Confirmation of the State Government injection comes just weeks after the official opening of a new DATA Farm Innovation Centre at the college.
The centre is designed to provide a training hub for future professionals working in agricultural technology.
College campus head John Goldsmith said new developments shored up the college’s growing reputation as one of Australia’s most prestigious agricultural education institutions.
“We’re just going from strength to strength. These infrastructure developments provide us with the opportunity to grow and develop even further,” he said.
“These major developments are stepping stones. With this investment, we’re really becoming one of the main agriculture colleges in Australia, not just in Victoria.”
Mr Goldsmith said the studio apartments, with building set to start in early 2021, would accommodate students and visiting industry professionals as well as allow the college to attract international students beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This really complements our existing accommodation,” he said.
“We currently have student dormitories that cater for our full-time students and apprentices – but it can be a little restrictive.
“We want to host various groups from around Australia. That could include agribusiness-type organisations that want to do workshops or host conferences.”
Mr Goldsmith said the upgrades would expand on the college’s accommodation, which can house about 107 full-time students.
He said with additional accommodation, the college was exploring opportunities with universities across the country to provide students an opportunity to gain hands-on experience at its modern facilities.
“We’ve spoken to universities about bringing their undergrads to the Wimmera to do some block training and have access to our DATA farm,” he said.
“We think it’s a great idea to get students who are studying in the city out into regional Victoria and do some hands-on, practical training.”
Mr Goldsmith said the redevelopment represented an opportunity for the college to strengthen its relationship with universities.
He also did not rule out the possibility of the college offering undergraduate degrees in the future.
“We’re in a niche area at the moment where students can gain an advanced diploma in agriculture and related industries. The next stepping stone would be an undergraduate degree,” he said.
“We’re more likely to explore deeper relationships with partnering universities, however you never know what the future holds.”
Mr Goldsmith said upgrades to the college were crucial to attract more young people into the agriculture.
“The demand across the board for graduates in agriculture is really high and we only see it increasing,” he said.
“Ag-tech is a growing area, and we need to be attracting some pretty smart minds, particularly young people, to the industry.”
Mr Goldsmith said the college looked forward to working out the finer details of the two-year project.
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The entire November 25, 2020 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!
The entire November 25, 2020 edition of AgLife is available online. READ IT HERE!
