STEM vision for the Bay

The UTAS debate has become difficult and polarised. In March the Hobart City Council unanimously resolved that UTAS should restart its community consultation process on the proposed campus relocation and Sandy Bay Master Plan.

We asked that this new engagement process include being open to the modification of plans and consideration of compromise options.

However, it's disappointing that UTAS indicates no intention to step back from 100 percent relocation to the city. These seemingly inflexible messages create an understandable sense of scepticism in the community.

I’m keen to see a resolution of this debate that involves:

- a growth of education, science and innovation in our city, rather than a diminution of it;

- a willingness for compromise and solution-based thinking;

- recognition of our status as a capital city and the need for a thriving tertiary and research sector;

- a way forward that respects community aspirations and allows some education and research to remain at the Sandy Bay campus;

- Hobart’s future economy tied to a reputation as Australia’s city of science and as an attractive location for the knowledge economy.

I acknowledge and support the university departments already based in the CBD and understand UTAS Management’s stated desire for a single campus. But I’m concerned this singular focus on consolidation at all costs may be limiting the thinking about the future of UTAS and the tertiary sector more broadly.

The knowledge economy is a key to the future prosperity of cities and Hobart is no exception. I’d like to see Hobart grow its tertiary and research sector significantly in the next 20 years and believe there's room for new and improved educational and research facilities in both the CBD and in Sandy Bay.

We need to approach this from the perspective of growing education. Other small capital cities are ambitious for their tertiary education sectors. For example, Canberra (population 467,000) is home to five universities – the Australian National University, University of Canberra, Australian Catholic University, UNSW Canberra and Charles Sturt University. Adelaide is larger than Hobart but also has five universities.

I see benefit in a significant part of the Sandy Bay site being reimagined as a specialist campus for Science (including agriculture), Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). This could be enhanced with the addition of offices for research and innovation companies to be based at this STEM campus and perhaps other educational institutions working alongside.

Could we attract an international scientific research entity like Scripps, Helmholtz or the World Resources Institute to establish a branch in Hobart, or, like these cities, a campus of another university? Could UTAS refurbish and lease some of the buildings in Sandy Bay to innovation and technology companies? Could the temporary STEM school become a more permanent one for students keen to specialise in this field of study?

Many countries create strategic public-private partnerships that revolve around solving particular problems or the development of new products for emerging scientific and technological fields. These partnerships are usually aligned with national innovation and industrial strategies and are closely connected with university campuses. They could drive the economic development of a small city like Hobart and deliver many more ‘knowledge economy’ jobs.

This approach could breathe new life into the Sandy Bay campus as a hub for scientific innovation, enterprise and new product development. We could see collaborations to solve some of our global challenges, such as cleaning up and using plastic waste, or localising fabrication to deal with supply chain and resource constraints.

What is stopping UTAS putting this kind of education-focused vision at the heart of future plans for Sandy Bay? I think financial pressure clearly has an impact. Tasmania’s only University has been under pressure to spend significant resources in improving facilities and growing a presence in the north and north-west of the state.

In response, the UTAS vision for Sandy Bay attempts to fund an under-resourced university through the sale and lease of property for residential development. But is this the best use of this land when we consider the long-term future of our capital city?

While I’m keenly aware of the urgent need for medium-density, affordable residential housing in Hobart, we can go a long way to meeting this demand through the strategic urban renewal of parts of the central city and along the rail corridor between New Town and Glenorchy.

I acknowledge my vision will see the continuation of a split campus – with Sandy Bay as a centre of excellence, education and enterprise in STEM, and the existing and new city facilities focused on the arts, medicine and commerce departments.

However if we can all work together around a compromise, we can lobby governments to open their wallets to better connect the two campuses - for example, with a Battery Point walk and cycleway and a new ferry terminal connecting Sandy Bay and the city.

Hobart has a bright future if planning for our city is inspired by an ambition for more knowledge and education.