Bond University
Bond University is Australia's first private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina, Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its opening on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teaching-focused higher education institution featuring a three-semester-per-year timetable. It is also famous for its legal education which ranks top 3 in Australia in terms of graduate employment rate.
The university is ranked #20 in the Times Higher Education rankings of the Best Small Universities in the World.
Admission is through Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre based on Australian Tertiary Admission Rank.
In the 2019 Student Experience Survey, Bond University recorded the third highest student satisfaction rating out of all Australian universities, and the highest student satisfaction rating out of all Queensland based universities, with an overall satisfaction rating of 87.2.
History
The university was established at the initiative of Alan Bond, the founder and Chairman of the Australian-based Bond Corporation, Harunori Takahashi, President of the Japanese-based Electronics and Industrial Enterprises International and a third silent partner, Dr Taro Tanioka. The university's development was funded via a 50:50 joint venture with Bond providing the land and Takahashi funding the construction of the buildings.The university's buildings and surrounding land initially covered approximately 212 hectares and encompassed what was previously a pine plantation known as the Burleigh Forest. In the 1970s, Bond had obtained control of a number of pine plantations in the region, previously owned by the Savoy Corporation Limited and Gold Coast Cooperative Plantations Society Limited, and established a new company known as the Development Equity Corporation to develop them.
DEC was managed by Brian Orr and, in 1976, Orr put forward a proposal to the Albert Shire Council for a university at Gaven Forest. While this project did not proceed, a subsequent proposal made in 1986 to build a university at Burleigh Forest did gain traction. Orr discussed the matter with Bond and Peter Beckwith and recruited Jo Anne Cracknell to research the feasibility of venture.
On 3 July 1986, Bond decided to proceed with the project and his intention to build the university, then known as the Bond University of Applied Technology, was formally announced at the National Party of Australia conference on the Gold Coast by the Premier of Queensland, Joh Bjelke-Petersen on 17 July 1986.
On 9 April 1987, the Parliament of Queensland granted Bond University university status via the passage of the Bond University Act. In 1989 the university commenced teaching with an initial intake of 322 students.
In 1991, EIE acquired Bond Corporation's share of the company that controlled the land on which the university buildings were constructed and the surrounding development lands following the collapse of Bond Corporation. By 1993, EIE was in receivership and the Bond University Council commenced negotiations to acquire the campus from the mortgagee, the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan.
The Bond University Council was not the only entity interested in the site which was advertised for sale in major newspapers. In 1995, the Employment, Education and Training References Committee of the Australian Senate undertook a report into the proposed sale of the campus to the University of Queensland which had outbid the Bond University Council in their earlier negotiations to acquire the site.
In August 1999, the Bond University Council was successful in securing the 50 acre campus site which was acquired by a newly formed public company known as Bond University Limited.
In 2019, the university celebrated its 30-year mark since it opened.
Campus and facilities
The Bond University campus features a series of Faculty sandstone buildings centred around man-made Lake Orr. The campus was conceived and developed by master planner Daryl Jackson of Jackson Architecture with significant input from Queensland architect Robin Gibson. The signature arch building was designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki.Students at Bond University have access to a number of academic, technological and recreational facilities.
Recent alterations to the campus facilities include:
- The re-designed Faculty of Law building, including the John and Alison Kearney Law Library, opened in January 2018, including a showcase moot court, the third at the independent Gold Coast university, and additional space for Bond's community law clinics, along with 10 new teaching spaces, a new reception and foyer, an open-plan lounge, a student hub and offices for the three main law student associations.
- The Balnaves Foundation Multimedia Learning Centre, named in honour of University benefactor, Dr Neil Balnaves, AO – a $3.4million technology-rich student facility opened in March 2010. In January 2017, a new Digital Media Hub was added to the facility, including a micro studio featuring a green screen, study lounge areas, and individual digital media workstations.
- Limitless, a sculpture by Gold Coast artist Ian Haggerty, was revealed at Bond University to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The artwork features the names of 26,727 students and one hidden message. Limitless sits under The Arch Building. It weighs 1.5 tonnes and the globe at the base is 1.5 meters in diameter.
- The Bond Institute of Health & Sport, a teaching and training facility located 4 km from the Bond University main campus, is composed of clinical skills rooms, simulation spaces, and specialised teaching rooms for allied health programs and research including occupational therapy, physiotherapy and nutrition and dietetics.
- The Legal Skills Centre, situated within the Faculty of Law, officially opened by Governor-General, Quentin Bryce AC, in March 2011. The Legal Skills Centre includes a full-scale electronic moot court.
- The ADCO Amphitheatre - an outdoor amphitheatre and Alumni Court sponsored by ADCO Constructions - opened in September 2009.
- The Macquarie Trading Room, opened by the Hon Anna Bligh in May 2007, providing students with a simulated trading environment in two industry-standard trading facilities, including live ticker screens and market data from 40 Bloomberg terminals, the most of any university in Australia.
- The Sports Centre is a new sporting facility measuring 2,700 sqm that opened in May 2016. The facilities available to students include a fully equipped gymnasium, 50 metre heated Olympic size swimming pool, group exercise classes, tennis courts, squash courts and beach volleyball courts.
- In 2008, the Bond University Sustainable Development Building was officially opened by the then Prime Minister Hon. Julia Gillard and was the first in Australia to achieve a 6 Star Green Star – Education PILOT Certified Rating for design by the Green Building Council of Australia.
- In 2006, the Prime Minister Hon. John Howard opened the then $20 million Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine building, housing lecture theatres, tutorial rooms, specialised clinical rooms and a suite of laboratories. In 2010, a new purpose-built anatomy laboratory was also added.
- The $16.2 million Soheil Abedian School of Architecture building was designed by Sir Peter Cook and Gavin Robotham from CRAB Studios in London and opened in October 2013. The building includes an innovative workshop and digital fabrication lab facilities.
Bond University offers private or shared accommodation on-campus and provides assistance for students seeking off-campus accommodation. The John and Alison Kearney Library services the University in two locations on campus, the Main Library and the Law Library. The Library is recognised as a highly customer-focused support service for the University community and external organisations.
Academic faculties
The university has four faculties to support both research and teaching activities.- Faculty of Business
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine
- Faculty of Society and Design
Academic profile
On the global stage, Bond University has been listed in the prestigious global top 20 universities in the Times Higher Education Rankings of the Best Small Universities in the World.
Sport
Sports teams in national and state-level competitions based at Bond include the Queensland Country team that plays in the National Rugby Championship, the Bond University Breakers rugby club that plays in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition, and the Bond University Bullsharks club that plays in the Queensland Football Association Division 1 competition.The Bond University Student Association assists with the University's participation in intervarsity sport on a regional and national level.
Bond University was named the overall champions at the 2011 Northern University Games in July 2011, and went on to be named Australian University Sport Per Capita Champions at the Australian University Games in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and most recently 2017.