UNSW will spend $3.5bn on “buildings, equipment and high-tech platforms,” by 2025, with council approving a $3bn commitment Vice Chancellor Ian Jacobs has told staff.

Professor Jacobs briefed the university community yesterday on the research and teaching, community and construction programmes set out in a 70-page update of the university’s 2025 plan.

Work in 2017 “has involved an extraordinary effort by our professional and academic staff in every faculty, centre, and division. The scale and speed of change in 2017 was unprecedented and I realise how challenging this was for everyone,” Professor Jacobs said.

“We are now beginning to see the rewards of our effort, planning, and investment, and we will achieve much more over the next few years. … We will of course face challenges, both financial and practical, and there is no doubt that the role, efficiency, and effectiveness of universities in Australia is under serious scrutiny. At UNSW, we will stay true to the vision of the university as a servant of society and do our best to explain the critical importance of universities to Australia in the 21st century,” he told a mass meeting.