Torrens University is an Australian international

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, for-profit university and vocational registered training organisation, with campuses in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, Blue Mountains,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, and Suzhou, China. It began teaching in 2014 and it had about 19,000 enrolled students in 2022. Torrens predominantly offers career-focused courses in business, design, health and hospitality, both online and on campus.

History

An application from Laureate Education Asia to found a private university was approved by the

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

in October 2011. Upon commission, Torrens University became the 33rd university in Australia and the first new university for 20 years. The go-ahead for the new university was given by the South Australian Cabinet following

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Mike Rann's negotiations in Australia and in Cancun, Mexico, with Laureate Chairman Douglas Becker and Chancellor Michael Mann. Honorary Laureate Chancellor and former US President Bill Clinton publicly endorsed the Australian project. The founding President and

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

was Fred McDougall, former deputy vice-chancellor and vice-president of the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. Torrens University Australia was registered as a university by the

Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) is Australia's independent national quality assurance and regulatory agency for higher education. The agency's purpose is to protect student interests and the reputation of Australia' ...

in 2012. It was originally expected to open in 2013 but commenced teaching in 2014. In 2020 Torrens University Australia was bought by Strategic Education Inc., a public education services company based in Virginia, USA.

Campuses

, Torrens University has campuses across five cities in Australia, one in New Zealand and one in China. There are about 19,000 enrolled students.

Adelaide

Adelaide was the first location in the country, opening its first campus in the heritage-listed

Torrens Building The Torrens Building, named after Sir Robert Richard Torrens, is a State Heritage-listed building on the corner of Victoria Square and Wakefield Street in Adelaide, South Australia. It was originally known as the New Government Offices, and a ...

on Victoria Square/Tarndanyangga, in the CBD, in 2013. On 3 August 2015 the University opened a new campus just along the road in the old Menz Biscuits factory on

Wakefield Street Wakefield Street is a main thoroughfare intersecting the centre of the South Australian capital, Adelaide, from east to west at its midpoint. It crosses Victoria Square in the centre of the city, which has a grid street plan. It continues as ...

, and no longer lists Torrens Building as another campus. The

Pulteney Street Pulteney Street is a main road which runs north-south through the middle of the eastern half of the Adelaide city centre, in Adelaide, South Australia. It runs north-south from North Terrace, through Hindmarsh and Hurtle Squares, to South ...

, Adelaide campus hosts the

Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School The Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School (BMIHMS) is an Australian higher education provider of hotel management education, with campuses in Leura, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, Australia, and Suzhou, China. Since 1991, the ...

, delivering the Master of International Hotel Management program.

Brisbane

is home to two campuses: the

Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestr ...

Campuses, which is central to the CBD and within walking distance of Fortitude Valley train station; the Torrens University Language Centre on Bowen Terrace, and the Gotha Street campus.

Gold Coast

The

campus is a large centrally located campus in

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

near other educational facilities and international recruitment agencies. Classes run in the afternoon and in the evening.

Melbourne

The

campus is on Flinders Street in the CBD, with The Practice Wellbeing Centre being located in nearby

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

Sydney and Blue Mountains

There are three campuses in the

region. These campuses include the Ultimo campus and Surry Hills (which includes the Torrens University Language Centre), and the Blue Mountains campus on the outskirts of metropolitan Sydney. The Blue Mountains campus is located in the suburb of

Leura Leura (postcode: 2780) is a suburb in the City of Blue Mountains local government area that is located west of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the series of small towns stretched along the Main W ...

, adjacent to Katoomba. The campus is home to Torrens University's Practical Learning Centre, simulated hotel environment where students learn hotel management as part of their practical development. The Ultimo campus is a home for the Design & Creative Technology students, while the Surry Hills campus is the Sydney Central Campus.

Auckland, New Zealand

The Media Design School is situated in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Wynyard Quarter The Wynyard Quarter (historically also known as the Western Reclamation, Wynyard Point, Wynyard Wharf or Tank Farm) is a reclaimed piece of land on the Waitematā Harbour at the western edge of the Auckland waterfront, New Zealand. It is loca ...

