Deakin University


Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Established in 1974 with the passage of the Deakin University Act 1974, the university was named after the second Prime Minister of Australia, Alfred Deakin.
Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, Geelong Waterfront and Warrnambool, as well as the online Cloud Campus. Deakin also has learning centres in Dandenong, Craigieburn and Werribee, all in the state of Victoria.
Deakin is one of Australia's fastest growing research universities. 89% of Deakin's research is rated at or above world class. Its combined research funding increased from A$4.5 million in 1997 to A$47.2 million in 2015.
Deakin University consistently ranks highly in student satisfaction; in the 2019 Student Experience Survey, Deakin had the fourth highest student satisfaction rating nationally, and the highest student satisfaction rating out of all Victorian universities. Deakin has had the highest undergraduate student satisfaction ratings out of all Victorian universities every year since 2010, and has consistently placed in the top two for highest postgraduate student satisfaction out of all Victorian universities every year since 2010.

History

Deakin University was formally established in 1974 with the passage of the Deakin University Act 1974. Deakin was Victoria's fourth university, the first to be established in regional Victoria and the first to specialise in distance education.
Deakin University's first campus was established at Waurn Ponds. The University was the result of a merger between State College of Victoria, Geelong and the higher education courses of the Gordon Institute of Technology. Deakin enrolled its first students at Waurn Ponds in 1977.
The Burwood campus is on the site of the former Burwood Teachers' College, and also takes in the former sites of the Bennettswood Primary School and the Burwood Secondary School. The teachers' college conducted two-year training courses for Primary School teachers, and three year courses for Infant Teachers. It provided live-on-site accommodation for country students.
As part of the Dawkins education reforms that were announced in 1988 by the Commonwealth government, a merger with Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education took place in 1990, which was followed by a merger with most of Victoria College in 1991, with its campuses in Burwood, Rusden and Toorak.
The Rusden Campus was closed in 2003 and all courses were transferred to the Melbourne Burwood campus. Rusden was subsequently acquired by Monash University for its student accommodation purposes.
The former Toorak Campus, located in Malvern, was offered for sale in 2006 as the University considered the campus surplus to its requirements. The courses and resources were relocated to the Melbourne Burwood campus in November 2007. As a Deakin campus, it was home to the Deakin Business School, Deakin University English Language Institute, and the Melbourne Institute of Business and Technology, which have since relocated to the International Centre and Business Building at the Melbourne Burwood campus..
The main building on the site was the 116-year-old historic Stonnington Mansion The sale of Stonnington Mansion by Deakin provoked public outrage as it involved the mansion which was at risk of redevelopment by property developers. The Stonnington Stables art gallery and the University's contemporary art collection were located here, but has since relocated to the Deakin University Art Gallery at the Melbourne Burwood campus. The University's action of offering the campus, including the mansion, provoked public outrage over the potential privatization of what had been public space. In December 2006, the three-mansion was sold for $33 million to a joint venture between Hamton Property Group and Industry Superannuation Property Trust.

Governance

The Deakin University Council is the governing body of the University and is chaired by the Chancellor, . Council is responsible for the general direction and oversight of the University and is publicly accountable for the University's actions.
The Vice-Chancellor is the Chief Executive Officer of the University and is responsible to Council. Professor Iain Martin is Vice-Chancellor and President of Deakin University and is Deakin's 7th Vice-Chancellor.

Vice-Chancellors

The University is divided into four faculties, covering arts and education, business and law, health, and science, engineering and built environment. Within the Faculty of Arts and Education the three schools cover education, social sciences, humanities, communication and the creative arts. The Institute of Koorie Education also falls under the Faculty of Arts and Education. The Faculty of Health has the School of Medicine, along with schools covering nursing and midwifery, exercise and nutrition sciences, psychology, and incorporates subjects such as occupational therapy, social work, and health economics into the School of Health and Social Development. The Deakin University School of Law and the Deakin Business School both fall under the Faculty of Business and Law, and the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment encompasses architecture, information technology, engineering, and life and environmental sciences.

Research

The university has six research institutes: Alfred Deakin Institute, Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute, Institute for Frontier Materials, Institute for Health Transformation, Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation and the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition. Along with the research institutes, there are 13 strategic research centres:

Melbourne Burwood Campus

The University's largest campus is in Burwood about 45 minutes by tram from the Melbourne CBD. Located alongside Gardiner's Creek parklands between Elgar Road on the north-west border and Mount Scopus Memorial College on the east border. The campus has around 27,700 undergraduate and postgraduate on-campus students.

