Edith Cowan University (ECU)

As ECU City welcomes a new generation of students into the heart of Perth, we're reflecting on some of the places that helped shape our journey... including Graylands Teachers College 🤍

Opened in 1955 in Mount Claremont, Graylands was WA's second teachers' college and played a vital role in training teachers during a period of rapid growth across our state.

The college was established on the site of former World War II army barracks, with classrooms and facilities converted from corrugated iron military huts that were only ever intended to last five years. Instead, they became home to aspiring teachers for almost 25 years, and developed a strong community spirit. Students even built their own outdoor amphitheatre, and many graduates went on to teach in schools throughout Western Australia.

In 1979, Graylands closed as part of major reforms to teacher education in WA. Its students, staff and resources were absorbed into Claremont, Churchlands and Mount Lawley Teachers Colleges, which later became part of the Western Australian College of Advanced Education and ultimately Edith Cowan University in 1991.

Today, little remains of the original campus, but its legacy lives on through the thousands of teachers it helped prepare, the archives preserved by ECU, and the memories of those who studied there.

Did you attend Graylands Teachers College, teach there, or know someone who did? We'd love to hear your stories and memories 👇📚

Source: Flickr (ECU Archives), Delphine Jamet (Streetkid Industries)

🚀 ECU is leading the groundbreaking IGNIS Mission, a landmark Australian–US collaboration with NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration and five other universities.

Through the IGNIS Mission Student Interns Program, 148 secondary school students from 26 schools have launched into an immersive STEM experience, helping to predict lightning-caused bushfires using cutting-edge space technology.

⛈️⚡ Lightning sparks hundreds of bushfires across WA every year, and IGNIS is tackling this challenge with real-time detection and advanced 3D imaging to improve early warnings for firefighters. Students will work alongside ECU academics, aerospace professionals, NASA scientists and Noongar Boodja Rangers. They will even help shape future space technology, including a CubeSat satellite designed to monitor lightning and fire patterns from orbit.

🤝 Thanks to our partners the University of New South Wales, the University of Adelaide, the University of Technology Sydney, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and the University of Newcastle.

💕 POV: You found your soulmate at uni.

Nikhil and Miksha met in 2020 while studying Accounting and Finance at ECU Joondalup. Now they are married! 🎊 👰🏾‍♀️🤵🏾‍♂️ 🎊

Please join us in congratulating them 🥂

📸 Instagram: nikhileraman

Exams are over, and Semester 1 is done! 🙌 🎉

We hope you take some time to relax and recharge over the break 🫶

One of ECU's values is courage 🫶 If you'd like some help, please reach out. Friendly staff at our Student Hubs can assist you with:

📚 Course information
✍🏽 Enrolment assistance
⏳ Applications for extensions
💗 Support services
➕ Lots more: https://s.ecu.edu.au/4tr3RrL

What a night for ECU City at the 2026 WA Architecture Awards 🎉

The project took home:
🏆 The George Temple Poole Award
🏆 The Hillson Beasley Award for Educational Architecture
🏆 The RJ Gus Ferguson Award for Urban Design
🏆 The Julius Elischer Award for Interior Architecture

We're so proud of everyone involved in bringing this project to life. From the start, it was essential for ECU City to be grounded in the stories and spirit of Whadjuk Noongar Country. A special thank you to Dr Richard Walley OAM for his guidance and collaboration in helping weave Noongar knowledge and perspectives throughout the project.

This project was the result of an incredible collective effort. Congratulations to the many architects, engineers and consultants involved from Lyons, Silver Thomas Hanley and Haworth Tompkins, to the ECU staff and the Multiplex-led construction team. Thank you for every contribution that has helped bring the campus of the future to life 👏

Celebrating a year since history was made on St George’s Terrace ✨

The bronze statue of Edith Cowan - trailblazer, changemaker and our namesake - stands proudly outside Anzac House, home to the Karrakatta Club she founded in 1894.

Made possible by Michael and Sandy Anghie, the statue is a powerful reminder of Edith’s legacy and lasting impact on our state, our students and the future.

📍 Edith Cowan Statue. St George's Terrace, Perth
👩‍🎨Sculptors: Joan Walsh Smith OAM and Charles Smith OAM
📸 Court McAllister

👋 Meet Max, an Exercise and Sports Science student at ECU, who’s making the most of life between uni, football and the DJ decks ⚽🎧

Originally from the Netherlands, Max came to ECU with a passion for sport, music and building community. After DJing at Birra Bar, he launched Tone Deaf, a student club for anyone interested in DJing, EDM and event production. Outside of study and music, Max represented ECU at the UniSport Nationals on the Gold Coast last year.

⭐️ Fun Fact: As a kid, Max dreamed of becoming a knight… until he realised the job prospects weren't exactly booming ⚔️

Max's advice for new students? Don’t spend all your time stressing about study. Find balance, build your social life and enjoy the uni experience too 🙌