The Hub is a modern studying environment equipped with technology, collaborative study spaces and…read moresome pretty cool study rooms. Level 4, the level you enter when you walk in, has a range of cafes and places to buy food. These outlets are great catering for everything from Chinese food to baguettes, coffee, snacks and everything in between. Level 3, is where the main facilities are though. There are quite a few desks and benches and couches. You are allowed to rearrange the furniture as you wish and there are quite a few Macs and PC's around the place. You can also quickly hop across to the Barr Smith library on this level too as the two buildings are connected. Whilst being a great open plan study environment and a must go for university students, it does have a few issues that I am sure will be improved over the coming years. The first of which is the fact that it is borderline impossible to find a place to sit between 10am and 2pm each day as the place is packed. On quite a few occasions, I have had to venture down two flights of stairs to level 1 of the Barr Smith Library to get a spot to study. The toilets are also far from numerous too. While there is a decent sized one on level 4, level 3 houses only one male toilet with a small urinal and a small cubicle. More often than not, I find myself having to go upstairs or downstairs as the toilet is usually occupied. Also power points can be an issue. While there are quite a few outlets, the places where they are present tend to go first. If you need to charge your devices and the hub is busy, then level 1 of the Barr Smith Library is probably your best bet. A really good thing about this place is the fact it houses the Writing Centre and Maths Learning Centre. These services are free and can be used by students to help get feedback on essays or to get support with mathematics. The two centers are on level 3 and are open 10am - 4pm Monday to Friday, If you have to study at night or on the weekend, you can access the hub 24/7 during the year (except for during the summer holidays, Christmas and New Year's Day) by using your student card. I went here on the Good Friday public holiday to finish an assignment. All in all, this place is great for individual study and collaborative learning, it just is very busy and could perhaps do with being slightly larger.

I'm skeptical about universities at the best of times. So when I heard Adelaide Uni was building a…read more'learning hub', I was even more skeptical. Oh great, a big room with lots of weird shaped cushions and good wireless. And there is that, but there is some other really useful stuff too. Adelaide Uni developed the design through student consultation processes, which is perhaps why it is actually so useful. It seems to be part of their attempt to become tangibly more 'up to date' - it's a futuristic learning centre right in the middle of a historic sandstone campus. It certainly makes me sniff a little at UniSA's City West campus. So what is in the hub? A whole bunch of green grass blocks and Space Odyssey furniture - relaxed study spots, special booths for group work that have AV facilities, 200+ computers, printers (you can print from your laptop which you can't do at UniSA if you have a Mac), lockers, skype booths, a maths and writing learning centre, student kitchens (THAT is a good idea), cafes, a post office.... During the year it seems to be populated by students either making out, sleeping or actually studying. I'm pleasantly surprised though - it doesn't feel like a big fat flop, it feels genuinely useful!

Yes, I know its hard to believe that in my spare time I like to do some old school nerding about…read moreand this is one of the places I like to do it. Aside from being used for a range of boring university lectures, The Hawke Centre houses both the Samstag and Kerry Packer Gallery, Prime Ministerial Library and a range of "lecture series" throughout the year. If you want to feel intelligent, opinionated and internationally switched on this is the place to be. I admire the programming at the Kerry Packer Gallery with previous exhibitions including that of Hutt St Centre clients, indigenous artists and internationally renowned photographic exhibitions. It's a small gallery too so you don't suffer from art gallery fatigue by the end of the exhibition. And the Hawke Centre Public Program has to be one of my favourite series of events hosted in the main lecture theatre here. From topics like "Has South Australia given up on heritage?" to debates on the Israel Palestine conflict and discussions about newDemocracy and refugee rights - these things make me [insert The Professor from The Simpsons noise here]. You don't have to be a nerd to feel welcomed and challenged here. Some of the most complex topics are dealt with in an incredible accessible way and in lamen's terms. What is amazing is that everything held in this center is free. Just visit their website and sign up to the mailing list to find out what's on every year and get ready to nerd out!

Fantastic school, I graduated in 1997 and I attended there from years 8 to 12. I would recommend…read morethis school to everyone. Brilliant school.

The Adelaide College of the Arts is many things to many people. It houses a couple of theatres that…read moreare used as schoolrooms to teach technical production to students as well as provide acting students an opportunity to perform in a state of the art venue; it also provides this experience to the dance students who get a degree in dance at the college. The theatres are also for hire at different times of the year, particularly during the Adelaide Fringe Festival and that's when any number of theatre companies may be appearing in public seasons of plays, stand up comedy or dance. The facility houses galleries where exhibitions are constantly featuring work by graduates of the variety of courses on offer at the school including print making, jewellery and sculpture. Most often the work is available for sale. The large foyer area hosts small scale exhibitions of work related to student productions and there are many opportunities to purchase work by students and view productions by students. One of the best things for the public is the cafe housed in the foyer where you can get a coffee or other beverage, a muffin, a wrap or toasted sandwich and sit at one of the indoor or outdoor tables and relax for a while watching the creative types come and go. Outside there is a small but rather beautiful cactus garden bed, and inside on the last Tuesday of each month a poetry reading is held free of charge between 1 - 2 PM, so there is often something to listen to as well as watch. Music usually plays in the foyer area as well. AC Arts is transitioning into an independent business and encourages the public to use the cafe facilities and attend the exhibitions and poetry readings on site. Always an interesting place to meet for a drink in the city and who knows, you may just bump into the next Picasso, Cate Blanchett or Judy Davis!

