Sydney Science Park, at Luddenham and near the Badgerys Creek Airport site, could become an internationally recognised epicentre for science, research and development.
Located in the Western Sydney Priority Growth Area, 280 hectares of former paddocks will include the home of the first operational CSIRO Urban Living Lab and the first science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) school.
The world-acclaimed CSIRO plans to examine the connections between issues such as urban greening, energy efficiency, demands for water, community well-being and health and the impacts of technological advancements, all within a real urban environment.
This research will be utilised to answer questions around developing and renewing cities and urban spaces, and coming up with solutions to planet-wide issues like population growth and climate change.
The lab has already begun choosing which research topics to tackle.
Some of the ideas already floated include the development and application of different types of energy, smart water systems and other sustainable innovations that can respond to climate and population changes.
The Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta is expected to build the country’s first STEM-focused school on the site.
The 2000-student school, from pre-school to post Year 12, will draw on the collaboration and resources of businesses, research organisations, educational institutions and community groups within Sydney Science Park.
Students will learn how to code robots, liaise with NASA space stations and discover the latest in IT programming
Both projects will be undertaken in collaboration with Celestino, the development arm of privately-owned Australian company, the Baidia Group, based in Pendle Hill, which provides poultry products.
The $5B Sydney Science Park will be a fully integrated community, which, when complete is expected to employ over 12,000 staff, in mostly high-paying “smart” jobs, educate 10,000 students in key scientific and technological disciplines, provide more than 3000 homes, plus commercial and retail space.
“This not a science park as much as it is a science city,” the company’s website said.
“[Celestino] has been a strong voice of regional matters and been a positive advocate on transport, business and growth issues in Western Sydney,” said Christopher Brown, chairman of the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue, which has awarded the company the Western Sydney Leadership Award for Corporate Leadership.
