Chinese-owned King's Own Institute will become Newcastle's first private higher education provider when it opens its doors in the new year.
The institute, which has been operating in Australia since 2010, offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs in business, accounting, information technology and teaching English to speakers of other languages.
About 100 international students will begin studying at the Darby Street campus in the former Roads and Maritime Services building on the corner of Queen Street in March.
It is planned that the campus will eventually cater for 1000 domestic and international students.
The institute has registration and accreditation with the national regulator for higher education.
"We've got a very personalised approach to teaching and learning," regional campus manager Greg Knapp said.
"All of our lecturers are all highly skilled and highly qualified, which is one of the reasons we have had great success at our three Sydney campuses."
Mr Knapp said he was delighted the institute, which is owned by China Education Group, had chosen Newcastle for its first regional campus.
"I think the board of directors and the new owners of KOI saw an opportunity for expansion. They did a lot of research across a range of geographic regions in NSW, Queensland and Victoria and were impressed with the demographics and opportunities that they saw in Newcastle," he said.
"There's also not a lot of competition in Newcastle. It's a win-win for everybody."
The institute's website says its regional entry represents an opportunity to participate in lifelong learning and higher education with retraining and upskilling interventions for current employees in Newcastle and beyond.
"KOI may facilitate lifelong learning by providing free access to its online materials, courses and alumni to maintain currency and relevance and through more convenient evening classes, weekend classes, and/or intensives," the website says.
The institute will open with a small number of administrative staff and about 12 academic staff.
"It's a big investment in Newcastle and it's been made following strong experience in the (higher education) sector. We are anticipating a lot of expansion in the future," Mr Knapp said.
Meanwhile, Tokyo-based Nihon University's first international campus - established on the site of the former historic Newcastle courthouse - is yet to open.
Ongoing Covid-related travel restrictions in Japan prevented the campus from opening as planned this year.
Nihon has been contacted for comment about its future plans for the campus.
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