The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of more than 32,000 students (including over 12,800 international students from 134 countries), an alumni base of more than 131,859 and over 2,400 staff members. The University of Wollongong has developed into a multi-campus institution, both domestically and globally. The Wollongong campus, the university’s main campus, is on the original site five kilometres north-west of the city centre, and covers an area of 82.4 hectares with 94 permanent buildings. In addition, there are regional university campuses in Bega, Batemans Bay, Moss Vale and Shoalhaven, as well as three Sydney campuses, including the UOW Sydney Business School, the South Western Sydney campus in Liverpool and Southern Sydney campus in Loftus. Overseas, the university has a presence in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.