VU funding priorities

Opportunities through scholarships

VU's scholarships program helps remove barriers to education for students who may otherwise not have the chance to opportunity to study.

The following programs receive funding through donations:

• VU Achievement Scholarships, offered to the highest-achieving students from secondary schools in the western region (based on internal school ranking rather than ATAR)
• Sport scholarships, which help outstanding athletes balance study with the demands of elite-level sport
• The Kirner Kosky Scholarship Fund, which supports students from Melbourne's west
• The East Timor Scholarship Fund, enabling selected Timorese students to access VU education programs.

Find out more about VU's full range of scholarships on scholarships page,

Enhancing research capabilities

VU's research informs teaching and learning, enhances the student experience, and can be applied to benefit industry and communities around Australia and overseas.

In Melbourne's west, in particular, we are actively engaged in programs to enhance education and wellbeing across the community.

Building a healthy west

The people of Melbourne's west face greater health and education challenges, for a variety of - often interrelated - reasons.

As the only university in the region, VU has a crucial role to play in undertaking interventions, developing effective partnerships and influencing policy to help overcome these challenges.

We are actively engaged in research and collaborative programs to improve wellbeing in the west.

With your support we can meet the goals of these programs.

Research institutes and centres

VU has a number of leading research programs across a range of important areas. Our research programs are support by several leading Australian research institutes.

They include:

• the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management (CCDPM)
• the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL)
• the Mitchell Institute for Education Policy at Victoria University

Enhancing the student experience

Gifts help fund real-world learning experiences and state-of-the-art facilities that provide unique opportunities for VU students to excel.

SWiRL

The Story Writing in Remote Locations (SWiRL) program selects up to 20 Bachelor of Education and Master of Teaching students a year for a placement in remote Indigenous communities. They help Indigenous children create books from their own experiences and cultures. The children keep a copy of any book they create, and a copy is put in their school library.

To mark the program’s 21st anniversary and VU’s centenary, the College decided to also take SWiRL to an international location. Thirteen Bachelor of Education preservice teachers travelled to India in February with lecturers, Associate Professor Marcelle Cacciattolo, Lawry Mahon and Dr Vijay Thalathoti for the three-week literature program.

A thriving law hub in the CBD

VU is the proud owner of one of Victoria’s most highly-regarded heritage buildings, the Land Titles Office on Queen Street.

Sadly, this much-loved building has been in a state of disrepair and largely unused for many years, due to the challenges involved in its refurbishment.

The refurbished Land Titles Office will sit proudly beside the already refurbished iconic Public Records Office. Together they will house our College of Law and Justice and the highly-regarded Sir Zelman Cowen Centre. It will once again be a landmark building for the City of Melbourne.

A range of teaching and industry spaces will be created. They will reflect contemporary education practices by accommodating a mix of teaching modes: flexible, collaborative, discursive, traditional lecture style and project-based group work.

Improving education and health in Melbourne's west

We have a big problem right now on our doorstep. The people living in Melbourne's west face considerable health and educational challenges.

Lack of a healthy lifestyle can compound into poor health and poor learning outcomes which become generational.

Communities in the west suffer a higher rate than other parts of Australia of chronic disease such as:

• cardiovascular disease
• cancer
• diabetes
• obesity
• mental illness.

Many people from the region also come from culturally and linguistically diverse communities that are at greater risk of developing chronic disease. A large number are also affected by low socioeconomic standing.

As the only university in Melbourne's west, VU has a crucial role to play in undertaking interventions, developing effective partnerships and influencing policy to help overcome these challenges.

Through research initiative such as the Growing Brimbank Collaboration - a joint enterprise with Brimbank City Council - we are working to implement programs that overcome these issues.

Download our Building a Healthy West brochure for more details on how we’re working to enhance wellbeing in Melbourne’s west.

Contact us

For more information on making a donation please contact the Advancement Office by phoning +61 3 9919 1014 or email advancement@vu.edu.au.