Vice-Chancellor's welcome

I am delighted to welcome you to Deakin University.

Deakin is one of Australia’s largest universities and more than 40,000 students from over 100 countries choose to study with us. For the last two years Deakin has been judged the university in Victoria with the highest student learning satisfaction.

Deakin University has four campuses, one in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, two in the port city of Geelong just south of Melbourne, and one in Warrnambool on the south-west coast of Victoria. Each campus has a distinctive character, rich culture and a strong presence in the local community.  In addition, Deakin has a prestigious multipurpose facility in Melbourne’s CBD, a network of learning centres stretching across regional Victoria, and international offices in India, China and Indonesia.

Deakin has partnerships with industry, governments, communities, professional associations and other education providers. Our alliances are spread over 30 countries and our focus and offerings are contemporary and aligned to community needs. Our research is blooming and we are now home to an impressive array of gifted staff who teach and research across our major disciplines. These include medicine, nursing and allied health, science and biology, engineering, architecture and the built environment, the arts and humanities and business and law.

Deakin has a student-focussed culture, we are assessed as being accessible, helpful and friendly. A few years ago we introduced a trimester system (three study periods in one year) which also earned us a reputation for innovation. This has helped learning at Deakin be more personalised and tailored with each student recognised as having their own learning needs and opportunities. Deakin’s aim is to ensure that its graduates are able to thrive in any environment, with the skills and education for the jobs of the future.

A vibrant campus life is a core part of the Deakin student experience, but it extends beyond Deakin’s formal campuses to include work places, hospitals, schools, fieldwork placements and overseas exchange programs as well as media-rich interactive ‘cloud learning’ opportunities, with support available 24/7 across all time zones. Deakin is currently a sector leader in student satisfaction, ranked third in Australia and first in Victoria (Australian Graduate Survey 2011 and 2012).

We live in a fast changing, globally connected world where digital change now influences every aspect of our lives.  The opportunities of communications technologies have unleashed learning from previous constraints of time, location and expertise.  Deakin’s strategic plan LIVE the future: Agenda 2020, sets out the strategies that will take Deakin to the forefront of digital change. Deakin will harness the power, opportunity and reach of the digital world in all that it does, preparing students for the jobs and skills of the future, and research that makes a difference to the communities it serves.

I encourage you to explore our website to learn more about LIVE the future at Deakin and to learn more about our courses, our research our services and facilities and our people.

Professor Jane den Hollander
Vice-Chancellor and President
Deakin University