The numbers of enrolments across a range of sports degrees will exceed 750 this year as the UC seeks to capitalise on sport sponsorships, a new purpose-built Sporting Commons and research partnerships in order to become a national sports studies centre.

Just five years ago, the university enrolled just 264 sports students. While the majority of current enrolments – who begin classes on Monday – are undertaking joint degrees around sports coaching, there are also 42 master's and PhD students.

One of them is Peta Forsyth, whose particular field of inquiry is thermoregulation during exercise in the heat with Paralympic athletes – particularly those with a spinal cord injury.

Her research could have important applications in cooling strategies for top athletes as well as the wider community suffering spinal injuries.

As she studies the effectiveness of strategies such as cool water immersion, ice packs and slushies, Ms Forsyth is aided by a willing research guinea pig – Australian wheelchair basketballer Tim Markcrow.

Mr Markcrow was just 16, when, in 2009, a motorbike accident at Fairbairn Park left him with a critical spinal injury.

He determined that while rugby was out, basketball was an important way for him to move on from the accident. He is now focused on representing Australia at the 2016 Paralympic Games.

But between training sessions, you will find him in the UC's new environmental chamber within the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise – sweating up a storm and then trying to cool back down again.

The chamber allows researchers to set the exact ambient temperature and relative humidity and in Ms Forsyth's research she monitors core body and skin temperature as Mr Markcrow is put through his paces.

Ms Forsyth also spends considerable time at the Australian Institute of Sport undertaking applied study, saying she felt very fortunate to be able to access a state-of-the-art environmental chamber and to flit between the two institutions which are on either side of Haydon Drive in Bruce.

Ultimately she was inspired in her work because there was so much to be understood about the way an athlete's body responded to exercise and cooling when they had a spinal cord injury.

"I also realise that a lot of this research will directly benefit our Paralympic athletes who are representing Australia and striving to be the world's best in their sport. It's so motivating to be working amongst athletes and coaches in elite sport, because everyone's doing their best to help the athlete achieve their goals and be successful."