The new 5am to midnight rural study hub encouraging Hamilton residents to “live, learn and work local”

Hamilton is set to become home to a new Country Universities Centre (CUC), offering local residents a dedicated space for higher education and professional development without needing to relocate.

📝 The details: The centre will be housed in a wing of the South West TAFE Hamilton campus, under a three-year funding agreement with the federal Department of Education, and will provide WiFi, access to technology, food, drinks and learning spaces for students enrolled with any Australian university, TAFE or private higher education provider. 

Students will also be able to access workshops, resume writing and job interview support and guidance on navigating university portals and other study tools.

📍 Regional struggles: Zoe Brinsden, the recently appointed Centre Manager, told the Brolga the centre is designed to address long-standing challenges for regional learners.

“Unfortunately for regional Victoria we have one of the lowest completion rates of education beyond Year 12,” Brinsden said.

“We have a high unemployment rate in unskilled labour and a very large number of organisations looking for skilled labour and we don’t have the qualifications.”

💻 Digital learning: She also highlighted the move to online study in the post-Covid age of tertiary education.

“If you look at the Southern Grampians, we are actually in the middle - two hours from Ballarat, three hours from Bendigo, five hours from Adelaide, an hour-and-a-half from Warrnambool.

“All of those locations, and Melbourne, of course, have got universities; all of those universities offer online options and remote study options, but it is not well known in our district.”

🏫 What will it look like? The centre is being designed with guidance from Hamilton architect Cooper Scaife.

“Our students will have access to quiet study spaces, collaborative zones and the technology they need to succeed,” Brinsden said.

It will be open from 5am to midnight, seven days a week, to accommodate students balancing work and/or family commitments, with reception staff working Monday to Friday and some weekends. 

❓When is it opening? Brinsden said the centre will open with a soft launch in January 2026. 

“It’s about giving regional people the space and tools they need to create a vibrant and more prosperous future for themselves and their wider community,” she said.

Students who are studying beyond year 12 next year are able to register their interest in accessing the centre on the CUC website.