It's always a fun art exhibition opening to go to. Packed full of people creating an excited buzz,…read morevariety of artwork, abundance of artwork and some lovely Fox Creek wine to accompany it. Tonight was a graduate exhibition and I love those as there are always proud parents and other supporters of the emerging artists there, which creates some sentimental moments if you're people watching! Penny Griggs, SALA CEO gave a warm and wonderful speech. One tip is to collect the booklet as well as the listing of works. In the booklet all the artists are featured, which makes a great reference for following the up and comers as they grow and develop and exhibit in future shows.

We were fortunate to be invited to a buffet luncheon at Salford College Commercial Cookery School…read more It was outstanding.The students were friendly and delightfully efficient. They prepared and presented the food well, with a huge choice of mouth watering dishes. A lovely dessert choice followed which was received with delight. To end, coffee and a kitchen tour with their friendly chef. It seemed a great place to learn.

22/12/2011 5 photos Before I start, I'd just like to mention…read morethat it was a very happy day indeed when I graduated from the University of South Australia in December 2010. Whew! I did it! Anyway back to what happened here...... So we both went to UniSA City East Campus after coffee last Thursday morning, with my best friend, and I would say my experience here was quick and fun! In the sense that I was just cruising everytime I come here. I really like the modern layout I really like doing a professional degree that leads to employment I really like the really friendly staff I really like the speed of service I really like the computer facilities I really like the available resources and support I really like the care taken by all of the staff to assure our time from start to finish was as low-stress as possible And mostly, I was happy that we both walked out, each with one degree, two references for our job hunt, new student IDs, several new friends for life, and 9-12 months later - new job offers!) without forking over any money (well except for the large HECS debt owed to the Australian Government, of course). I've learnt that at other Universities in Adelaide, it can be much harder to obtain any of these. My conclusion? Well, one big reason I got this job and other awesome jobs is because of the course I finished at UniSA. So the hard work definitely paid off in the long run. If the other big Universities in Adelaide aren't working out for you, I highly recommend you to try UniSA!

I took one subject at the UniSA city east campus while I was at university…read more The city east campus is quite nice, and fairly modern for the most part glass and steel. It merges almost seamlessly with the Adelaide University campus next door at which undertook my primary studies. Whilst certainly not as cool as its City West counterpart, it has good facilities, including a gym, grassed area and couple of cafeterias.

As a UniSA alumnus it hurts me to say it, but I agree with a lot of what Chloe points out…read more My main campus was Magill but every now and then I would pop into City West for a tute/ shoot/ book/ computer lab/ library raid. A few things immediately stick out: - The lack of greenery. Sure it's in the CBD but would it be too hard to rustle up a few palm trees and some bushes? - The lack of places to hang. The courtyards are small and personality-less. No one was ever really just chilling and there were seldom any events on. Campus culture? Yeah...no. - That shade of mustard! Too much mustard guys. - The monotonous design of the buildings. Because everything looks the same, as someone who doesn't visit the campus on a super regular basis, it's WAY easy to get lost. I'm coming off as a bit of a complainer here but it's only because I LOVE YOU GUYS AND WANT TO HELP. And there are some good points too! On the upside, you could always grab a computer. The labs have great facilities. The newish building which houses the photography department is rad and has spectacular views. Unibooks ftw! And the Samstag Gallery is clearly amazing.

There are some great things on this campus. The SASA Gallery, the Samstag Gallery, the excellent…read morelibrary and the Unibooks store are just a few. There are plenty of computers too which is great. However the big thing lacking on this campus is pleasant social spaces. Unfortunately it is a bit cramped so the courtyards where UniSA attempt to hold student social events are often fairly inappropriate - too close to the study and learning spaces. They play loud music like you're in a nightclub and give away sausages. I like sausages, but the music seems pretty out of place, especially when I can hear it loudly in the library. UniSA have a fair way to go in improving their campus culture. The lack of green spaces on the City West campus is a big problem. Most of the social spaces lack the pleasant vibe you get on campus at the Adelaide Uni for example. There is no equivalent of the lovely Barr Smith lawns, and unfortunately we aren't as close to the nicest part of the Torrens. The social events often come off as lacking - too loud and uninviting, and a bit token. I studied Visual Art at UniSA, and I would recommend a rethink for anyone thinking enrolling here. Unfortunately the art school has gone downhill in recent years, and I feel this is due to a lack of respect paid to it by the wider university. There is often staff cuts, and tutors don't get paid to go to lectures so the courses often feel quite disconnected. There seems to be a lean towards overworking fulltime staff so they don't have to employ the valuable sessional staff necessary. Every year things seem to get a bit worse in the Visual Arts degree. The DB building in which most visual arts courses take place is a good start, but there are some pretty gaping problems. There is a beautiful balcony on level seven which no one can use without getting a lecturer to unlock it. The sun coming through the glass roof on level seven causes the heat to be very extreme in summer. The sculpture studios are cramped and without the greatest resources - despite some of the best work coming out of this department. The program as a whole doesn't have the high level of respect it used to, and there seems to be a level of resentment developing in the local arts community. There are some degrees that are excellent at the University of South Australia, but the university as a whole has some way to come.