VU: The team behind the Bulldogs
VU’s partnership with the Western Bulldogs is more than your regular partnership.
Whether it is in the recovery room or in the gym, on the ground or in the stats box, in the club administration or in the stands, VU is the team behind the Bulldogs.
Our sports scientists, massage therapists, teachers, students, alumni, and access to our state-of-the-art facilities, all support the Bulldogs to succeed in the game and life.
This page highlights our partnership and the opportunities for our students.
VU & Western Bulldogs: Partners of the West
The Bulldogs partnership gives our staff and students the opportunity to thrive. Some of the things people have said about the partnership and why they value it so much is because it provides them with:
- a sense of community
- an opportunity to work hand in hand within industry, while studying
- job opportunities at the end of their study.
![Elisabeth Georgostathis](https://content.vu.edu.au/sites/default/files/styles/vu_large_16_9/public/images/2022-06/elisabeth-georgostathis.jpg?h=c71d0c67&itok=urRjNfsm)
The VU Data Lab
Our sport scientists are doing amazing work with our Bulldog players. The VU Data Lab looks into the performance of players using the AFL Player Ratings.
Player performance data can be modeled to inform aspects of team and player individuality, value and potential, with a specific focus on providing a framework to support player drafting and recruitment in the AFL.
Placements & other opportunities
In 2022, many of our students participated in exclusive placement opportunities with the Western Bulldogs and the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation. Students participated in placement opportunities across the Bulldogs Foundation, some even doing so remotely. Hailing from exercise science, psychology (undergraduate and postgraduate), community development, youth work, and sports science, this was a fantastic demonstration of the breadth of VU’s engagement.