Embedding mission-driven engagement into every facet of ACU
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At ACU, we value community engagement as a key means of advancing our mission in serving the common good and enhancing the dignity and wellbeing of people and communities. It is integral to our teaching, learning and research.
The ACU Engagement team provides centralised support for community engagement at ACU.
ACU Engagement aims to further the culture, quality, and impact of community engagement at ACU. Our purpose is to continuously strengthen ACU’s capacity in community-engaged learning, research, and projects and programs to address critical societal issues, affirm human dignity, and prepare community-minded graduates. Our vision is for mission-driven engagement to be embedded into every facet of ACU – how we teach, how our students learn, how and what we research, and how we interact with the world.
Learn how our team supports curriculum-embedded opportunities for students to learn in and with community and advance the common good.
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Discover how our team works for the common good and invites communities to shape ACU’s research agenda.
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Learn more about how we facilitate community-engaged projects and programs through meaningful partnerships that respond to community goals and aspirations.
Learn moreinstitutions outside the US to be recognised with the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification
Hours of community engagement completed by students in 2024
community engagement partnerships across ACU Engagement
Community engagement at ACU is guided by five principles. These principles were developed in collaboration with the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy and are founded upon the principles of Catholic social thought, and the Catholic intellectual tradition.
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Australian Catholic University’s Banyo Campus will be home to a new chapter of the St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland Banyo Conference as part of a newly signed agre...
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ACU hosted the fourth biennial conference on community engagement and service-learning last week.
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ACU's Jonathon Weakley joins Rugby Australia as the Head of Research and Innovation
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Madeleine Fraser looks at why children are reluctant to divulge information about their day and how to encourage more details.
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Students at Australian Catholic University’s (ACU) Strathfield, North Sydney and Blacktown Campuses will put theory into meaningful practice thanks to a renewed partner...
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ACU has surveyed Australian school leaders since 2011. Our latest report shows more than 50 per cent are seriously thinking about quitting.
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A partnership between Parklea Correctional Centre and Australian Catholic University (ACU) has ignited a thirst for learning in inmates who are discovering new possibil...
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ENVISAGE secures $5m to continue supporting caregivers of children with disabilities
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A curated journey featuring 21 exceptional works by both established and emerging artists from the ACU Art Collection.
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An upgraded platform with specially curated music playlists, videos and podcasts is delivering significant benefits in supporting aged care staff to manage dementia beh...
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ACU’s partnership with Open Eyes Nepal provides free treatment for children with retinoblastoma.
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Australian Catholic University’s Thomas More Law School has received global recognition of its distinctive pro bono placement program by winning first prize in the Unis...
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ACU researchers have been awarded more than $3 million in Australian Research Council linkage grants.
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Revelations that a student shared fake nudes of 50 schoolgirls using AI generated photos has raised a thorny issue. This places greater duress on parents and schools on...
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Jayme Dreise, the son of our first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander graduates, proudly graduates from ACU
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Chelsea FC’s sport scientist Chris Searle joins SPRINT as a PhD candidate.
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Our $5 million state-of-the-art human metabolic chamber – the only one of its kind in the southern hemisphere – has opened on the Melbourne campus.
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Australian Catholic University (ACU) pays tribute to Associate Professor Peter Howard, who died last month after more than 33 years of service to the university in both...
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Leading exercise and nutrition expert Professor John Hawley will join Manchester Metropolitan University as one of its two first ever Global Chairs.
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Structured exercise can reduce fatigue and improve quality of life in patients with metastatic breast cancer.
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More Defence personnel and their families will flourish thanks to Australian Catholic University initiatives backed by commitments totalling almost $2 million from the ...
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Australian Catholic University (ACU) has become one of the first Australian higher education institutions to receive the new Carnegie Community Engagement Classificatio...
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ACU theologian Emmanuel Nathan is bringing faith leaders to campus to speak to students against the backdrop of conflict in the Middle East.
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Poor oral health in older Australians can lead to increased risk of pneumonia, pain, weight loss and social withdrawal.
