Community invited to join celebrations at USC Moreton Bay

It will be a historic day for the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) as it hosts a series of celebrations at its Moreton Bay Campus at Petrie on Saturday, April 2.

The community is invited to join in the celebrations, which include a sod turning for the campus expansion, the presentation of nine Moreton Bay Regional Council-sponsored equity scholarships, USC’s first graduation ceremony to be held in the region, and a family-friendly community event featuring live music and food trucks.

Campus expansion

Construction is set to begin on Stage Two of the campus expansion, with 80 invited guests attending the official sod turning.

The three new buildings will provide greater room for teaching, research, sporting activity and socialising.

The buildings will be located opposite the campus’s impressive foundation building, adding a further 12,500 square metres to the existing floor space of 16,000 square metres.

They are scheduled to open in early 2023.

USC Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Helen Bartlett said the expansion of USC Moreton Bay was worth celebrating.

“This is another important step towards creating a thriving innovation ecosystem at The Mill at Moreton Bay in partnership with the Moreton Bay Regional Council and industry,” Professor Bartlett said.

“We are creating an environment where university, industry and community can come together to solve problems and build opportunities. Together, we are realising the region’s vision for a bigger, bolder, brighter future.”

Architectural practice KIRK has designed the development.

Helping hand for Year 12 students

The sod turning ceremony will include the presentation of nine Moreton Bay Regional Council scholarships to Year 12 school-leavers from across the region who have just started studying at USC in degrees including Design, Education, Nursing Science and Psychology.

These equity scholarships, which are now available to students at both USC Moreton Bay and USC Caboolture, are each valued at $8,000 per year of study.

Heading out into the world

The university’s first graduation ceremony in the Moreton Bay Region will see 122 students cross the stage to receive degrees and certificates in front of a crowd of almost 500 people.

Graduates will include those who have completed degrees at USC’s Moreton Bay, Caboolture and South Bank campuses.

Live music and food trucks to conclude the evening

The festivities will conclude on Saturday night with a special event called Celebrate, which will be held from 5-8pm.

Visitors can enjoy live music, food trucks offering Asian cuisine, wood-fired pizza, donuts and Mexican street food, a licensed garden bar, and the opportunity to inspect the campus.

It will be the first large community event at the campus since its official opening two years ago.

It is a free ticketed event, so registrations are required.