Take a look inside our EIP

From the outside, JCU’s Engineering and Innovation Place (EIP) is awe-inspiring and captivating.

It’s a $100 million state-of-the-art facility located on JCU’s Bebegu Yumba campus in Townsville, and it's designed to fuel creativity, collaboration and hands-on learning.

The EIP is a shared, cross-disciplinary facility that is used by students studying Engineering, Science, IT and other subject areas.

It’s also a crucial space for research at JCU, and is used by honours, masters and PhD students.

So, what’s actually inside the EIP? Let us give you a rundown of some key spaces located within the four-storey, 9.4m² facility.

The Multi-Modal Studio is a flexible, large-group teaching space designed to support collaborative learning.

The space can be adapted depending on the task, and can shift between presentations, workshops and interactive sessions.

It’s also used for events and conferences, bringing students, staff and industry together in one shared environment.

Unlike a traditional lecture theatre, the focus isn’t on sitting and listening. The space is designed so students can engage, work in teams, and apply what they have learned.

The Structures Lab is where designs are pushed to their limits.

At its centre is a reaction floor, which is a pre-stressed concrete slab built to handle extreme forces. Students and researchers can bolt structures directly into the floor to test how materials perform under pressure.

There are three universal testing machines capable of compressive and tensile testing as well as cyclic testing. The largest of these universal testing machines can apply 100 tonnes of force.

The lab also features a 13.25-metre flume that acts as a wave generator. Students and researchers use the flume to study coastal flows, soil erosion and more.

Used by civil and mechanical engineering students, the Structures Lab is where theory is tested and refined.

Before anything is built, the ground beneath it needs to be understood.

In the Soils Lab, students test density, strength and stability - factors that determine whether a foundation will hold. Using specialised equipment, they can analyse how soil behaves under real-world conditions, including coastal environments.

These tests inform decisions about everything from residential builds to large infrastructure projects.

Research in the Soils Lab is detailed, technical and essential, because every structure depends on what soil sits beneath it.

The Maker Studio is where ideas start to take shape.

It’s a space for experimenting, prototyping and working through early-stage concepts. Whether it’s engineering or another discipline, students can come in, get support and start building.

3D printing plays a key role. Objects can be scanned, replicated and modified - making it easier to test ideas or create detailed models that would otherwise be hard to access.

It’s a flexible, hands-on space where students explore ideas before moving on to more advanced builds.

The Physics Lab is where students learn about the basic principles of physics and its applications in the engineering world.

The space supports both teaching and practical learning, giving students experience working with specialised scientific equipment and controlled testing environments.

It features a unique laser optics table where laser research and testing can take place.

Students carry out precision-focused work using specialised setups that meet Australian safety standards.

In the Electrical Engineering Research Lab, students and researchers are working on emerging technologies.

The research done in this space ranges from waste to resources, and includes the use of microwave assisted prolysis, RF plasma polymerisation for electrical material fabrication, and synthesis of graphene using plasma techniques.

This research is at the cutting edge of engineering, and has the potential to reshape how energy is produced in the future.

The Multipurpose Lab is dedicated to advanced materials research.

It houses specialised equipment, including a 3D ceramic printer used to create components that can withstand extreme heat, which is useful in areas like aerospace.

Students and researchers test how materials behave, explore new structures and applications. In one project, ceramic printing has been used to develop medical scaffolds that support bone healing and encourage tissue growth.

It’s a space focused on experimentation, where new ideas are tested and refined.

The Geoscience Lab is where field samples are analysed in detail.

Students bring back rock cores and break them down to study their composition. Using specialised equipment, they identify materials like copper, nickel or gold.

Some samples are prepared for microscopic analysis, revealing internal structures and mineral content.

It’s a hands-on space that connects fieldwork with lab analysis, helping students understand what materials are present and how they’re used.

The Undergraduate Electrical Engineering Lab is where students put their skills into practice.

Open 24/7 to students, it’s equipped with tools they don't usually have access to at home. Workstations include devices like oscilloscopes, allowing students to build, test and troubleshoot their designs.

The space is used heavily by third and fourth-year students, especially during project periods.

It’s also used by science students working with sensors and electronic systems.

Focused and practical, it’s a space that supports independent work and helps students get their projects done.

In total there are 23 dedicated lab spaces within the EIP, and other dedicated spaces to research and learning that make them truly unique.

Indeed, in 2025 the EIP was named in the World’s Most Beautiful Campuses List by the prestigious Prix Versailles awards, placing JCU on the global stage for sustainable, tropical architecture.

Students who learn inside the EIP have access to world-class facilities, opportunities to work alongside industry partners, and the chance to turn bright ideas into real-world impact.