LATEST ARTICLES

Meet the researchers tackling big problems

Meet the researchers tackling big problems

Big inter-disciplinary projects are the new face of successful university research – collaborations by researchers from a range of fields working together to find solutions or to better understand the fundamental problems. These collaborations might include leading university researchers from all the STEM disciplines working with lawyers or historians or social science academics.

Chocolate maker finds a healthy sweet spot

Chocolate maker finds a healthy sweet spot

Still hand-made after 13 years of manufacture, Loco Love chocolates are free of all gluten, dairy or refined sugars. The range includes Maple, Macadamia Caramel, Classic Chewy Caramel and newcomer Pistachio Mylk Praline. The Byron Bay-based company now produces as many as 120,000 individual chocolate bars each week and continues to have trouble meeting ever-increasing …read more

We must adapt for AI warfare, expert warns

We must adapt for AI warfare, expert warns

In this new age of AI-enabled warfare, Australia’s Defence Department needs to rethink the way it procures military equipment, says Professor Toby Walsh, Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of NSW’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering. “The ADF typically puts out a tender, a specification, and throws a lot of money at …read more

ADF aims for more women to serve by 2030

ADF aims for more women to serve by 2030

Women comprise about 20.9 per cent of full-time Australian defence force personnel and there is no expectation that gender parity will ever be reached. Head of Military Personnel Rear Admiral Tish Van Stralen says while there are important targets for increasing women’s representation, with a goal of at least 25 per cent women in the …read more

ASD leads global strike on cyber crooks

ASD leads global strike on cyber crooks

As Australia grapples with increasing geo-political uncertainty and rising transnational crime, the Australian Signals Directorate is “probably one of the busiest arms of government”, says Director-General Abigail Bradshaw. Sifting through a never-ceasing storm of foreign electronic communications to gather intelligence, ASD computer experts monitor electronic communications important to Australia and its allies and track down …read more

Checks and balances key to clearing AI obstacles

Checks and balances key to clearing AI obstacles

Few Australian business leaders feel ready to take advantage of artificial intelligence and adoption of the technology has been slow and often reluctant, according to a roundtable of experts. At the same time, criminals and trolls have taken to AI with alacrity – spawning a barrage of fraud and deep fakes. Recent research by digital …read more

Work on rare childhood cancers earns Emerging Leader award

Work on rare childhood cancers earns Emerging Leader award

Matt Dun has devoted his career to researching the rare and most fatal of childhood cancers including acute myeloid leukaemia and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (known as DIPG), a paediatric brain cancer. Dun’s young daughter died of DIPG, a disease which is almost always fatal within a matter of months.  As Professor of Paediatric Haematology …read more

AI in the workplace is everywhere and evolving at speed

AI in the workplace is everywhere and evolving at speed

From listening to doctor-patient conversations and writing up the medical notes, to creating multi-level lesson plans for a high-school class, to offering to make text messages “funnier” – generative artificial intelligence is everywhere and evolving at speed. The modern professional needs to understand the scope and potential pitfalls of genAI to take full advantage of …read more

Clever thinking goes a long way when the military is out to pack a punch

Clever thinking goes a long way when the military is out to pack a punch

Australia needs “clever” defence systems and equipment to protect the nation’s interests over a huge landmass and expanse of ocean, says Chief Defence Scientist Tanya Monro. “We can’t just assume that we can build scale that will deter an adversary,” she tells The Australian. “So we have to do clever things.” Hundreds of defence research …read more

The best time to upskill? All the time

The best time to upskill? All the time

Rather than having a mid-career break to take a six-month or year-long executive education course, upskilling and reskilling is now considered a decades-long endeavour, spanning an entire working life and potentially consisting of multiple short courses. Executive education directors say successful executives are constantly looking to learn and understand more about their professional fields and how …read more