A government cash injection of $260 million for Canterbury University will not lure students away from the University of Otago, sciences pro-vice-chancellor Prof Keith Hunter says.
The comments come after Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce announced the funding boost this week as part of a campus-wide redevelopment programme at Canterbury University, expected to cost $1.1 billion over 10 years.
About $212 million of the Government money would go towards a new Canterbury Regional Science and Innovation Centre, scheduled for completion in 2017. Prof Hunter said he believed the investment in Canterbury University would not have a large impact on Otago University.
''I'm not worried about it. We are good friends with Canterbury and we collaborate a lot and I was pleased to hear the announcement for their sakes,'' he said.
Otago University was planning some large projects of its own and had some competitive advantages over Canterbury.
''We have always competed well. We are a bigger university, we have attractions that Canterbury doesn't have, like health sciences,'' he said.
The investment in Canterbury was good for science in the South Island, which could have suffered if nothing was done.
''The prospect that Canterbury might not recover, might not get investment, was worrying for the South Island, and I think this is a good thing.''
He believed the new facilities at Canterbury would help return its student numbers to pre-quake levels.
''I would think that once their facilities are restored they will probably go back to the catchments they normally get students from - the upper half of the South Island.''