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ACU has launched two Deadly education programs for Aboriginal children in kindergarten, years 3 and 4 in Wonnarua Country.
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Leading UK sport science academic Professor Ben Jones joins ACU
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ACU researchers have once again been named global leaders in psychology, education, humanities, social sciences, and medical sciences based on prestigious new internati...
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A Veteran Wellbeing Grant will enable ACU to develop an app to help steer Australian Defence Force veterans and their families through their transition to higher educat...
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Research from Australian Catholic University’s David Spencer provided empirical research data for a Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC) report into inclusive juries ...
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University students who complete community placements as part of their degrees develop a greater sense of empathy than those who just learn theory, new research has fou...
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A partnership between Australian Catholic University and RSL Queensland will see the lives of veterans and their families transformed through education and opportunity.
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Emphasis is placed on physical fatigue and recovery in sport but ACU sport scientist Suzy Russell says the focus is now turning to the cognitive side.
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Two Victorian teachers who completed ACU's Solomon Islands immersion program shared their experience to a global audience in Rome.
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ACU's successful partnership program with Teach for Australia has been expanded into New South Wales.
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ACU bone health researchers will investigate if probiotics can slow bone thinning in early menopause.
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The interplay between older people’s wealth and health will be the focus of ACU's Aquero Lecture Series on Thursday 8 September.
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Covid media coverage highlights the need for authentic data and critical thinking in maths, ACU research shows.
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ACU continues to make its mark globally in world rankings.
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Juvenile offenders will experience legal thrills and face car theft victims as part of an Australian Catholic University trial aimed at discouraging reckless road behav...
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Reading for pleasure at school is a key way to encourage a lifelong love of literacy and boost student outcomes.
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ACU's new virtual reality transition program explores topics such as cultural norms, public transport and etiquette to prepare international students for life in Austra...
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New ACU research finds potatoes are just as good as pasta when it comes to powering elite athletes.
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Long-standing teachers will be surveyed about their experiences to help support those entering the profession to remain in the classroom.
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ACU’s Allied Health Clinic has delivered hope, and a launchpad towards Commonwealth Games success, for Vanuatu’s women’s beach volleyball team.
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As young people become more politically involved, there has been a renewed push to lower the voting age in Australia.
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Gerontology expert Laurie Buys joins ACU as it strengthens its commitment to deliver innovative research and a skilled workforce for the aged care sector.
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Australia’s child protection system is in crisis, ACU study finds.
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Tim Moore has joined ACU’s Institute of Child Protection Studies as deputy director.
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Eminent historian Professor Sheila Fitzpatrick has written many long, thorough books. But her newest book makes a virtue of accessibility.
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Australia’s China policy was the subject of the Sir Peter Cosgrove lecture in History delivered by Professor James Curran on 21 February 2022.
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A new IMAX 3D film about the hidden history of Cambodia features research by ACU Associate Professor of Geography Dr Duncan Cook.
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Parents need quicker and better access to evidence-based parenting support programs to address rising adolescent mental health problems.
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Australians who live in a suburb with a high proportion of blue-collar workers are far more likely to have had Covid than those in a white-collar area.
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ACU has appointed its first Industry Professor Veterans and Their Families to improve opportunities for the defence community in higher education.
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ACU researchers have been awarded more than $2 million in Australian Research Council grants.
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ACU neuroscientist Valentina Lorenzetti has been awarded the prestigious 2022 Al & Val Rosenstrauss Fellowship.
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Distinguished Fellow with the PM Glynn Institute Malcolm Mackerras looks forward to the likely role of independents in the 2022 Federal election.
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese have united to support Australian Catholic University’s new interfaith publication, Reflections on ...
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At-risk high school students need the support and guidance of an online mentor to help them re-engage with their schooling, according to a world-leading Professor of Ps...
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ACU historian Shino Konishi has been acknowledged as one of Australia's top humanities researchers, with her election as a fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanitie...
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Students from Queensland's South Burnett have at least two pathways to careers in sport and exercise science after a visit from ACU.
