Merging three of Western Australia’s public universities could provide an opportunity to deliver academic value and enhanced resources to the whole of the State, according to The University of Western Australia’s Vice-Chancellor.

Professor Amit Chakma said the State Government’s decision to evaluate the business case for bringing three universities together deserved serious and constructive consideration.

“Any merger must be supported by a compelling business case and deliver clear benefits for students, staff and the wider community,” Professor Chakma said.

“We must protect, preserve and enhance the student learning experience at our University regardless of which direction we follow.

“But we should not allow the complexity of change to diminish the scale of opportunity.”

Professor Chakma said Western Australia’s universities had served the State well over the past century.

“The question now is whether our current structure can deliver the scale, reach and research strength required for an increasingly competitive, knowledge-based global economy,” he said.

“Scale matters: it can bring researchers, infrastructure and investment together around the challenges that matter most to Western Australians.

“It can help improve health outcomes, lift agricultural productivity, protect our environment, add value to our mineral wealth and lead the industries that will define the coming decades.

“It can also help build the workforce our State needs.”

But it was vital that Western Australia’s prosperity should be shared across the vast State, he said.

“A university with greater scale could strengthen regional campuses across the State, while opening the door to a greater presence in places such as Karratha and Geraldton,” he said.

Professor Chakma said a merged university would build on the foundation that all WA universities had built through solid contributions to scholarship, teaching and research while aspiring to even greater achievements.