Students from Years 7-12 are embracing the power of design thinking, entrepreneurship and innovation to create a brighter future, with the opening of their two-storey, state-of-the-art Infinity Centre at Matthew Flinders Anglican College on the Sunshine Coast in January 2024.
New College Principal Ms Michelle Carroll said Flinders was proud to launch a world-class learning facility, purposefully designed to challenge, inspire and support students to excel in a future workforce.
Students will work across a range of disciplines, including Visual Art, Design and Technologies, Digital Technologies and Business.
The Infinity Centre is the culminating project in a suite of new learning facilities developed through the College’s five-year Masterplan - along with the new Year 7 Precinct, the Flagship Centre for Years 5 and 6 students and the Wonderarium learning centre in the Primary School.
Flinders will commence a new 15-year Masterplan to enhance the campus for future learners.
Ms Carroll said, “There’s no doubt our new Infinity Centre is an awe-inspiring facility that is exciting to walk through, let alone to teach and learn in!”
“It has been delightful to see our students’ excitement - for some, even disbelief - as they enter the Infinity Centre for the first time and comprehend that these wondrous spaces are their new classrooms, maker spaces, pitching rooms and exhibition spaces,” she said.
“Yet what is truly extraordinary about this facility is the value it places on supporting students through the design thinking process, so that they can grapple with and solve complex real world problems.
“The Infinity Centre has dedicated spaces and technology with top quality resources, tools and equipment to enable enquiry and ideation, collaboration, prototyping and testing, as well as presentation.
“Future employers will expect employees to possess deep knowledge and skills as well as strong 21st century skills, so it’s important our students learn how to understand users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems, collaborate and create innovative solutions to prototype and test.”
The Infinity Centre features 1 art gallery, 1 pitching space, 4 co-working laboratories, 1 Virtual Reality and robotics room, 5 design studios, three tech labs, 1 cleantech space, 2 food laboratories, 2 workshop spaces and multiple storerooms.
There are also reading nooks with well-stocked bookshelves and comfy chairs overlooking the rainforest.
Outside, the beautifully landscaped gardens and seating zones are for students to gather and relax at break times, while the open stage and exhibition areas are an opportunity to present student creations, whether for art exhibitions, dramatic performances, music concerts, community events or fundraisers.
It's also a fabulous facility to host special events, with our guests enjoying a delicious morning tea celebration on Tuesday, 30 January following the Commissioning Service to officially induct Ms Carroll as Flinders' new Principal - the fifth Principal since foundation in 1990. Learn more here.