Geelong Waterfront Campus

The Geelong Waterfront Campus is Deakin's newest campus, located on Corio Bay, in the central business district of Geelong. Originally built as the Dalgety's Woolstores in 1893, the buildings have been extensively renovated.
More than 4,500 students are based at the Geelong Waterfront Campus, which hosts the schools of Architecture and Built Environment, Health and Social Development, Psychology, and Nursing and Midwifery, as well as the Faculty of Business and Law.
A $37 million redevelopment of the Dennys Lascelles Building has increased the capacity of this campus, allowing the University to provide an expanded range of courses. The building houses the Alfred Deakin Prime Ministerial Library and the Alfred Deakin Research Institute.
This campus houses Costa Hall, a 1,422 seat concert auditorium, which is used for the university's graduation ceremonies.

Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus

The original campus of Deakin University is located in the regional city of Geelong in the suburb of Waurn Ponds, 72 kilometres south west of Melbourne. The campus, serviced by the Princes Highway and the Geelong Ring Road. It has a student population of more than 7,100.
The campus is home to the Geelong Technology Precinct, which provides research and development capabilities and opportunities for university–industry partnerships and new enterprises in the region. The Elite Sports Precinct is used as an alternate training facility by the Geelong Football Club.
The Waurn Ponds Deakin Residence houses 800 students in shared dorms, shared units, town houses and studio apartments. The residence is made up of Alfred Deakin College, Barton College, and Parkes College.
The Deakin Medical School opened in 2008 and is the first rural and regional medical school in Victoria. Deakin's Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery MBBS is a four-year, graduate-entry program which prepares students for practice in a range of health care settings.

Warrnambool Campus

The Warrnambool Campus is situated on the banks of the Hopkins River in the coastal city of Warrnambool, close to local surf beaches and popular tourist attractions in close proximity to the Great Ocean Road and The Twelve Apostles. The 94 hectare site is approximately five kilometres from the Warrnambool CBD, serviced by the Princes Highway and by its own railway station, and bus services from Melbourne and Geelong, as well as locally in Warrnambool between the campus and the city.
There is an on-campus student population of more than 1,000 pursuing courses in arts, business, education, environment, health sciences, law, management, marine biology, nursing and psychology.

Deakin University Student Association

The Deakin University Student Association is the dominant student representative organisation operating across all campuses and courses. As well as representation, DUSA provides a range of services and benefits to members, and coordinates all other clubs and societies operating on campus. There is a wide range of groups/clubs for students to join and these groups vary from campus to campus.

Research

Deakin is one of Australia's fastest-growing research universities. Its combined research funding had increased from A$4.5 million in 1997 to A$47.2 million in 2015. 89% of Deakin research was rated at or above world standard in the 2015 ERA ratings, a quality evaluation of all research produced in Australian universities.
in 2018, the Australian Research Council awarded Deakin University $8.42 million in funding for 23 new research projects in its 2019 funding announcement. This included 15 Discovery Projects and 8 Discovery Early Career Researcher Award projects, six of which were from the University's Faculty of Arts and Education.
The Australian Research Council awarded Deakin University 5 Linkage Projects in the 2016 ARC Linkage Programme rounds, and 3 Linkage Grants in its 2013 allocations. In its 2010 allocations, the Australian Research Council awarded Deakin 13 Discovery and 10 Linkage Round 1 awards. Deakin was also one of only six universities to be awarded funding for an ITTC, and received 100% of the amount requested.
The Alfred Deakin Prime Ministerial Library is named after the early Australian Prime Minister and statesman, Alfred Deakin, and provides opportunities for research and learning.
Researchers at Deakin University developed the Motorcycle Clothing Assessment Program used by Australian and New Zealand government and related organisations. In 2019, it won the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme road safety award.

Rankings

In 2020, the Times Higher Education 100 Under 50 ranked Deakin University 55th in the World among the top Universities under 50 years old; Deakin was ranked 10th in Australia and 1st in Victoria under this category. In 2020, the QS 50 Under 50 ranked Deakin University 26th in the World among the top Universities under 50 years old; Deakin was ranked 6th in Australia and 2nd in Victoria under this category.
In 2009, 2013 and 2015 the Graduate Management Association of Australia awarded Deakin's Master of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration courses the maximum score of five stars, placing them in the top rank of Australia's MBA courses. In 2018, and 2020, Deakin's Master of Business Administration was ranked amongst the world's top 200 by Quacquarelli Symonds.
Since 2016, Deakin has been ranked in the top 2% of the world's universities in the Shanghai Ranking's Academic Ranking of World Universities, Times Higher Education and QS World University Rankings.
Deakin ranks 3rd in Victoria, 15 in Australia, 16 in Oceania, and 272 in the world in the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities.

Student well-being

Reports of on-campus sexual assault and harassment

Between 2011 and 2016 the university reported there were 40 officially cases of sexual abuse and harassment on campus, resulting in 12 staff members being disciplined or sacked for sexual misconduct and no student expulsions or suspensions. The 2017 Australian Human Rights Commission report on sexual assault and harassment surveyed 649 Deakin students, and reported somewhat higher figures than this, finding that 2.8% of those surveyed claimed to have been assaulted on campus, and 21% had been sexually harassed.

Notable alumni