15 May 2007

$2.5 Million in Capital Funding for the Clinical Education and Research Centre at Bond University

The Treasurer announced today that Bond University is to receive $0.5 million in 2008 and $2.0 million in 2009 towards the cost of establishment of the Bond Clinical Education and Research Centre on the grounds of the Queensland Health Robina Hospital.

The Member for McPherson, Mrs Margaret May MP, accompanied the Treasurer to Bond University to inform the Chancellor, Mr Trevor Rowe, that Bond had been successful in its application for funds from the higher education Capital Development Pool (CDP) Programme administered by the Hon Julie Bishop MP, Minister for Education, Science and Training.

The funding will provide for teaching facilities such as lecture rooms, tutorial space, a library, a clinical skills laboratory, a student computer laboratory, office space for staff, student common rooms and amenities, consulting suite and clinical research space.  The facilities will support clinical training and the expansion of medical and health courses offered by the University.   

The facilities will also be shared with the south Gold Coast region and available to students from the Gold Coast Institute of TAFE and Griffith University.

The CDP Programme supports proposals which assist in new campus developments in suburban growth corridors and regional centres, capital developments to establish or expand courses identified by the government as discipline areas of national importance and communication and IT infrastructure projects which improve the cost-effectiveness and quality of educational delivery.  Almost $94 million in additional funding from the CDP has been allocated to Australian universities for use in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

This funding builds upon the $4.5 million provided by the Australian Government to Bond University in June 2006 towards the construction of its Health and Medical Sciences building.