hong Kong (UOWCHK) and UOW Malaysia KDU (UOWM KDU). Employing more than 1,400 staff globally, these institutions spread across Wollongong, Sydney, Dubai, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Penang, deliver over 200 courses to more than 14,000 students.

In 2016, UOWGE’s commitment to providing transformative educational experiences to students all over the world lead UOWGE to commence the design of a new built-for-purpose campus for UOWD which focuses on enhancing the student experience.

The opportunity to create a unique space that was aligned to the functional and pedagogy of UOWD required a considerable change in the approach of previous campus relocations. To date, UOWD had always adapted to a space as the campus locations were existing buildings.

In addition to the above, the process of design and campus planning had to consider the cultural sensitivities and pedagogy requirements specific to Dubai and the demographics of a truly international student population. With UOW being a global brand, finding the right balance between corporate brand and a fit for purpose model required the team to develop a robust and well-defined process for campus planning and design.

A set of project specific executive guiding principles set the vision for what would be a truly unique and fit for purpose campus that aligns user functional requirements with a purpose built environment.

This new campus was completed and opened in 2020 and builds on the established student centered approaches for the previous campus and enables multiple pedagogical practices further facilitating flexibility and excellence in teaching.

Overall, the project was an all-around success. The project was delivered within budget and in a timely manner that enabled the existing campus to relocate without incurring rentals costs in two locations, but of greater importance:

1. Functionality & Pedagogy
The feedback from academics and students in the new campus has been very positive. The new campus offers a wide variety of educational spaces with flexibility in terms of size, capacity and functionality including:
• Increasing the library space;
• Providing additional teaching spaces;
• Increasing the quantum of collaborative and shared space for students by +1700%.

2. Continued Collaboration & One Stop Shop
The shared service models have been very well received by both staff and students. Using technology and automation we have been able to create a one stop shop service centre that avoids queuing and prompt service for both staff & students.