Universities are not all the same, and neither are the ecosystems they need to build

Australian universities are increasingly looking beyond the traditional “teach, graduate, goodbye” model. The opportunity is not just to replicate a startup hub or lease spare campus land. Each institution has a different mix of land, research capability, student profile, industry connections and financial capacity to act. Those differences materially change the real options, and therefore the strategy. 

Some Universities might seek to renew a backlog of ageing buildings or to activate underused parts of their campus. Others might seek to create space for industry partners to co-locate: the flow-on benefit of recruited graduates and research collaboration amongst other things is significant. In regions with strong health, advanced manufacturing or technology sectors, the model may be to bring together universities, hospitals, medical research institutes, government and private capital around a shared economic purpose. 

Ben Apted, our Senior Partner who leads much of our Precinct related work, believes that beginning with a strong intention is important.

“Are you a research ecosystem, an industry precinct, or an innovation precinct?” he asks as a fundamental question to many clients.  “How do you know? How are you measuring success related to progress? What’s missing and how might you close those gaps?”.

Ben recognises the culture of an academic institution is one of the key assets, also sometimes a key barrier, to enabling ecosystem growth and critical mass.  

The strongest international examples focus on retaining talent within an ecosystem, not simply producing graduates for someone else’s economy. Eindhoven’s Brainport region is one example: a dense network of high-tech businesses, research and education that gives engineering graduates reasons to build careers locally. The aim is not just employment after study, but sustained connection between talent, companies, research and the services growth businesses need. 

The same principle can be seen in university precincts that create room for founders, scale-ups, investors, mentors and specialist advisers alongside academic activity. These are not just coworking spaces. They are platforms for businesses to access research, recruit talent, develop partnerships and stay close to the institutions that helped create the capability in the first place. 

That is the shift from a Waypoint University to a Vortex University (referencing Mike Cohen’s initial thinking on this): one that does not see graduation as the end of the relationship. Instead, it keeps graduates, founders and growth companies connected to the campus and its wider region. 

For Australian universities, this will require more than a property transaction. It means being clear about the role each institution can play in its local economy, choosing partners that fit that ambition, and designing precincts around long-term value rather than short-term occupancy. 

This is place-based strategy in practice: using university assets not only to support teaching and research, but to build stronger, more resilient ecosystems around them.