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Planning for the future at Monash Berwick

12 October 2005

The Victorian Planning Minister, Mr Rob Hulls, yesterday launched the new Bachelor of Regional and Urban Planning, which will be offered at the Berwick campus from 2006.

From left: Chancellor Mr Jerry Ellis, Mr Rob Hulls, dean of the Faculty of Arts Professor Homer Le Grand, Associate Professor Heinz Kreutz, Member for Gembrook Ms Tammy Lobato MP, and pro-vice chancellor Professor Phillip Steele.

The new degree will have places for about 30 students in its first year and will address a significant shortage of suitably qualified planners throughout Australia.

Mr Hulls said urban and regional planning was an important field that needed more skilled professionals.

"Planners guide the future development of cities, regional towns and rural areas to produce built liveable, sustainable and economically prosperous environments for both the present and future," he said.

"This new course will help to address the challenges ahead, and Monash University is to be congratulated on this fantastic initiative."

Associate Professor Heinz Kreutz, associate dean of academic programs for the Arts faculty, said the idea for a planning course occurred to him earlier this year after he became aware of the frequent public attention on planning issues and the need for more professional planners.

"It's particularly appropriate that the course will be offered at Berwick, which has a strong community building focus and which was opened nearly a decade ago to service Victoria's largest growth corridor," he said.

"We're hoping to attract students of all backgrounds and interests. It will be very much a hands-on vocational course, as planning is about everything from environmental and heritage issues to sustainability -- it's a very complex and challenging area."

He said course coordinators would work with councils, communities and industry to develop an evolving curriculum that would equip graduates with the necessary skills for future employment and engage with changing community needs.

As part of the course, students would undertake internships with local government or planning bodies, as well as develop skills in problem definition, policy formulation and implementation, understanding of urban design principles, conflict resolution and research methods.