We showcase the impact of UOW students, teaching, research, and graduates on the world. Our mission is to share inspiring stories that educate and motivate, highlighting the transformative power of education in addressing global challenges.
50 Voices
This year, as part of our 50th Anniversary celebrations, we have launched 50 Voices - a content series that celebrates the people who have made UOW what it is today. From labs to libraries, lawns to lecture theatres, hear unique stories from students, staff, alumni, donors, and community members who have had a lasting impact.
Articles
Business and Economy
There's danger in the numbers
As the Reserve Bank of Australia attempts to curb inflation, now could be the perfect time for the government to step in and lend a hand, writes Dr Paul Mazzola.
Law, Politics and Society
Beyond the shoreline
The Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources & Security at UOW is at the forefront of ocean law and policy, maritime security, and marine resources management. Meet three of the researchers who are making waves behind the scenes.
Law, Politics and Society
How accounting can make the NDIS more equitable
When accounting practices are adapted to respect and include First Nations perspectives, they can become a powerful tool for change.
Arts and Culture, Alumni
Capturing the beauty and pain of motherhood
At the age of 31, Dr Emma Darragh started over. Her youngest child was in kindergarten, her marriage had ended, and she was looking for her next chapter, so to speak.
Arts and Culture
The rise of reboots, remakes and retelling true stories
Between Mean Girls, Wonka and Oppenheimer, you would be forgiven for asking the question: when was the last time a movie was completely new and original?
Environment and Energy
The beautiful diversity of UOW's flora and fauna
How purposeful planting shaped UOW's biodiversity
Alumni
From commerce to choreography
Teagan Huntsdale is passionate about dancing, but her path to business ownership wasn’t as straightforward as you’d expect
We need more courageous conversations
"We need to value listening across the organisation, perhaps even give a listening award," Professor Davidson says in a conversation with Professor Grace McCarthy from Sydney Business School, UOW
Environment and Energy
Setting the stage for greener housing
Team UOW Australia reminisces on how they retrofitted the first-ever net-zero house and won Solar Decathlon China
Student's guide to Liverpool
See the local gems you need to check out during your next visit to UOW Liverpool.
Early Admission: What's next?
You've submitted your UOW Early Admission application – well done! Here's a rundown of things you can do next.
Research, Science and Technology
The guardian of the e-world
For 30 years, Professor Willy Susilo has been at the forefront of cryptographic and cybersecurity breakthroughs, forging the path to Australian cybersecurity and teaching others to do the same.
Business and Economy
Investing in a sustainable future
When Dr Searat Ali introduced the concept of sustainable finance to his postgraduate students, he encountered some initial scepticism.
Business and Economy
The Airbnb effect
When a business conference saw all San Francisco hotel rooms occupied, two roommates decided to rent out air mattresses on the floor of their apartment.
Alumni, Law, Politics and Society
Love of languages inspired Jacob to chase his dreams
Jacob May has made the most of his five years at UOW.
Environment and Energy, Students
The UOW water warriors
Students go pond-dipping to understand the importance of aquatic habitats
Education
What makes a great speech?
Tips on how to ace any speech from Senior Lecturer, Dr Paul Gardiner.
The Voice to Parliament is a beginning, not an end
The Uluru Statement from the Heart, particularly the Voice to Parliament element, has recently received much attention in the media and on social media.
Community
Inspiring the women of the future
We may think everything has changed when it comes to equality, but there is still work to do. Meet the UOW women ensuring gender equality is a reality for everyone.
Arts and Culture, Alumni
Effecting change for the greater good
From her school days to the present day, Ruby Bisson’s focus has been on creating impact to hopefully change behaviours and attitudes for the greater good.
Education, Students
Teaching students to think well
They’ve enjoyed the privilege of special scholarships and small-group tutoring, but they’re also proving that their talents can change the world.
What happens at Open Day
Like getting a spoon of ice cream before committing to the whole cone, Open Day is your chance to get a taste of UOW student life.
