Fairfield Connect: creating strong foundations to boost opportunity, build community for local residents

A welcoming presence located in the heart of Fairfield, Western Sydney University’s Fairfield Connect is busy building important connections and collaborations with locals – and laying the groundwork for a possible deeper educational partnership that is about improving educational access and outcomes.

For the past nine months, Fairfield Connect has embedded the University in the Fairfield community so it can explore the educational challenges facing locals first-hand as well as begin addressing their needs through community-informed initiatives.

Census data (ABS HEAP 2021) shows that Fairfield is a Local Government Area (LGA) where the highest level of education attainment rate is equal to the lowest in Sydney, and lags the national target for post-school qualifications.

Since opening its doors, Fairfield Connect has been enthusiastically embraced by the local community. It has welcomed more than 6,600 visitors, hosted more than 91 events and workshops, and engaged with more than 100 local community organisations.

It has also provided more than 2,000 hours of meeting and teaching room bookings for locals – a vital community resource, when you consider that Fairfield residents have very few local options available for accessing dedicated spaces for studying and connecting with academic support.

Professor Alphia Possamai-Inesedy, Pro Vice-Chancellor Student Success, said Fairfield Connect has been focused on listening to and working with the local community since it opened in May last year.

The types of programs it has piloted for the community cover a wide range of issues including navigating government services, community legal education, professional growth for refugees, migrants, and disadvantaged groups.

Just some of the activities include:

• Hosting regular meetings of the Fairfield Youth Workers Network (FYWN), featuring 20-40 local youth workers.
• NAIDOC Week Art Exhibition, involving students from 20 schools within the Cowpasture network, who created artwork inspired by influential Indigenous figures. Part of the launch event involved 80 educators and community organisations meeting to share and discuss strategies to better support Indigenous students and to share Indigenous culture across the community.
• Hosting the Fairfield Emerging Communities Action Partnership (FECAP) Interagency Network gatherings of 30-40 community support workers.
• Programs and information sessions tailored to address the unique needs of local refugee, migrant, and Pasifika communities.

Click on the image above to view gallery.

“We established Fairfield Connect first and foremost as a resource for the community – one where they can collaborate on initiatives that address the challenges that serve as a barrier to education,” said Professor Possamai-Inesedy.

“With a population of more than 209,000, Fairfield LGA is easily one of Sydney’s most vibrant, dynamic and diverse communities.

“Yet it faces significant challenges when it comes to the rates of higher education participation and attainment. This is compounded by various socio-economic factors as well as the growing digital divide across Western Sydney, which we know is a significant barrier to participation for many learners in socio-economically disadvantaged communities,” said Professor Possamai-Inesedy.

“Fairfield’s highest level of education attainment rate is equal to the lowest in Sydney, with only 11 per cent of the resident population with a bachelor’s degree or higher. Its population is also one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse, with more than half of residents born overseas and just over 69 per cent using a language other than English at home.

“Fairfield has a long history of supporting refugees and humanitarian entrants, with refugees and humanitarian status residents accounting for 7.8 per cent of the population. These individuals face even more acute challenges, including trauma, disrupted education, and language barriers, which can hinder their ability to access and succeed in tertiary education.”

Professor Possamai-Inesedy says Fairfield Connect has established partnerships with a range of organisations and community groups to further support the LGA’s vulnerable populations.

These include local councils, schools, businesses, and service providers such as Legal Aid, STARTTS (Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors), Services Australia, and APEN (the Australian Pasifika Educators Network).

“Fairfield Connect brings together universities, government and diverse community partners. It is a dynamic resource that can foster not only education and career development, but also helping to contribute to broader social cohesion, inclusion and community development,” she said.

“This strongly aligns with Western Sydney University’s own mission to support and uplift our local communities through education and create pathways to success for all.”

While it important to note that Fairfield Connect is not operating as a Suburban University Study Hub, the University has laid important groundwork for any potential future Suburban University Study Hub for Fairfield should it be successful, according to Vice-Chancellor, Distinguished Professor George Williams AO.

“As Vice-Chancellor of Western Sydney University, I am proud to lead an institution firmly committed to expanding equitable access to higher education and addressing the unique challenges faced by underrepresented communities in our region. From its inception, this University has prioritised service and engagement, with a proud legacy of supporting and empowering the people of Western Sydney,” he said.

“In May 2024, we took a significant step to deepen our understanding of local education needs by opening Fairfield Connect in the Fairfield LGA. Our aspiration is for this site to evolve into a Suburban University Study Hub under the Federal Government’s framework – an initiative that holds tremendous potential to address enduring socio-economic and educational barriers in Fairfield.

“Although this proposed Study Hub will build on this foundational work of Fairfield Connect, it will be a new initiative that will operate as a distinct entity aligned with the federal government’s criteria and governance structure.

“The expectation is that it will welcome students from all publicly-funded tertiary education providers, ensuring that it remains provider-agnostic, comprehensive, and inclusive.

“Western Sydney University stands ready to leverage its expertise, resources, and partnerships to guarantee the success of this initiative, which we believe can serve as a scalable model for alleviating educational disparities in suburban and metropolitan communities nationwide.”

ENDS

23 January 2025

Amanda Whibley, Manager, Media and Public Relations.