Industry-based reasearch university

Macquarie University is one step closer to its vision of becoming Australia's leading industry-based research university with the signing of a heads of agreement with global leader in implantable hearing solutions, Cochlear Limited, to move its headquarters from Lane Cove to a 26,000-square-metre international corporate and high-tech manufacturing facility on the campus by 2010.

Part of this vision is the development of Australia's first private teaching hospital on a university campus. This $150 million initiative will e the centrepiece of Macquarie's developments in medicine via the Australian School of Advanced Medicine. The university's goal is to develop about $1 billion of new research and teaching facilities jointly with industry over the next five years.

Macquarie Uni's research projects

Funding of $13.5 million from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council will allow Macquarie University's research teams to commence 40 new projects in 2008. The ARC funding also includes the funding for around a dozen new Fellowships.

The research topics include understanding how climate change will affect plant and animal species, and determining whether we are alone in the universe.

Celebrations in 2008

The University of Western Sydney celebrates the 10th year of the opening of its Parramatta campus, at Rydalmere, superseding its Westmead campus as a teaching site. Riverside Theatres celebrates its first20 years in 2008. Westmead Hospital is 50 years old this year. The Children's Medical Research Institute, at Westmead, prepares to celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Further back in history, Parramatta station commenced its role as a transport hub when the rail line reached the township 150 years ago, in 1858, and the line to Blacktown commenced. Parramatta was founded 220 years ago in 1788.