Business and Economy, Science and Technology
Growing globally, working locally
For Scalapay, the fast-growing Australian e-commerce company, the world is its oyster, but the Illawarra is its home
Business and Economy, Environment and Energy
Should Australian governments nationalise the electricity sector? It’s not that simple
The shock suspension last week of Australia’s wholesale electricity market rekindled an age-old debate about whether the energy sector should be nationalised – in other words, owned and controlled by government.
Community
Five ways to work towards gender equality beyond International Women’s Day
A month after International Women’s Day, are we any closer to achieving gender equality? We have an honest conversation with UOW PhD candidate and Aunty Mary Davis Scholarship recipient Catherine Moyle on ways to create a better world for women.
Re-writing the narrative
Close friends Mick Bainbridge and Jaymee Beveridge met at UOW while pursuing two extraordinarily different career pathways. But their divergent journeys shared the same goal: to rewrite a common narrative and help others do the same.
Bottle racket
Childhood friends Jared Smith, Dean Martelozzo and Tom Simnadis combined three unique skill sets into one well-fitting bundle and distilled a new local industry in the process.
Writing on the wall
Artist Claire Foxton and designer Matt De Feudis first met while working in UOW's creative department. A decade later, their friendship and professional relationship reflects the changing face of the city they call home.
Students
A UOW love story
Tony Okely and Mylie Goodhew both enrolled in the exact same UOW course in the exact same year. Thirty years later, the husband and wife have some advice for you.
Generations of change
It's rare to get three generations worth of perspective on a relatively unchanged experience. But the three intersecting pathways that Pauline, Melissa, and Maddie Lysaght took to UOW over five decades reveals how some things on campus change—and others don’t change at all. This is their story.
Environment and Energy, Law, Politics and Society, Students
Our future in their hands
They’re in their early twenties, fresh-faced but also fiercely committed and hopeful that together, they can change the future of our climate
Environment and Energy
Plastic is no longer just a marine problem
“More and more, we are finding that microplastics are in the atmosphere, in the mountains, in the ice caps, in the human environment.”
Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
SDG seven is working towards ‘ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all’. Universities play an integral role in this, through research, teaching, community and industry engagement, knowledge exchange, advocacy and of course, campus operations.
'Kindness is hugely underrated'
New Vice-Chancellor on her love of nursing, what drives her, and her ambitions for UOW
Education
Vice-Chancellor bids farewell to UOW
Vice-Chancellor proud of University’s immense success in research, teaching, and business partnerships
Arts and Culture
Creative arts graduates reach their zenith
How UOW's creative arts students are bringing their experiences to life.
Arts and Culture
10 books to read before you turn 25
As far as lists of ‘things to do’ go, this one's pretty good. Novelist, playwright and Discipline Leader of English and Creative Writing at the University of Wollongong, Dr Catherine McKinnon, shares the books she thinks every curious knowledge seeker should read before they turn 25.
Sick of seeing news about COVID-19? There’s a reason for that.
Case numbers are rising, and we are finally seeing the end of daily press conferences. Eighteen months into the pandemic, you might be suffering from news fatigue.
Alumni
For the love of health and education
Steve Jobs once said, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
Alumni
Champion of change
UOW alumna Carol Kiernan has been instrumental in achieving equality for women in the Australian Honours by co-founding 'Honour a Woman'.
Alumni
As long as women are not free, the people are not free
The coronavirus pandemic has been a shared experience of fear, displacement and frustration, but its material effects have not been felt equally. UOW alumna Van Badham writes that although everyone has faced unprecedented challenges from the (seemingly, unending) virus, women have worn the worst of the economic and social impact of COVID-19.
Alumni
Meet our 2021 Alumni Award winners
The annual UOW Alumni awards recognise exceptional alumni who are making a mark in the world as leaders, innovators and game changers.
Community
September iAccelerate update
Welcome to the iAccelerate update. We hope you, your family and loved ones are all okay based on the current events and lock downs. Here at iAccelerate we continue to offer training and support to our community of entrepreneurs.
