UNSW Sydney was incorporated by an Act of the Parliament of New South Wales in 1949. The university traces its origins to the Sydney Mechanics Institute, formed in 1843, and the Sydney Technical College of 1878. It has four main campuses: Kensington, Paddington, Sydney CBD and Canberra.
Its seven faculties are Arts, Design & Architecture; Business; Engineering; Law & Justice; Medicine & Health; Science; and UNSW Canberra, with 47 schools and 53 centres and institutes. The university reports more than 63,232 students from 132 countries and 7,230 staff. Professor Attila Brungs AO, a UNSW graduate and Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Technology Sydney from 2014 to 2021, took up the post of Vice-Chancellor on 31 January 2022.