The Direct Link Between Students And Industries

Established in 1991, ECU spreads across three campuses in Joondalup, Bunbury and Mount Lawley. There are 320 course options offered across four major faculties: Health, Engineering and Science; Business and Law; Regional Professional Studies; and Education and Arts, which includes WAAPA (West Australian Academy of Performing Arts). WAAPA has been quite influential over the years, with alumni like actors Hugh Jackman and Lisa McCune, and musician/performer Tim Minchin. In other areas, notable alumni include Graham Kerr, CFO of BHP; Gary Martin, CEO of Australian Institute of Management WA; Michelle D’Almeida, Managing Director of News Corp Australia; and Darren Beazley, CEO of Swimming WA. As the reputation has grown, more and more students are deciding to move west to further their education.

So what’s the difference between ECU and the rest? They pride themselves on being directly linked with industry through mentoring, volunteering, workshops and leadership programs. As well as providing students with a sound academic foundation, all of the courses have been developed in conjunction with industry professionals to make sure they stay relevant. Some courses even give students practical work placements, the ability to work on real projects, which provides a direct personal link to the industry and specific organisations; this approach has even been recognised with five star ratings in the 2015 Good Universities Guide for teaching quality, graduate satisfaction and generic skills.

For example, in Law and Criminology courses, students get to examine and work on real cases to discern whether a wrongful conviction is made, and then can work on exonerating the person in question, as part of ECU’s Innocence Project. In Computer and Security streams, students learn the practical application of physical and computer security for law enforcement purposes. They learn how to extract digital evidence and information from storage devices or computers. For sport fans, if you study a Bachelor of Science and specialise in Sports Science and Football, you’ll get to analyse the performance of AFL and soccer players when they train and compete by using heart monitors, GPS, video tracking and electronic monitoring. Possibly the most thrilling is the Bachelor of Technology majoring in Motorsports, where you learn about the construction of race cars. In your last year you’ll get to build a race car from scratch to race against other Universities. This is just a small sample of how practical applications make their way into numerous courses at ECU.

They’re friendly, they’re approachable, they’re practical, and the course structure can be flexible; on campus, online or part-time. There is also something for those not just fresh out of high school; with Uniprep courses and a portfolio pathway, ECU accept people of all ages and backgrounds that are looking to improve their communities and themselves by furthering their education.

Want to find out more? See for yourself at one of their open days: Joondalup Campus – 19 Jul 10am–3pm; Mount Lawley Campus – 9 Aug 10am–3pm; South West Campus (Bunbury) – 23 Aug 12pm–3pm; or visit the website: ecu.edu.au.