Community, Environment and Energy, Science and Technology
Researcher spotlight: Daniel Daly
This month we are focussing on United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, to raise the profile of researchers and projects working toward this important goal to ensure we protect our environmental future.
Community, Science and Technology
Industry 4.0 update
Industry 4.0, also known as the “fourth Industrial Revolution”, is a new wave of innovation centred on automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. The federal government pledged $2 million for an industry hub managed by the University of Wollongong (UOW) in the Shoalhaven. This article give a quick update on their activities.
Arts and Culture, Community, Education
Chancellor Jillian Broadbent farewells UOW
Chancellor Jillian Broadbent AC has always sought a life of contribution.
Community, Arts and Culture, Education
How Dakota forged his own path
The Bundjalung man is motivated by his desire to change education through culture.
Community, Education, Law, Politics and Society
Summer May Finlay: a voice for change
When the Black Lives Matter protests swept the world earlier this year, Dr Summer May Finlay was front and centre sharing her views on the movement.
Community, Arts and Culture, Study areas
How art helps children to thrive
If children aren’t given the right tools, they can lose the creative outlet that visual arts provides.
Arts and Culture, Study areas
Why we reach for music in times of stress
Do you reach for old school hits or new pop? The soothing sounds of classical music or the rush and rage of rock? Music is one of the best ways to help us unwind when it feels like the world is falling apart.
Community, Arts and Culture
Lisa's using laughter to cope with crisis
In a world full of COVID-19 news, University of Wollongong student Lisa Hughes believes laughter is the best medicine.
Alumni
Communicating in a crisis
As a five-year-old, Jake Lapham featured in a home movie with a toy microphone in hand, parroting select words he had heard on the nightly news about a nearby bushfire.
Alumni
Artists as imagineers
In Australia and across the globe, COVID-19 has brought theatres, galleries, music venues, performers, and television and movie productions to the brink. And with the pandemic showing no signs of going away, there are fears that some parts of the arts industry may never recover.
Alumni
The changing climate of the law
Matt Ward speaks convincingly about how his profession will embrace the global shift towards creating a healthy planet. He is not a bio-scientist working on a drought-resistant wheat or an architect designing eco homes that run on sunflower oil. He is a criminal lawyer.
Alumni
Finding a poetic path
It was on the shelves of the humble Forbes Public Library in western New South Wales that Sarah-Jane Burton made a discovery that would shape the course of her professional life.
Alumni
Wordless ways
When I was first invited to write a piece for UOW Outlook Magazine about creativity during COVID-19, I felt optimistic and jumped at the opportunity. I sat down the next week with a note pad and jostled with a wave of stopping, starting and staring at blank pages and unfinished lines.
Alumni
Supercharging the power of inclusivity
Growing up in Mombasa on the east coast of Kenya, Lilian Kikuvi was never consciously aware of being a woman of colour. The colour of her skin was irrelevant and as far as she was concerned she was no different to anyone else.
Alumni
Finding a pathway to success
When Associate Professor Dr Martina Sanderson-Smith joined UOW as a young science student, she wasn’t clear of the path ahead. But that certainly did not impact her rise through her field to esteemed Senior Research Fellow in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, Molecular Horizons.
Alumni
Marching to a different beat
The music industry has been one of the hardest hit by the global Coronavirus pandemic, forcing artists and festival organisers to rethink the way they present their concerts and events.
Alumni
Permission to imagine
It’s not always that we take our Dad’s advice, but when Kendra Rogers was considering her options after high school in Canada, a pearl of wisdom from her Dad made a huge impact.
Alumni
Putting people first
As organisations find themselves adopting a culture of remote working, keeping employees connected and engaged is more important than ever.
Alumni
Life in lockdown
UOW Bachelor of Engineering alumnus Paul Batten lives and works in Barcelona, Spain and started living the quarantine life from March 1, 2020.
Alumni
We're all in this together
There’s no denying the enormous impact that COVID-19 has had on our university students. From adjusting to online learning and becoming experts in Zoom calls, to dealing with the financial struggle following job losses.
