Case studies
- UOW and James Martin Institute announce strategic partnership
- Building cross-cultural psychology expertise
- Illawarra Cancer Carers continues vital support of UOW research
The University of Wollongong announced a partnership with the James Martin Institute for Public Policy (JMI), enhancing its ability to deliver transformative outcomes and real-world impact for the public good. This significant partnership positions UOW to contribute expertise to complex societal challenges on a much larger scale.
As a joint venture between government and universities, JMI enables policymakers to harness multidisciplinary expertise to drive policy innovation and tackle complex public policy challenges. The partnership with UOW brings vital regional perspectives to policy discussions, which is important in developing responses that take the requirements of large regional cities into account.
The partnership provides UOW researchers with access to Policy Fellowships and the JMI Policy Challenge Grant pool. This competitive program gives experts a chance to generate research-informed policy innovations, with the potential to address Australia's most significant public policy challenges.
In 2024, The Psychology in an International Context: Singapore (PICS) program connected psychology students from UOW Wollongong with peers in Singapore, with a focus on fostering graduates who are culturally competent and globally minded. This innovative partnership program empowers students to build cross-cultural understanding and develop expertise for addressing global mental health challenges across the Indo-Pacific region.
Students engaged in comprehensive workshops covering counselling skills, research methodologies and career development, building practical knowledge to apply in the areas of mental health and community support. They also gained experience of collaborating to design research studies that tackled real-world, cross-cultural issues, bridging theory with practice.
Delivered in partnership with the Singapore Institute of Management, the annual program offers enriching experiences to students, through collaborations with the Institute of Mental Health and the National University of Singapore. Since launching in 2015, 290 students have taken part in the program, with participants consistently reporting enhanced confidence, valuable international networks, and expanded study and career opportunities.
In 2024, the long-term partnership between UOW and Illawarra Cancer Carers (ICC) continued, with the not-for-profit organisation providing a generous donation of $47,500 to UOW’s Molecular Horizons to support the research of innovative cancer treatments. The University and ICC’s 18-year partnership demonstrates the transformative power of community-supported research. Over this time more than $1.2 million has been gifted to UOW to support cancer research through local fundraising events such as stalls, raffles and an annual banquet.
Senior Professor Marie Ranson from Molecular Horizons and the School of Science noted that the long-term support from the ICC helped drive cancer research conducted by her team, as well as research and clinical collaborators in the Illawarra region as a whole.
Two UOW research projects that received early and crucial support from ICC donations have gone on to attract commercial support. The most advanced of these is the Deflexifol project, which was picked up by local pharmaceutical startup FivepHusion, enabling clinical trials in Wollongong that demonstrated promising results in 60 people with advanced cancer.
- SDG 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing
- SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities
- SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals
Discover how community support drives cancer research at UOW
