Adelaide University leaders are visiting Whyalla and Mount Gambier campuses and meeting with regional government and industry leaders, ahead of the new institution opening in 2026.
Co-Vice Chancellors Professor David Lloyd and Professor Peter Høj AC are leading the delegation to connect with local community leaders, staff and students.
“The University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide have been an important part of the Whyalla and Mount Gambier communities and surrounding areas for decades,” Profs Lloyd and Høj say.
With campuses at Whyalla, Mount Gambier and Roseworthy, the founding universities’ strong interconnectivity across South Australia spans collaborative research projects, regional university study hubs, health clinics, community activities, together with teaching, enrichment and placement programs.
“Our regional partners provide critical knowledge and opportunities to inform our teaching, research and community engagement,” Profs Lloyd and Høj say.
“They work closely with us across many areas – advising on local skills, student and community needs; collaborating on research and work placements; and providing work for students and graduates. Many teach at our regional campuses.
“Adelaide University will continue to partner with the communities we serve as we aspire to become Australia’s most connected university – an engine for innovation, economic development and social cohesion.
“As the new University takes its shape in the regions from January and works towards expanding local offerings over time, these relationships will be more important than ever.”
The delegation includes Adelaide University’s Provost and Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Joanne Cys, and Deputy Vice Chancellors for International and External Engagement, Professor Jessica Gallagher, and for Student Experience and Success, Tom Steer.
The visits follow the launch in February of Adelaide University’s 400-plus program suite. Degrees currently on offer at Whyalla and Mount Gambier include long standing teaching, social work and nursing programs, and allied health offerings recently introduced to Whyalla.
These won’t change for 2026, however they’ve been further uplifted in line with the University’s ambition to deliver Australia’s most accessible, contemporary and future-focused teaching and learning experience. This includes increased flexibility to support diverse learners, and academic preparation programs to assist the transition to university.
Adelaide University will incorporate and build on pathway programs offered by its founding institutions. These include UniSA’s Foundation Studies (offered fee-free at Whyalla and Mount Gambier) and Aboriginal Pathway Program (also offered fee-free at Mount Gambier, Whyalla, Port Lincoln and Ceduna); and the University of Adelaide’s Children’s University, which fosters a love of learning in primary school-aged children and operates in several SA locations including Whyalla and Mount Gambier.
In addition to a great range of offerings on campus, regional students can also access all of Adelaide University’s large range of 100% online degrees that will incorporate the expertise of both founding universities – including a fee-free foundation program.
“Adelaide University’s transformative curriculum has been co-designed with thousands of academics, teaching innovation experts and industry employers, so our graduates will be prepared for the future.” Profs Lloyd and Høj say.
“It doesn’t matter if they’re studying in the regions, learning online or attending city campuses, all of our students will belong to a new, differentiated Group of Eight (Go8) university and will benefit from our transformative curriculum and highly relevant common core courses in areas such as artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship and First Nations knowledges.”
Adelaide University students will learn within a cutting-edge curriculum model that incorporates face-to-face learning, expanded work integrated and practical learning opportunities, and a sector-leading digital learning platform.
Adelaide University will be the second largest educator nationally of students from low socio-economic backgrounds.
“We’re encouraging regional students to explore our range of domestic scholarships, which include options for people who are experiencing financial barriers to university or live in rural or remote locations,” Profs Lloyd and Høj say.
“We want to nurture local talent, including supporting students to study where they live. We’ll empower them with a world-class education so they can follow their dreams – whether that’s staying and contributing to their community or taking their career anywhere in the world.”
The Whyalla visit is taking place today, the Mount Gambier visit will take place on Monday 14 April.
Adelaide University teams have also visited schools across regional South Australia in recent weeks.
Quotes from regional stakeholders:
Whyalla Mayor, Phill Stone:
“Whyalla has been fortunate to have had a UniSA campus, for almost 30 years. This has been a critical resource in offering the ability for local students to undertake regional tertiary education without always having to leave their home to follow their dreams.
“The transformation to Adelaide University continues the evolution of our city’s university, a campus that has constantly responded to local needs by offering courses that are in high demand in the workplace, supported by facilities that have expanded and developed to support learning.
“Students have experienced flexible and quality teaching with practical learning opportunities, tailored support services and strong community connections, and these benefits that will only grow under the umbrella of the new university and its aims for educational equity, access and excellence.”
Zieco Skeldon, CEO of Country & Outback Health (Whyalla):
“Country & Outback Health has long partnered with UniSA to provide student placements in podiatry, social work, and nursing—showcasing our beautiful regional areas to city-based students who may not have otherwise had the chance to experience life in country South Australia, while also giving local students the opportunity to undertake placements close to home.
“I believe the merger of UniSA and the University of Adelaide will also strengthen research collaboration. By combining the strengths of both institutions, the new Adelaide University creates a powerful platform for research excellence, building upon the impactful work already taking place in our regions.
“Country & Outback Health looks forward to continuing our collaboration with Adelaide University to support more regional students and grow the future health workforce across country South Australia.”
Mount Gambier Mayor, Lynette Martin:
“The merger of the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia will create one of the largest tertiary education providers in the nation. It has the potential to strengthen the local delivery of tertiary education programs, further advancing Mount Gambier as a ‘university city’.
“UniSA is very important to Mount Gambier and the region. Our city has lower levels of school and post-school attainment compared with South Australia as a whole, and the region has a significantly lower proportion of the adult population with bachelor’s degrees or higher (10.9 per cent, compared with 22.4 per cent for South Australia as a whole). The course offerings at the Mount Gambier campus are crucial to enable students who wish to stay in our city with the opportunity to attend university and apply their professional skills in our local community following graduation.”
Tammy Auld, Regional Manager Green Triangle, Timberlands Pacific (Mount Gambier):
“The forest industry has been rewarded by working closely with UniSA to help solve some of the challenges we are facing, or are likely to face, in the future. The forest products supply chain and forest growing and management is quite unique and UniSA has been instrumental in allowing us to draw on multiple disciplines and gain access to experts in the fields of AI and data analytics, water management and modelling, engineering and science.
“UniSA has been a critical component in supporting the industry and government in delivering on forest research needs and commitments.
“Research can be complex, particularly in relation to funding streams which has been simplified by having UniSA involved. Collaboration between industry, State and Commonwealth Government and universities is critical in ensuring we remain innovative and prepared for the future, and it has been rewarding to work with personnel at UniSA who have been happy to apply their experience and knowledge from other industries to the forest industry with great insight. We look forward to this engagement expanding further with the transformation to Adelaide University.”
Further enquiries
For more information, visit: adelaideuni.edu.au/study