Alumni
The city that never sleeps, comes to a standstill
A concrete jungle where dreams are made of. Where vagabond shoes are longing to stray. New York, New York. It was a city that never slept, until it woke up in a nightmare where it became the centre of the COVID-19 pandemic and the city came to an abrupt standstill.
Alumni
Making better financial decisions
There’s nothing like a global pandemic to force us to reassess our lives and lifestyle. Things we previously took for granted have suddenly leapt into focus, and we are paying much closer attention to the things that keep us safe and secure.
Alumni
Major philanthropic gift: a milestone in mathematics
As the future of Australia’s job market rapidly changes and maths and science continue to play a transformative role in research and development, UOW has strengthened its capacity to influence and champion progress in these vital areas.
Alumni
Big data, big ideas...
Big ideas always need someone to drive change, according to Professor Glenn Salkeld, Executive Dean, Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities.
Alumni
The year at UOW
The year 2020 at UOW was one of challenges, change, and optimism in the face of crisis. The university sector was thrown one of its biggest problems to solve yet, overhauling the delivery of all teaching, learning and working, as the world was forced to adapt to a rapidly evolving way of life.
Alumni
Connecting our global community
Throughout 2020 we were fortunate to be able to connect, collaborate and engage with our global community of more than 160,000 UOW alumni.
Alumni
The ones to follow
The talent, creativity and impact of UOW alumni and academics reach far and wide. These are just a few we like to follow. This is the world from their perspective.
Community, Education, Health and Medicine
What do nutritionists really pack in their kids' lunch box?
It's a daily struggle – what should I pack in my child's lunch box today to ensure they are getting the nutrition they need?
Health and Medicine
What it means to be an older, single woman today
These are the circumstances facing a growing number of single women aged over 65.
Arts and Culture, Study areas
Why are we so nostalgic for the 1990s?
The past few years have seen a surprising love for the 1990s – fuelled by our new methods of consuming content – that has infiltrated all areas of our culture and shows little signs of abating.
Arts and Culture, Study areas
The Aquarian Uprising
It was a time of great achievement but also a time of great turbulence. The rebellions of the decade exploded, giving way to the chaos and division of the 1970s.
Arts and Culture, Study areas
Why do songs get stuck in our heads?
We’ve all experienced the feeling of having a tune looping round our brain. Known as earworms, these persistent songs can be a total nuisance. UOW’s Dr Tim Byron says there’s a strong link between music and our minds, and the answer to combating an earworm is simple.
Stronger together
How UOW is helping young Batemans Bay couple Tom and Teja Roberts build a bright new future in the face of serious adversity.
General tags, Alumni, Community, Environment and Energy, Study areas, Science and Technology
Turning the tide on plastic pollution
Global plastic pollution is reaching crisis level. This has severe implications for our oceans, our environment, our wildlife and our health, now and into the future. But is it too late to end the plastic pandemic?
Environment and Energy, Study areas, Science and Technology
Global Climate Change Week
Climate change is an urgent and important issue that in years to come will have an irreversible impact on our society. At UOW, students and researchers are working to provide practical solutions to the many problems facing our planet, including warming sea temperatures, food security, and plastic pollution.
Alumni
Delivering sustainability
Australia Post isn’t just about delivering your mail these days. It is also delivering on its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as are many other Australian businesses, big and small.
Philosophical adventures in time and space
An education in the liberal arts, unlike that of a purely technical or scientific kind, seeks to produce graduates who are capable of reflective understanding – graduates who can stand back and imaginatively evaluate what is required to think well about topics of foundational importance in our lives.
Alumni
True crime wave
Exploring the ethics and boundaries at play in true crime podcasting. “A beautiful young girl has lost her life, and she’s just been treated like a piece of garbage.”
Alumni
Breaking new ground
At 28, Sally Riley left her family home in country New South Wales and headed to the University of Wollongong with the idea of becoming an actor.
Alumni
Realising the power of journalism
On Alice Matthews’ very first reporting shift for radio current affairs on ABC, she learnt a valuable lesson as a journalist: the story you think you’re going to cover, may not be the story you file at the end of the day.
