Bond University has acquired the iconic Centre of Excellence Building located at 2 Promethean Way, Robina.
The Centre of Excellence is best known as the home of the Gold Coast's NRL team ‘the Titans’; however, the building has particular strategic value to Bond University given the strong health and sports science programs offered by the University and the adjacent location to the Robina health precinct, which includes Robina Hospital that already supports Bond medical students.
Bond University's Vice Chancellor Professor Tim Brailsford said that a stronger alliance with the hospital and related services was important.
"Bond has a relatively young medical program that is already being recognised for the quality of its graduates. We want our students to have even better access to clinical experiences and a modern hospital," said Professor Brailsford.
In addition, the University intends to focus on its exercise and sports science programs. From 2013, Bond will offer a Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science in addition to existing degree offerings in Biomedical Science and Physiotherapy.
The Head of the School of Health Sciences Professor Roger Hughes commented that the exercise and sports industry was dynamic and growing.
"Bond has had a proud tradition of offering industry-relevant degrees that lead to outstanding career opportunities. The field of exercise and sports science is developing quickly and Bond will be at the forefront of engaging with this industry," said Professor Hughes.
The connection to sports is an obvious one for Bond, which has a history of sporting excellence achievements through its student body as evidenced in Olympic and Commonwealth Games medallists.
Further, the University has established itself as a national leader in the area of scientific research in sports science.
Earlier this year, Bond led a successful bid for the establishment of a national Collaborative Research Network to be based at the University. The project received total funding of $14 million spread over three years involving various partners including the Australian Institute of Sport.
The University intends to occupy three of the six floors. The bottom two floors are currently occupied by the Titans and include a purpose-built high performance training facility. The University acknowledges that the state of the art facility was an attractor.
"The opportunity for our students to gain first-hand experience in a truly world-class sports training facility and study alongside high performance athletes was a significant driver of our decision. We believe that this is a world first," said Professor Brailsford.
The history of the Titans in the building presents an opportunity for the University to explore an exciting and unique relationship with a partner involved in high performance sport at the national level.
Bond intends to continue discussions with the new CEO of the Titans, which includes a likely re-naming of the building.