Our Education, Science & Technology team joined university and industry leaders from across the globe at the TEFMA26 Annual Conference in Melbourne last week. As a proud Silver Partner of TEFMA, RP Infrastructure was proud to be the Day Sponsor on 14th September.
The informative and well-attended program created a valuable forum for universities and consultants to share knowledge, challenge current thinking and collaborate on solutions to the issues shaping tertiary education environments.
Dreaming tomorrow’s campuses today
This year’s theme, “Dreaming Tomorrow’s Campuses Today”, explored how people, property, processes and digital platforms can work together to create smarter, more sustainable and future-ready campuses.
Presentations and discussions considered campus transformation and master planning, space utilisation, capital works delivery, sustainability and resilience, adaptive reuse, student and staff experience, and digital and AI-enabled campus management. Together, these themes highlighted the need for campuses to respond to changing teaching, learning, research and operational requirements while delivering long-term value.
Translating campus ambitions into practical outcomes
The themes explored at TEFMA26 closely reflect the challenges universities are navigating across their campuses: how to make better use of existing assets, accommodate changing teaching and research needs, improve the student and staff experience, and deliver capital works within live operational environments.
At the University of New South Wales, a major refurbishment program is using adaptive reuse to transform more than 25,000 square metres of ageing and underutilised space into contemporary teaching and workplace environments. Coordinated planning, programming, procurement, risk management and stakeholder engagement are helping the University maintain campus operations while preparing for future growth.
Similarly, the Macquarie University 2IR Bio Innovation Hub demonstrates how early engagement with researchers and end users can translate specialist requirements into a clear delivery pathway. An integrated program brought together design, approvals, procurement, construction, commissioning and certification within a live research campus.
In Victoria, our ongoing work with RMIT and other tertiary education providers reflects a long-standing relationship supporting the renewal and adaptation of spaces across its campus portfolio. Our involvement has spanned a range of refurbishment, research, laboratory and teaching environments, helping RMIT respond to evolving needs while maintaining operations within busy, live campus settings. Through this continued program of work, we are supporting the University to make effective use of its existing assets and create contemporary spaces that support teaching, learning and research.
Together, these projects demonstrate the value of connecting long-term campus strategy with practical decisions about space, procurement, programming and delivery. This is central to creating adaptable, high-performing environments that support future ways of teaching, learning and research.
“The conversations at TEFMA26 reinforced that successful campus transformation is about more than long-term vision. It requires a clear pathway to delivery, informed by how people use spaces today and how teaching, learning and research will continue to evolve.”
– Jason Armstrong, Executive Director, Education, Science & Technology
Continuing the conversation
On Monday evening, we also co-hosted a successful client drinks event with our industry partner Arup. The event provided an opportunity to continue conversations from the conference, exchange perspectives and strengthen industry connections in a more informal setting.
Thank you to TEFMA for bringing the sector together, to Arup for co-hosting the evening event, and to everyone who connected with our team throughout TEFMA26.
Get in touch
Planning a campus transformation, new teaching or research facility, major refurbishment or adaptive reuse project?
Whether you are developing a long-term campus master plan, modernising existing spaces or delivering specialist education, science and technology infrastructure, our team can help you navigate the complexity from early planning through to delivery.
Reach out to Jason Armstrong to discuss your project or connect.
Jason Armstrong is an Executive Director at RP Infrastructure, based in Melbourne. He leads our Education, Science & Technology team, supporting the delivery of major projects across Australia.