Alumni
The cutting edge of anatomy
As an outdoors country girl growing up in Wagga, Katie Gaskin’s limited television time would play a pivotal role in moulding her unusual career ambition.
Alumni
Larger than life
In just three short years, Claire Foxton has expanded her already impressive creative repertoire from artist, designer and print maker, to internationally accomplished muralist.
Alumni
Lisa Havilah: a creative powerhouse
In 2003, a controversial art exhibition in Western Sydney examined the life and death of Blacktown woman Anita Cobby. The exhibition ‘Anita and Beyond‘- the brainchild of the then Casula Powerhouse director, Kon Gouriotis - involved 12 artists and reams of social history material including personal memorabilia linked to the aftermath of a crime committed in 1986.
Alumni
The Wright stuff
Matthew Wright remembers his University of Wollongong graduation ceremony in 1994 with great pride as well as a touch of amusement over dodging a wardrobe malfunction.
Arts and Culture
The Future Of: Screen Media
“The Future Of…” series asks a variety of UOW experts and researchers the same five questions, to provide insight into the potential future states of our lives, communities and world.
Alumni
Living a life of purpose
In 2010, Maryanne Harris was an exercise science student at UOW when her partner of three years was involved in a balcony collapse.
Alumni
No boulder too big
Mikayla Dennelly has trained her sights on setting the advertising world on fire, and she has the ambition, energy and drive to do just that.
Arts and Culture, Study areas
Marching on
Senior Professor Vera Mackie and Dr Sharon Crozier-De Rosa trace the memories of women who have made history, changed the world, and paved the way for their modern sisters.
Why the things you care about matter
If you can look beyond the pressure of Year 12, have you considered what could happen if you simply asked yourself: What do I care about?
Science and Technology
Digital addiction by design
Our infatuation with devices is no accident, raising ethical and legal questions about how tech companies are using our digital addiction.
Alumni
Global correspondent
Lu has worked for major news outlets in Paris, Belfast, London and Sydney.
Alumni
Striving for inclusivity
Children from Mogo Primary School gather on the University of Wollongong’s Batemans Bay regional campus.
Alumni
Fighting crime by the numbers
“The work I do is definitely demanding and challenging and can be daunting at times. But at the end of the day it’s intellectually rewarding for me.”
Alumni
Home is where the art is
What started life as an art-based project for teenagers to collaborate on at Bellambi Neighbourhood Centre, has grown into a community festival and campaign aiming to change the way the world sees the suburb.
Alumni
The secret to truly smart cities
Smart lights, smart water meters, smart waste disposal, even smart parking are great ideas, but if only a section of the community can use it, is it really as smart as we think?
Alumni
Beyond the laboratory
Dr Dixit uses his scientific background and profile to address health and environmental issues affecting developing countries, including his home country of Nepal.
Alumni
A platform for change
When you meet Dominique, it’s easy to see the role that passion and purpose have played in her rapid career trajectory since she graduated little more than 10 years ago.
Alumni
Living the luxe life
Luxury brands have a way of making a sophisticated lifestyle look effortless. Jessica Sparks spoke to three UOW alumni working for luxury brands and discovered it’s not all jet planes, islands and tigers on a gold leash.
Alumni
A house like no other
It is almost impossible to think of Sydney without conjuring to mind one or both of the city’s major landmarks: the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.
Alumni
Banking on change
It’s a turbulent time in the world of banking. According to James Wyatt, that just makes it all the more exciting.
Community, Health and Medicine, Study areas
Let's talk about sex
How should we approach some of the pressing issues facing adolescents?
Community, Health and Medicine
The baby boomer legacy: building dementia-friendly communities
It is time we rethink our approach to aged-care policy and create dementia-friendly communities.
International
A voice to be heard
She didn’t know a word of English when she arrived in Australia, but through work, volunteering and taking a chance, Angie has made the most of her time as an international student.