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To celebrate the 700th anniversary of the first mechanical musical clock, Dr Matthew Champion is leading an event to sound bells around Australia.
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Forget the aisles of pink and blue, toy packaging and toy stores should be gender neutral in Australia to help girls into STEM careers, according to an Australian Catho...
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Parents have a vital role to play when schools return after the COVID-19 lockdowns, according to education experts.
Education experts at Australian Catholic University say teachers should bring back a sense of joy to student learning and extend lunch breaks when schools resume in Oct...
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Children and young people in out-of-home care are at a higher risk of suicide than young people not involved with child protection systems.
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A telehealth exercise program for palliative cancer patients with the muscle wasting syndrome cachexia is improving their quality of life, physical function, and streng...
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Children whose parents have mental illness are two to 13 times more likely to develop a mental illness themselves which is why prevention and early intervention is crit...
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Designed by and for women who are inspired by the Gospel vision of justice, freedom and the dignity of the human person. This program has been acknowledged for its cont...
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If sporadic pandemic lockdowns continue, they are likely to create significant challenges of identity, connectedness, and equity of education for children in disadvanta...
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Standing up and moving for three minutes every half hour may lessen the health impacts of sitting too much, a new study shows.
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Inspiring First Nations people to become teachers is a major ambition of strong and proud First Nations woman and teaching student, Carmel Debel.
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Professor Michele Haynes has been appointed Fellow of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences (QAAS). Michele is an accredited statistician and a long involvement a...
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Australian Catholic University (ACU) and the Order of Malta have signed a memorandum of understanding that details partnering on a range of life-changing engagement ini...
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The winner of ACU’s Prize for Poetry Anna Murchison will be an inspiration to late starters in many fields. The prize-winning poet did not even start writing poetry unt...
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Children could become kinder and more inclusive towards their peers and even bullying could reduce if schools take on the findings from new research.
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Young refugees and migrants are the key to limiting the spread of Covid-19 and managing recovery in their communities, new ACU research has found.
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Professor Vince Geiger , from the Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education, was recently invited to present the Clements-Foyster Lecture at the annual conf...
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New research at ACU will uncover the unrecognised voices of disabled people and of women through two projects that have just received funding from the Discovery Early C...
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The National Library has announced it will acquire a unique collection of Calabrian stories, songs, and prayers brought to Australia by migrant Carmela Speranza and rec...
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Australian Catholic University (ACU) will hold a public webinar series on the idea of the self to honour Professor Claude Romano, who was recently awarded the Grand Pri...
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Australian Catholic University Professor John Munro, a respected psychologist and education expert, said important mental health lessons were learned during Melbourne’s...
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Australia’s only academic program dedicated to the archaeology, history and languages of Ancient Israel will be introduced at Australian Catholic University (ACU), offe...
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ACU and Nudgee College have partnered on a research project aimed at better understanding and releasing the pressures on elite student athletes.
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The Hon Justice Martin Daubney AM and Ms Virginia Bourke have been appointed to the positions of Chancellor and Pro-Chancellor of Australian Catholic University (ACU).
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The research team behind an innovative program tackling cardiovascular disease risk in children has been recognised with one of the Council of Academic Public Health In...
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Four-time Paralympic swimmer Brenden Hall and Rio sevens rugby gold medallist Emma Tonegato are among 11 current and former students who will represent ACU in Japan at ...
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The composer of On Eagle’s Wings Father Michael Joncas will share the thinking behind his music in a special online public lecture at Australian Catholic University in ...
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A new bookaims to go beyond that “us and them” conflict between religion and atheism to examine the complexities of the way that different kinds of atheists experience ...
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Valentina Lorenzetti's work has led the top US federal health agency to announce a new standard dose of THC in cannabis research.
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Green space around primary schools may improve students’ academic performance.
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A national event was held to develop strategies for developing Catholic school leaders into the future
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The founder of the Queensland Bioethics Centre Sister Regis Mary Dunne AO RSM has been named as one of the 2021 “Queensland Greats”.
