Please note - Swinburne University of Technology

Swinburne
A proud history
The 1992 proclamation by the Parliament of Victoria of
Swinburne University of Technology Act, marked not only
recognition of its distinguished history, butthe beginning of a
new period of growth and innovation for Swinburne. From its
establishment in 1908 in Melbourne's eastern suburb of
Hawthorn, Swinburne has grown from being a local provider of
technical education into a multidisciolined. multicam~us
provider of higher education of national and internat'ional
significance.
Swinburne was established as the Eastern Suburbs Technical
College, by George Swinburne and the first students were
enrolled in 1909, when classes began in carpentry, plumbing
and blacksmithing. Soon afterwards, a boys junior technical
school and the first girls technical school in Victoria, were
established.
In 1913 the institution changed its name to Swinburne
Technical College, to commemorate the Honourable George
Swinburne, a former Mayor of Hawthorn and a member of the
Parliament of Victoria who was responsible for the initial
establishment of the college.
In 1965 Swinburne affiliated with the Victoria Institute of
Colleges, which was established in that year by an Act of the
Parliament of Victoria, to 'foster the development and
improvement of tertiary education in technical, agricultural,
commercial and other fields of learnina (includina the liberal
arts and the humanities) in institutiontother thai in the
universities of Victoria'.
The range of courses and the various levels at which they were
offered grew to such an extent that in 1969, the boys and girls
technical schools were taken over by the Victorian Education
Department while the college remained as an autonomous
institution.
An extensive re-organisation of advanced education took place
in Victoria in the period 1976-78 culminating in the passing of
the Victorian Post-Secondary Education Act. Under the Act the
Victoria Institute of Colleges was dissolved and the Victorian
Post-Secondary Education Commission established. Under the
new arrangements, Swinburne Council was given power to
grant bachelor degrees. The first of these was awarded at a
conferring ceremony held on Thursday 21 May 1981 at the
Camberwell Civic Centre.
Swinburne University of Technology was proclaimed on 1 July
1992. Noted Australian businessman, Mr. Richard Pratt A0 was
installed as Swinburne's Foundation Chancellor on the 15
March 1993.
In 1994 the Higher Education Sector of Swinburne underwent a
major restructure when the four faculties (Arts, Business,
Applied Science and Engineering) and one school (The School of
Design) were amalgamated into two divisions - The Division of
Business, Humanities and Social Science and the Division of
Science, Engineering and Design.
Swinburne today
Swinburne has a strong reputation in Australia and overseas as
a provider of career orientated education and as a University
with a commitment to'research. The University maintains a
strong technology base and important links with industry,
complemented by a number of innovative specialist research
centres which attract a great deal of international interest.
Afeature of many Swinburne undergraduate courses is the
applied vocational emphasis and d~rect industry application
through Industry Based Learning (IBL) programs. Swinburne was
a pioneer of IBL, a program which places students directly in
industry for vocational employment as an integral part of the
course structure.
Swinburne is now one of a few Australian universities whose
responsibilities span the range of programs from apprenticeships
to PhDs. In keeping with this breadth of involvement, the
University continues to play a leading role in creating new
approaches to integration between sectors.
The creation of study pathways between sectors and courses is
firmly in place at ~win'burne. current pathways involve moving
either from the TAFE sector into Hiaher Education or from TAFE
based VCE studies into full TAFE courses. A limited number of
pathways are available for students to move from degree
courses into TAFE studies, and this will increase in the future.
This process of articulation provides students with greater
flexibility to complete tertiary qualifications.
Teaching and learning enhancement is a strategic priority for
the University, and Swinburne is committed to the transfer of
lifelong learning skills.
Swinburne was founded to provide expanded and more
convenient educational opportunities to the residents in the
'outer east' of Melbourne. Due to expansion of the city durincl
the intervening years between establishment and trarkition to
universitv status. Swinburne's ooerations are now conducted
across tke campuses: ~awthdrn, Mooroolbark and Prahran.
While focusing on its regional responsibilities, Swinburne is
heavily involved in international initiatives and plays a
significant part in the internationalisation of Australia's tertiary
education system.