Students and community to benefit from veterinary campus expansion
The University of Melbourne has opened a new $63 million Learning and Teaching building and U-Vet Werribee Animal Hospital extension, strengthening its veterinary campus in Werribee.
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students will have access to world-class veterinary education in the new five-story, 6-Star Green Star building and the adjacent U-Vet Werribee Animal Hospital, one of Australia’s leading veterinary hospitals treating more than 25,000 animals each year.
The Werribee campus hosts approximately 500 students per week. Victorian Treasurer and Member for Werribee Tim Pallas opened the building today alongside University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Professor Duncan Maskell.
Professor Maskell said: “We are very excited about the new Learning and Teaching building and the U-Vet extension, which will become a hub for our students and for the broader community. Our veterinary students already have access to leading facilities on our Parkville campus, including the newly opened life sciences building. The expanded Werribee campus will provide even more learning experiences and opportunities.”
Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences Professor John Fazakerley said: “The new Learning and Teaching building provides our students with the facilities to study, learn and socialise in state-of-the-art teaching laboratories, classrooms and surgeries. It also provides break-out spaces, study niches and a library and creates a home in Melbourne’s west for our veterinary students.”
The building, designed by Billard Leece Partnership, provides students with cutting-edge technologies and equipment in purpose-built facilities, including specialised teaching, dry, dissection and clinical skills laboratories, a surgery teaching suite, a library, collaborative learning spaces and end-of-trip and recreational facilities. It will achieve a 6-Star Green Star rating, which demonstrates the University’s ongoing commitment to sustainability.
The U-Vet Werribee Animal Hospital extension provides treatment for pets with an enhanced experience for owners and hands-on clinical experience for veterinary students. The upgrade includes an intensive care unit and emergency ward, a new reception area with segregated waiting areas, additional consulting suites, a new cat ward, an exotic pet ward, student learning spaces, administrative offices and additional parking.
The campus redevelopment was undertaken in consultation with the Victorian Planning Authority and Wyndham City Council to align with the East Werribee Employment Precinct and the Health and Learning Precinct.