The cantonal government of the canton of Graubünden plans to invest 125 million Swiss francs in a new university centre for 1,700 students in Chur. If approved, the investment will be made up of 30 million francs from the federal government, 5 million from the sale of former HTW Chur land and 90 million from the canton.
Thanks to the choice of the Pulvermühle site, the project can be implemented quickly and cost effectively compared to other locations, according to a government communicationfor the cantonal parliament. The city of Chur is offering its portion of the site at a low interest rate in building legislation.
The aim is to bring together most of HTW Chur’s departments in one location to facilitate knowledge transfer and networking, and to boost technical and scientific disciplines.
Because it is difficult for companies in the region to attract engineers, IT specialists and other qualified professionals with a university degree, the centre will also seek to attract talent and fulfil education demands of the local economy and research institutes. Furthermore, by offering further education, it will strengthen the competitiveness of the canton’s companies.
The government hopes the cantonal parliament and the voting population will approve the building credit by 2022, which would allow the university centre to be constructed by 2025.
In June, the Swiss Accreditation Council gave the HTW Chur institutional accreditation as a university of applied sciences, which is a prerequisite for the independence it is seeking. It is currently part of the University of Applied Sciences of Eastern Switzerland.
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