Bond University has broken ground on a major project to unite its Medicine and Business programs under one roof and deliver a Great Hall at the Robina campus.
The Connections Precinct will span 18,000 square metres – more than two football fields – and is scheduled for completion in mid-2027.
The expansion is being driven by strong growth in Bond’s Medical Program, with enrolment expected to top 1200 students within two years.
It is also an opportunity to foster closer collaboration between Business and Health as the ‘business of health’ becomes a major focus for society and governments.
Bond University Vice Chancellor and President Professor Tim Brailsford said the university was leading the way nationally by co-locating business and medical education in a single, integrated precinct.
“We believe that one of the emerging needs of modern health is how it deals with the business and cost side of operations and service delivery,” Professor Brailsford said.
“The health industry is becoming one of the dominant global industries.
By locating the business school alongside the medical school – something we believe is a national first – we aim to foster a cross-disciplinary approach between the two faculties.”
The precinct of three buildings will include a new anatomy lab twice the size of the current one, and 33 new clinical skills rooms to support Bond’s distinctive focus on clinical training.
Currently spread across three locations, the Bond Business School will be consolidated into a unified, custom-designed home within the precinct.
The Great Hall, capable of seating 1200 people, will serve as a venue for graduations, balls, and major community events that currently take place in the university’s indoor sports centre.
“A Great Hall was envisaged in the original master plan for the university way back in the 1980s,” Professor Brailsford said.
“It was always seen to be a central part of the campus that would complete the university as a whole.
“For various reasons that Great Hall was never built.
“We think it's time to build a Great Hall on this campus.”
The design of the Connections Precinct will incorporate the university’s signature sandstone inside and out, ensuring aesthetic harmony with the rest of the campus.
The project will be undertaken by ADCO Constructions which has a long partnership with the university.
It will also act as an evolving learning site for students studying construction management and related disciplines.
The university will add around 250 car parks as part of the work, while solar panels on the roof will generate 490kW of solar power – enough to power 50 homes.
Early earthworks are underway following the project’s approval by the University Council and the Gold Coast City Council.