Stadio Begins Construction on New Durbanville Campus

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12-11-2024
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The Newspaper
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JSE-listed private higher education provider Stadio has broken ground on its new Durbanville campus, a significant addition to the Western Cape’s educational landscape. The campus, located in Cape Town’s rapidly growing northern suburbs, marks a major milestone in Stadio’s mission to broaden access to higher education. The first phase of construction is set to be completed by mid-2025, with the campus officially opening its doors to students for the 2026 academic year.

Expanding Access to Higher Education

Stadio’s Chief Executive Officer, Chris Vorster, announced that the Durbanville campus is part of the group’s strategic plan to accommodate 100,000 students in the near future. The vision is to serve 80% of students via distance learning while ensuring that 20% of students have access to on-campus, contact learning experiences. This means that Stadio is preparing to host 20,000 students across its various campuses, with the Durbanville site set to accommodate 4,000 to 5,000 contact learning students.

The new campus will focus on providing higher certificate qualifications, undergraduate degrees, and postgraduate programs across diverse fields such as education, IT, law, media, design, commerce, architecture, and engineering. According to Vorster, Stadio’s approach is to invest in a few large, comprehensive campuses rather than spreading resources thinly across multiple smaller sites.

Key Benefits for the Community and Students

The Durbanville campus will play a critical role in addressing the growing demand for tertiary education in the Western Cape. Vorster emphasized that this development is especially significant given the limited supply of higher education opportunities in the province. The new campus will not only serve students but also contribute to the local economy by creating jobs and driving development in Durbanville’s northern suburbs. This location was chosen for its proximity to the planned Cape Winelands Airport, enhancing accessibility and supporting economic growth in the area.

Key benefits include job creation and stimulating local economic growth in Durbanville’s expanding northern suburbs, reducing travel for students who would otherwise commute to universities in Stellenbosch or Cape Town, and providing access to student accommodation options and shared facilities. The campus will also feature a rugby field built to International Rugby Board standards, suitable for hosting international matches.

State-of-the-Art Facilities and Student Experience

The Durbanville campus will span 13,000 square meters of building space upon completion, with the first phase including access roads, academic blocks, lecture halls, and parking facilities set to be operational by mid-2025. In early 2026, a rugby field meeting international standards will be completed, enhancing the campus’s sports facilities. The campus will provide a full student experience with plans for student accommodation and recreational areas.

Stadio is working closely with developers to ensure that students have access to accommodation options and a range of amenities. There are also plans for an underpass between the Stadio campus and Curro Durbanville, allowing the institutions to share sports facilities and fostering a collaborative environment.

Innovative Initiatives for Student Engagement

In addition to offering a wide range of academic programs, Stadio is introducing the Stadio Khulisa Student Share Scheme, which allows graduates of its postgraduate programs to become shareholders upon graduation. This initiative aims to deepen student engagement and create a lasting connection between graduates and the institution.

Stadio’s new Durbanville campus will join the group’s existing locations in Bellville, Musgrave, Randburg, Hatfield, and Waterfall, increasing the number of physical campuses to seven. This expansion supports Stadio’s goal of creating a national network of private higher education institutions that can provide quality education and professional growth opportunities.