, at 10 Madden Street.

Suzhou, China

This campus is in close proximity to Shanghai, and offers training in restaurant service, front office management, guest relations and housekeeping.

Organisation and academics

Schools

APM College of Business and Communication APM College of Business and Communication is an Australian private business college that offers both tertiary education and vocational education and training. The college first opened in 1986 as the APM Training Institute in St Leonards, Sydney. ...

- APM was established over 25 years ago and offers business degrees and vocational diplomas, and the opportunity to pathway into a master's degree. *

Billy Blue College of Design Billy Blue College of Design is an Australian private design college focused on teaching a combination of design disciplines including digital media, branded fashion, interior design, gaming, 3D design and animation, user experience design and we ...

- Billy Blue College was created by designers for designers, offering appropriate courses for aspiring design professionals. The College started off as a magazine and later moved into a design agency. It then went on to develop into a school and now finally, a university. *

Chifley Business School Chifley Business School is an Australian postgraduate school established in 1989. Chifley is one of the longest-running independent higher education institutions in Australia, and has the country’s largest online learning MBA program. The school ...

- For over two decades, Chifley has provided business education across Australia and internationally through a range of postgraduate courses for those looking to pursue careers in resources, engineering, and information technology. * Media Design School - Media Design School was founded to provide trained graduates for digital and technological companies. * Real Madrid Graduate School (Universidad Europea) - The Real Madrid Graduate School was launched in 2006 to train in all disciplines related to sport. *

(or BMIHMS) - was opened in 1991 and focuses on hotel management education. It is number 1 in Oceania by subject 2019 according to

QS World University rankings ''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the ...

Hospitality and Leisure Management, and number 1 Hotel Management School in Australia and Asia-Pacific’s in 2020 according to Kantar. * Torrens University Language Centre (TULC) - The Torrens University Language Centre has been delivering English language programs in Australia for more than 20 years. Founded in 1995, the centre offers academic and general English courses to students from around the world. *

William Blue College of Hospitality Management William Blue College of Hospitality Management is an Australian private hospitality college that offers both tertiary education and vocational education and training. The college is a part of an education provider Torrens University Australia, its ...

- private hospitality college offering bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and diploma courses that specialise in tourism and hospitality management including work placement with industry partners.

Research institutes and centres

* The Centre of Artificial Intelligence Research and Optimisation (AIRO) focuses on cutting-edge research in two ground-breaking areas of science in the current century: Artificial Intelligence and Optimisation. * The Centre for Organisational Change and Agility (COCA) spans research topics from accounting, finance, global project management, global supply and value, leadership, business systems, commercial services, tourism, strategy, management and organisational behaviour. * The Centre for Healthy Futures (CHEF) aims to prevent and treat chronic diseases and improve individual wellbeing. Through research on environmental, lifestyle and economic factors that impact health and quality of life, and with a particular focus on health and wellbeing throughout the lifespan, this research also contributes to a better understanding of healthcare systems and the development of technology for both individual and whole of population health. * The Centre for Cardiopulmonary Health (CCPH) conducts multidisciplinary research to develop and apply innovative strategies to improve the heart and lung health of vulnerable individuals and communities; thereby improving and prolonging the quality of life of those affected and reducing the burden imposed by cardiopulmonary disease at the whole population level. * Public Health Information Development Unit (PHIDU) – Since its establishment with funding from the Australian Government in 1999, the PHIDU has been committed to providing information on a broad range of health and other determinants across the lifespan. Located at Torrens University Australia since November 2015, the emphasis continues to be on the publication of small area statistics. Since 2008, PHIDU has offered free online access to a range of data for researchers to reference.

Initiatives

On 2 April 2018, Torrens University Australia launched a free online course called "the Voices of Autism" to celebrate

World Autism Awareness Day World Autism Awareness Day is an internationally recognized day annually on April 2nd, encouraging Member States of the United Nations to take measures to raise awareness about autistic individuals throughout the world. It was designated by the ...

