With a history of over 150 years of teaching and research, The University of Melbourne is an intellectual powerhouse within the Australian and international cultural landscape. A publicly spirited institution, it makes distinctive contributions to society through its research, teaching and community engagement. It attracts high-performing students and internationally renowned academics and researchers, including a number of Nobel Laureates.
In partnership with The Conversation, the University is keen to communicate its insights and research findings in simple and direct ways to encourage public debate and inform public policy to help build a dynamic and effective community.
Multidisciplinary approach
As a leading, internationally recognised, research institution, the University of Melbourne is ranked in the top 100 universities globally by a range of independent academic ranking indices, including:
- Academic Ranking of World Universities Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- Times Higher Education World University Rankings
- Thomson Essential Science Indicators
Like The Conversation, the University is committed in both its teaching and research to drawing on expertise from multiple disciplines to solve key social and global issues. In 2007, the University launched a groundbreaking teaching reform known as the Melbourne Model, which enables interdisciplinary learning in small cohorts to equip graduates for a fast-changing global society.
The University also is focused on creating interdisciplinary research clusters to enable breakthrough thinking and results. Many of these researchers now have the opportunity to join The Conversation to further extend their research specialties through this new and exciting online community.
Public engagement
The University has a proud history of public engagement, most notably through its regular and highly popular Public Lecture Series. The series offers insights from a range of prominent local, national and international speakers. The University produces a range of podcasts, publications and information services including:
- UpClose: A fortnightly audio talkshow of research, opinion and analysis
- Visions: A fortnightly video magazine about the University of Melbourne as well as recorded public lectures
- Voice: A monthly newspaper covering issues, views and news from the University
- Research Review: An annual publication focussing on research capacity and achievements
- The Melbourne Newsroom: The latest video, news and Tweets from the University experts
- Live@Melbourne: Audios and videos from University experts