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The long, hard path to a paramedicine degree from ACU is worth all the sacrifices for rower Rowena Meredith who has qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
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Recent PhD student and early career researcher (ECR) Dr Lesley Friend, now a Research Fellow with the Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education, celebrates ...
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ACU has awarded its highest honour, an honorary doctorate, to Marionne MacRitchie and a posthumous award to the Hon John Fahey AC, GCSG during graduation ceremonies in ...
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Men who were overweight and at risk of diabetes had better overnight blood sugar control when they exercised in the early evening rather than in the morning.
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Sidelined NRL star Luke Keary is bullish about his long-term prospects which look bright after completing a Bachelor of Business (Administration) at Australian Catholic...
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A former soldier is helping other veterans find peace through university study.
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Striking images of the life and legacy of President John Kennedy are now on display in a new permanent exhibition at ACU’s North Sydney campus.
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A recent publication of the PM Glynn Institute argues the individual and public interest is in keeping the seal of confession.
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New book offers a valuable contribution to the expanding conversation on big data and digital disruption in education. Edited by Professor Claire Wyatt-Smith, Professor...
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Two ACU academics have been awarded prizes in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.
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It sounds like science fiction but, as ACU philosopher Dr Samuel Baron explained in The Conversation, there are real-world possibilities to the concept of a warp drive.
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Driven to a breakdown and forced to sell furniture to pay bills, a former soldier is helping other veterans find peace through university study.
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ACU collaborated with Catholic Health Australia to to review the lessons learned from the pandemic for health and aged care operators.
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There are stereotypes that underestimate the range of boys' preferences for reading and the changing nature of those preferences as they develop as readers.
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The interaction of emotional lived experiences and subject choice plans and decisions is reported in a new study.
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Entries are now open for one of Australia’s richest poetry prizes, the 2021 ACU Prize for Poetry, with poets from all over the country competing for the coveted $10,000...
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ACU sociologist Professor Bryan Turner has been invited to speak in a prestigious Oxford Union Debate on the topic of Immortality.
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The PM Glynn Institute has produced a series of podcasts exploring what palliative care is, what it does, and why it is so important.
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A webinar on 26 March will address the dangers of fake news and populism in a time of pandemic
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Disturbing stories of women’s experiences of historical and current sexual abuse dominating the news headlines have led child protection expert Daryl Higgins to call fo...
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A new article by ILSTE’s Professor Clarence Ng researched the question - What motivates high school students to persist with challenging science?
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The design of maths modelling tasks by teachers for use by students has been informed by recent research by ILSTE academic Professor Vince Geiger and co-authors Prof Pe...
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How Australian middle-school students make meaning in science education by drawing on their science epistemic beliefs (SEB) is the subject of a new article in the Inter...
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Professor Steve Graham, ILSTE Professorial Fellow with the Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education, has been honoured and named as Regents Professor with ...
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Higher education partners of the Graduate Teacher Performance Assessment (GTPA), an initiative of the Australian Catholic University’s Institute for Learning Science an...
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Professor Mick Dodson AM will explore the real meaning of treaty when he delivers the keynote address at the seventh Annual Honourable Barry O’Keefe Memorial Lecture at...
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ACU’s leadership in humanities has been further recognised with a prominent book award for one of our senior researchers.
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As we return to work and study after summer, alarms are ubiquitous. ACU researcher Matthew Champion explores how past generations used birds, prayers, percussion, and e...
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Teacher education research agendas communicated in the book Innovation and Accountability in Teacher Education (by ACU ILSTE academics Claire Wyatt—Smith and Lenore Adi...
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New world-leading physical benchmarks have been set for Australia’s men’s and women’s rugby union players who will be tested as part of an alliance with ACU’s Sports Pe...
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Mental health nurses report staff shortages, unsustainable high workloads, acutely unwell patients, and verbal and physical aggression as top causes of work stress impa...
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ACU’s Institute of Child Protection Studies is part of a new Global Safeguarding Alliance (GSA) that will promote knowledge and worldwide exchange on safeguarding and t...
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Joining an ACU Sport Club helped first year student Daniel Perinich meet other students when COVID-19 made it difficult to engage and have the normal university experie...