. In July 2021, Torrens University Australia launched another free online course, the Thin Ice VR short course. Co-designed by environmental scientist Tim Jarvis AM and lecturer James Calvert, it goes behind the scenes of the "Thin Ice"

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

production to teach about the creative technologies used to recreate

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

locations in realistic 3D. On 25 January 2022, Torrens University Australia launched a 9-part podcast series featuring researchers from Torrens University, who are working towards solving complex global problems and propelling innovation. The podcast was recorded across Australia and New Zealand. In February 2022, Torrens University launched the Sport for Good free online course that has been developed in collaboration with Australian soccer player and human rights activist

Craig Foster use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , nationality = , other_names = , siglum = , citizenship = , education = , ...

. It teaches how to facilitate and support the sporting industry’s role in promoting global good. It is delivered in four parts, each designed to emphasise the increased focus of the industry on a certain aspect of social responsibility.

Rankings

Torrens University Australia was not ranked by the QS or ''Times Higher Education'' global rankings in 2022. Torrens was ranked 40th out of 40 universities in Australia and 3,425 globally by UniRank as of 2019. It was ranked in ''

CEO Magazine A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of Corporate Executive, corporate executives charged with the management of an or ...

s 2022 Global MBA Rankings as number 27 in the world for online

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degrees. In the 2019 Student Experience Survey, Torrens University ranked twelfth in student satisfaction amongst all Australian universities, with an overall satisfaction rating of 80.4.

Notable people

Vice-chancellors

* Alwyn Louw (2020–present) *Justin Beilby (2015–2019) *Fred McDougall (2012–2015)

Chancellors

* Jim Varghese AM (2022-present) * Michael Mann AM (2012–2021)

President

* Linda Brown (2014–present)

Notable staff

* Darren Peters *

Victoria Pendergast Victoria "Tori" Pendergast (born 25 January 1991) is an Australian F58 athletics shot put competitor and LW12.1 classified Para-alpine skier. When she competed at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, she became Australia's first female ...

Anya Beyersdorf Anya Beyersdorf is an Australian actress-turned-writer/director born in Armidale, New South Wales. In 2014 she won an AWGIE Award - the Monte Miller Award for her screenplay Paradise at the Australian Writer's Guild Awards. In 2016, she was a ...

Notable alumni

* Golgol Mebrahtu *

Alex Wilkinson Alexander William Wilkinson (born 13 August 1984) is an Australian international football (soccer) player who plays as a central defender and is the captain for Sydney FC in the A-League. Wilkinson was born in Sydney and made his senior debut f ...

* Jonathon Giles *

Oscar McInerney Oscar McInerney (born 10 July 1994) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Brisbane with pick 37 in the 2017 rookie draft. He made his debut in ...

Paul Seedsman Paul Seedsman (born 22 January 1992) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by in the 2010 national draft, with pick 76, and traded to A ...

Hana Lowry Hana Ann Lowry (born 23 April 2003) is an Australian soccer player who plays for Perth Glory in the W-League. Early life Lowry grew up in Western Australia and was spotted as a talented junior. She was one of 5 Western Australian players in t ...

* Daniel Menzel * Mackenzie Arnold *

Caitlin Foord Caitlin Jade Foord (born 11 November 1994) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a forward for FA Women's Super League club Arsenal and the Australia national team, the Matildas. She became the youngest Australian to play ...

* Reilly O’Brien * Leah Kaslar * Casey Grice * Adam Vonthehoff * Matthew Duldig * Brent Reilley * John Haly * William Thomson * Jake Pettit-Young

References

{{authority control Educational institutions established in 2012 2012 establishments in Australia Universities in Australia Universities in Sydney Universities in Melbourne Universities in Brisbane Universities in Victoria (Australia) Universities in New South Wales Universities in Queensland Universities in South Australia