Alumni
Home and away
The Alumni Relations Team’s mission is to connect with as many UOW alumni as possible, no matter where they are in the world. Considering there are over 140,000 UOW alumni worldwide, this is no small feat. Luckily we love what we do and are always looking for new ways to reach out and offer you a reason to stay in touch with us.
Alumni
Paying it forward
Five young graduates spoke to Julie-Ann Jeffery about how you can make a difference at any age.
Alumni
Start-ups igniting the world
Bernie Goldie spoke to the UOW graduates taking on the world as global entrepreneurs.
Alumni
The ones to follow
UOW alumni are ambitious, creative and connected and they’re gaining quite a following. Here are just a few we like to follow.
Alumni
2016 Alumni Awards
Across the globe UOW alumni continue to dissolve the boundaries of what’s possible.
Alumni
Making an impact in 2016
A celebration of alumni aged under 35.
Alumni
Food security
In 2014-2015, a staggering 63.4 per cent of Australian adults were overweight or obese – well over half of our nation. But believe it or not, Australia – one of the world’s richest countries – has a food security problem.
Alumni
Finding the 'why'
When Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, Professor Alison Jones, was also appointed as UOW’s Pro Vice-Chancellor (Health Strategy) in April, the appointment turned heads in Australian university circles.
Alumni
Giants in their regions
Universities are significant institutions central to the nation’s social and economic development. They achieve this in two major ways. First, by training highly skilled individuals. Second, by creating new knowledge and novel technologies. Both these outputs shape national competitiveness and contribute to our distinctive identity.
Alumni
Breaking through boundaries
New drugs to combat cancer, a ‘game-changing’ renewable battery made from salt, and a remarkable discovery that changed our understanding of early human dispersal and evolution.
Alumni
Not so black and white
Checking the (physical) mailbox is not something I think too much about. If there’s anything in there, it’s usually a reminder to pay an outrageously expensive fine from the time I didn’t ‘tap on’ the train, or another Time magazine renewal offer (with a free tote bag), or sometimes a note from that one travelling friend that thinks postcards quaint.
Alumni
A curious traveller
Acclaimed painter and printmaker Guy Warren AM believes that creativity is in everyone – it’s just a matter of thinking outside the box and trying something different.
Alumni
Culture in transit
When it comes to international influences for his work, Dr Laurens Tan has it covered; few other artists consider themselves concurrently a local in Las Vegas, Beijing and Wollongong.
Alumni
Shifting perspectives
As the world continues to open up and boundaries become more fluid, the notion of identity becomes ever more complex.
Alumni
A gift to water the seeds of innovation
Former University of Wollongong Vice-Chancellor Emeritus Professor Ken McKinnon AO and his wife Suzanne Walker have gifted more than $1 million to UOW for a fund that fosters innovation and supports excellence.
Alumni
Wollongong to Wall Street
"It is important to give back to the University; to help our graduates get good jobs, apply what they’ve learned and give them the opportunity to take it to the next level."
Alumni
The ones to follow
The talent, creativity and impact of UOW alumni and academics reach far and wide. These are just a few we like to follow. This is the world from their perspective.
Alumni
The barefoot teacher
Young and boisterous children sit in silent awe when James MacDiarmid’s classes start rolling.
Alumni
If the shoe fits
Matt Bernson studied for a year at UOW in 2000 while on exchange. He spoke with Keeli Cambourne about his muse, Toyota LandCruisers and Courteney Cox.
Alumni
Garnering Googlers
UOW alumnus Sunil Chandra leads the team that not only hires and assesses the best candidates to work at the ultimate tech-heads’ dream job, but supports them once they’re on board.
Alumni
Natural advantages
UOW alumnus and nationally recognised economics correspondent Adam Creighton shares his insight on economic activity in Australia.
Alumni
Storyteller at heart
As a high school student, Kumi Taguchi developed a love for documentaries and stories from around the world: a passion that’s evident in her work as a senior anchor on ABC News 24.
Alumni
Communicating passions
Communicating the vision of multinational corporations is a speciality of Luke Fredberg. He discusses with UOW Outlook Magazine his current focus – CBS Corporation and the Golden Age of Television.