Prime Minister opens UCOL campus in Wanganui

Prime Minister Hon Helen Clark today opened a major new campus in Wanganui for UCOL, the regional polytechnic.

“The development of the Universal College of Learning’s new tertiary education campus, Matapihi ki te Ao, or Window of Opportunity to the World, is an important milestone for Wanganui,” Helen Clark said.

“The Labour-led Government has invested $25 million in the project. This consolidated campus brings together courses and administration which had been spread over a number of sites.

“The new campus is a clever architectural blend of existing heritage buildings, and of new buildings constructed with environmentally friendly and sustainable materials.

“It is expected that the campus will cater for education for around 950 EFTS enrolled with UCOL. It will also be developed over the next four years as a tertiary education “multiplex,” or collaborative venture involving a range of tertiary education organisations and support agencies across Wanganui and the wider region. It will be the first such educational complex in New Zealand.

“The government has funded this project because it both guarantees the future of polytechnic education in Wanganui and provides for collaboration with other tertiary education organisations to provide the best possible study options for students and benefits for the community and business.

“Our future prosperity depends on having a highly skilled population, effective managers, and an education and training system which responds to the changing needs of our economy and society.

“Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics play a key role in this, by providing applied professional and vocational education of internationally competitive quality, and by attracting people to tertiary education who are currently not engaged or participating at a low level,” Helen Clark said.