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Flinders University

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Flinders University
File:Flinders university logo.png
MottoInspiring Achievement
TypePublic
Established1966
ChancellorSir Eric Neal
Vice-ChancellorAnne Edwards
Academic staff
631
Undergraduates15,110
Postgraduates(included in above)
Location
Adelaide
,
SA
,
Australia

35°01′14.95″S 138°34′21.90″E / 35.0208194°S 138.5727500°E / -35.0208194; 138.5727500
CampusUrban
OrganisationsIRU Australia
Websitewww.flinders.edu.au

Flinders University, or The Flinders University of South Australia, is a public university in Adelaide, founded in 1966. It is named in honour of navigator and explorer Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the South Australian coastline in the early nineteenth century.

The university has established a reputation as a leading research institution with a devotion to innovation. It is a member of Innovative Research Universities Australia and ranks among the leading universities in Australia. Academically, the university pioneered a cross-diciplinary approach to education and has respected faculties in medicine, law, the sciences and humanities. The university is ranked 10th in Australia and among the top 500 universities globally. It is also recognised for its history of radical student activism that has led to a high level of student involvement in university procedures.[citation needed]

The main university campus is located in the suburb of Bedford Park on an elevated site adjacent to the Sturt Gorge, with views over the Adelaide Plains and towards Gulf St. Vincent. Two smaller campuses, Sturt and Flinders Medical Centre, are situated alongside the main campus. The university does not have incorporated residential colleges, but students accepted are housed in affiliated colleges and the university provides some on-campus accommodation for students in the Deirdre Jordan Village and University Hall.

History

View of Flinders University main campus, with central plaza and lakeside area visible.

Flinders University was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen Mother, on March 25, 1966, as the Bedford Park campus of the University of Adelaide.

Just 18 days earlier, however, the South Australian Parliament had passed legislation to create an independent institution and the State's second university officially came into being on July 1. There were 90 staff, four schools and just over 400 students. Professor Peter Karmel was the first Vice-Chancellor and Sir Mark Mitchell the first Chancellor.The campus land has been owned by the State or Federal Government since 1915.

The University takes its name from British navigator Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the South Australian coastline in 1802. Its coat of arms includes a reproduction of Flinders' ship Investigator and an extract from his book A Voyage to Terra Australis.

A significant early initiative was the decision to build the Flinders Medical Centre on land adjacent to the campus and to base the university's Medical School within this new public hospital - the first such integration in Australia. FMC opened in 1976. In 1990, the biggest building project on campus since the mid-70s saw work commence on three new buildings - Law and Commerce; Engineering; and Information Science and Technology. In 1991, as part of a restructuring of higher education in South Australia, Flinders merged with the adjacent Sturt Campus of the former South Australian College of Advanced Education. In 1992 the present four-Faculty structure was adopted.

Campuses

The university maintains a number of external teaching facilities in regional South Australia, south-west Victoria and the Northern Territory. International students make up 10% of the on-campus student population and a number of offshore programs are also offered, primarily in the Asia-Pacific region.

Organisation

View of the courtyard of the Humanities building of the Flinders University.

Flinders University offers more than 160 undergraduate and postgraduate courses, as well as higher degree research supervision across all disciplines. Many courses use new information and communication technologies to supplement face-to-face teaching and provide flexible options.

Faculties

  • Faculty of Education, Humanities, Law and Theology
  • Faculty of Health Sciences
  • Faculty of Science and Engineering
  • Faculty of Social Sciences

Institutes

Internal

  • Centre for Applied Philosophy
  • Centre for Development Studies
  • Centre for Neuroscience
  • Centre for Research in the New Literatures in English
  • Flinders Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics
  • Flinders Institute for Health and Medical Research
  • Flinders University Institute of International Education
  • National Institute of Labour Studies Inc
  • Flinders Centre for Coast and Catchment Environments

External

  • Australian Centre for Community Services Research
  • Centre for Ageing Studies
  • Centre for Groundwater Studies
  • Centre for Scandinavian Studies
  • Centre for Theology, Science and Culture
  • International Institute of Palliative and Supportive Studies
  • Lincoln Marine Science Centre
  • National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction
  • Primary Health Care Research and Information Service
  • Research Centre for Injury Studies
  • South Australian Centre for Economic Studies
  • Cooperative Research Centres in which Flinders University is a participant
  • Aboriginal Health
  • Bioproducts
  • Sensor Signal and Information Processing
  • Sustainable Aquaculture of Finfish

Affiliates

Student life

Activism

Housing

Main article: Flinders University Hall

Media

Main article: Empire Times

Sports

Flinders University has many sports teams that compete in social and competitive competitions. Flinders fury is the Ultimate Frisbee club of Flinders University.

Flinders University also fields a baseball side in the Division 5 and Division 6 levels of the South Australian Baseball League.

Flinders University also fields four mens soccer teams in Saturday division 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B levels of the Flinders Soccer Club.

Distinguished alumni & persons associated with Flinders University

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flinders University.
Affiliated teaching bodies
Institutional affiliations


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