Bendigo Tech School is a flagship initiative of the Victorian Government’s Education State strategy. It aims to equip young Victorians in the Greater Bendigo LGA with competitive enterprise skills and capabilities. 

La Trobe University is the host of the Bendigo Tech School at its Flora Hill (Bendigo) campus. LTU operates and manages the Bendigo Tech School. The Bendigo Tech School is a high-tech learning environment, and its innovative education programs are linked with local industry to deliver real-world learning contexts.

The Bendigo Tech School style of learning is aimed at boosting STEAM skills, boosting student employability, improving student engagement, and influencing study and career choices. This will be achieved through collaboration with industry and community to address authentic real-world problems. Around 10,500 school students from 16 local secondary education providers across the Greater Bendigo LGA have access to the Bendigo Tech School.

Victoria’s Tech Schools provide high-tech, hands-on STEM programs to secondary school students in their local areas. Tech Schools are a dynamic, empowering environment where students can design their own solutions to real-world problems.

In 2014, the Victorian Government invested $128 million to create 10 Tech Schools across the state, each using leading-edge technology and innovation to prepare students to flourish in the rapidly changing global economy. The intial 10 Tech Schools are located in Ballarat, Banyule-Nillumbik, Bendigo, Casey, Geelong, Gippsland, Monash, Whittlesea, Wyndham, and the Yarra Ranges.

In 2023, the Victorian Government invested $116 million to build six new Tech Schools and establish a Clean Energy Equipment Fund. The six new Tech Schools will be in Brimbank, Dandenong, Frankston, Hume, Wangaratta and Warrnambool.

Tech Schools are part of Victoria’s STEM education centre network, which also include Science and Mathematics Specialist Centres, Knox Innovation, Opportunity and Sustainability Centre (KIOSC) and STEM Centre of Excellence.

We are a STEAM-based educational facility that supports our partner schools to access new technologies, innovative programs, professional development and teaching and learning strategies to assist the amazing work you already do in the classroom.

Through partnership with local industry, our STEAM based programs provide opportunities for students to use leading-edge technology. They are empowered through the Design Thinking Process to successfully solve realworld problems in a rapidly changing global economy.

We also introduce teachers to new pedagogies and ways to bring technology into the classroom. Our programs emphasise critical enterprise skills in addition to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) skills required for the 21st century.

To learn more about our programs, visit the Programs page.

Ongoing collaboration between local stakeholders ensures that the development and operation of each Tech School is driven by local knowledge, insight and needs – with a focus on skills and training for future jobs and industries.

Bendigo Tech School is uniquely positioned to equip students with knowledge and skills across industry sectors expected to provide strong economic and employment growth in the future, including:

• Medical Technology and Pharmaceuticals
• New Energy Technologies
• Food and Fibre
• Mining, Transport and Logistics
• Building and Construction
• Community and Professional Services
• Advanced Manufacturing

To learn more about each Industry Focus Area, visit the Industry page.