History, Affiliations, and Rankings
The Government of South Australia accepted Laureate Education Asia's proposal to establish a private university in October 2011. Torrens University was commissioned as the 33rd institution and the country's first new university in 20 years. The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency certified Torrens University Australia in 2012. It was supposed to launch in 2013, but it only started teaching in 2014. Torrens University Australia was purchased by Strategic Education Inc. in 2020. This new partnership has resulted in a global network of over 100,000 learners. The uniRank has it placed 2864th in the globe and 40th in the nation.
Infrastructure, Campuses, and Courses
Torrens University will have campuses in four Australian cities, one in New Zealand, and one in China by 2021. It began teaching in 2014 at the Torrens Building in Adelaide's city centre, where it now has its headquarters. Its main campus is at Adelaide's Wakefield Street, on the historic site of the Menz biscuit factory. Breakout pods, chill-out zones, dedicated study rooms, hot-desking for both staff and students, open-plan classroom spaces, and more can be found on the main campus. Torrens University provides online and hybrid learning options in various courses at several locations, allowing working students to keep up with their studies. Torrens University is home to some of the world's most prominent business, public health, design, and creative technology, project management, hospitality education, and sports management programs.
Accomplishments and Alumni
To commemorate World Autism Awareness Day, Torrens University Australia released a free online course named "the Voices of Autism" on April 2, 2018. Torrens University Australia launched the Thin Ice VR short course, a free online course, in July 2021. It goes behind the scenes of the "Thin Ice" virtual reality production to teach about the creative techniques used to reproduce Antarctic settings in realistic 3D. It was co-designed by environmental scientist Tim Jarvis AM and lecturer James Calvert. Torrens University Australia released a nine-part podcast series on January 25, 2022, presenting Torrens University researchers who are trying to solve challenging global challenges and drive innovation. The audio for the podcast was captured in Australia and New Zealand. Some of the notable alumni of Torrens University are Marcus Chan – Founder, Venli Consulting Group, Ben Salter - Australian musician, Nathan Frost – Film Cinematography.
Student Diversity and Visiting Companies
Over 19,000 students from 115 different countries are now enrolled within the Torrens University network (which includes Media Design School and Think Education). This indicates that its student diversity is higher than the national average. Torrens University has soon become Australia's fastest-growing university, with 91% of students starting their careers within a year after graduation. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Torrens University's full-time employment rate for creative arts graduates was 52.2%, 60.3% for psychology graduates, and 60.6% for communications graduates in 2018. The institution works with a variety of major companies, including Accor Hotels, Bank of Melbourne, Allen Jack+Cottier, and others. Students from various fields of study are placed in well-paying jobs as a result of this.