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Carb loading in the week before a marathon is an old school approach and not the ideal way to prepare for an endurance event according to exercise physiologist Andy Kin...
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Researchers in ILSTE have won many awards and fellowships for their research.
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Research shows gaps in the teaching of writing in a recent article in The Conversation.
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The Virtual Symposium on Onlife Learning in early childhood education occurring on Friday 20 November 2020, will hear about technology-enabled learning contexts relevan...
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New research from leading experts at ACU's Institute for Child Protection Studies will help improve supervised contact visits for about 45,000 children in out-of-home c...
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New ACU research is showing how busting a move via silent disco technology can boost the wellbeing of residential aged care residents with dementia.
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Canberra-based poet Geoff Page is the 2020 winner of the ACU Prize for Poetry for his entry Jericho. His winning poem was selected ahead of Footprints by Fiona Lynch fr...
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ACU continues to climb rankings among the top two per cent of universities in the world
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Teenagers with controlling-style parents experience a sharp drop in mental health and self-esteem, and the damage can be lasting, a world-first ACU study has found.
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Both elite and amateur athletes would get better performance bang for their buck using traditional carbohydrate drinks/sports foods rather than costly hydrogel drinks, ...
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The ACU National Virtual Choir provides singers from across all campuses with the opportunity to collaborate in a massed virtual choir project during COVID-19.
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Leading child protection expert Daryl Higgins has joined a list of prominent health academics calling for an urgent change to Medicare rebates to cover families seeking...
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Australian Catholic University (ACU) has appointed Professor Zlatko Skrbis as the University’s next Vice-Chancellor and President.
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ACU Acting Provost Professor Zlatko Skrbis was pleased to attend the launch of the first Australian Catholic Anti-slavery Network (ACAN) Annual Report
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The ACU Centre for Liturgy hosted the President of the Catholic Theological Union, Rev Prof Mark R. Francis CSV
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Find out if you’ve won.
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Prac placement at a hospital in western Sydney has provided thrower Alex Hulley with a timely distraction to her disrupted mission to compete at the Tokyo Olympics.
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ACU has just completed a pilot program that will help support student veterans as they transition from the military to studying at ACU via a free, two-week preparatory ...
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A life-changing new program is giving young people of all abilities the confidence to develop an everlasting love of physical activity.
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ACU is pleased to announce the transition of the Ministry Leadership Program (MLP) from Catholic Health Australia to ACU. Former Director of MLP at Catholic Health Aust...
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ACU Pro-Chancellor Julien O’Connell has been awarded an upgraded Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his service to the commu...
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The Stakeholder Engaged Scholarship Unit at ACU is seeking expressions of interest for research projects from organisations working in areas central to the University's...
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The ACU Centre for Liturgy Postgraduate Scholarship for 2020 has been awarded to ACU Faculty of Theology and Philosophy masters' student Thomas Cullen. On awarding the...
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Separated or divorced parents normally grapple with countless issues, but the COVID-19 crisis means they face new difficulties negotiating shared care of children with ...
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Internationally renowned historian of modern Russia, Professor Sheila Fitzpatrick FAHA, and leading early modern scholar of gender and emotions, Professor Susan Broomha...
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Regular exercise changes the composition of the gut bacteria and may play a crucial role in skeletal muscle function and endurance.
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ACU has been named first runner-up in an international award for its community engagement programs, including a unique model which ensures every student can make a comm...
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Law student Danielle Lamborn has risen from homeless teenager to Refugee Law Project volunteer and is set to embark on a prestigious New Colombo Plan Scholarship to the...
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It's no secret that being in nature is good for your health. Something as simple as a walk in the park can boost well-being and deliver benefits ranging from better sle...
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ACU researcher Evelyn Parr will explore if delaying breakfast and consuming an early dinner – known as time-restricted eating – can improve the symptoms of lifestyle-re...
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Five academic researchers from the Mary Mackillop Institute for Health Research have been named in the 2019 Web of Science Global List of highly cited researchers.
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