La Trobe University has welcomed a partnership with Victorian Government to fast-track delivery of its $5 billion University City of the Future on its Melbourne campus at Bundoora.

The University City of the Future plan, which will see the campus become the engine room for jobs and economic development in Melbourne’s North, was officially launched earlier today by the minister for Industry and Employment, Ben Carroll.

The partnership will transform the 235-hectare campus into a multi-precinct, City of the Future, delivering $5B in investment, 20,000 new jobs and $3.5 billion in Gross Regional Product (GRP) over the next ten years.

La Trobe and the State Government have agreed to jointly fund a $2 million scoping and feasibility study designed to accelerate investment in the University City.

 “The University City of the Future is a gamechanger for Melbourne’s north and has the potential to create 20,000 jobs and drive $5 billion in investment over the next ten years.

“Victoria has some of the best universities in the world – this development will help to cement that reputation and drive economic growth for our northern suburbs,” says Carroll.

 “This funding partnership is warmly welcomed. The official launch of the City of the Future signals a significant new step forward with Government to transform our Bundoora campus into a thriving University City of the Future, which will act as a catalyst for economic growth, innovation and jobs creation – particularly in the vital areas of health and well-being, digital and cyber innovation, and agriculture, food and fibre,” says La Trobe Vice-Chancellor, Professor John Dewar.

“We are turning our campus ‘inside out’, welcoming our local communities to new and dynamic spaces, where community, industry, students and staff will work, live and learn,” he says.