Victoria University has a clear mandate to undertake research with impact, ensuring that its outcomes benefit people, place and planet. There is no doubt that in research VU is strong, both thematically and pragmatically. For more than 100 years, Victoria University (VU) has offered accessible education to students in Melbourne’s west and beyond.
When we waved goodbye to 2014, we also farewelled one of my favourite initiatives – The Year of Reading Women. After reading Joanna Russ’ 1983 book How to Suppress Women’s Writing in December 2012, author…
Yesterday Cricket Australia launched onto the Apple TV network, becoming the first Australian sports organisation to join the platform. The new Cricket Australia channel will feature a mixture of interviews…
I recently watched Salinger (2013), the documentary about the late American writer J.D. Salinger, famous recluse and author of The Catcher in the Rye. In it, the word “genius” was bandied about often and…
Released two days before Christmas, you could be forgiven for missing the issues paper on government roles and responsibilities in education that is part of the process in developing the federalism white…
Frank Moorhouse is known primarily – but not exclusively – for his award-winning fiction such as the Edith Triology. In more recent times, he has turned his considerable talents to the role of the Australian…
The large Queensland liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects currently under construction will begin production over the next two years. Exploiting previously unused reserves of coal seam gas, the LNG produced…
Smaller footballs, lighter tennis racquets and mini playing fields: it makes sense to have these for children, right? Well, in recent years there’s been strong opposition against children playing modified…
Launched in 1959, named after the inventor’s daughter Barbara, and owned by 99% of 3-10 year old girls in the USA, Barbie has been a popular request on young girls’ Christmas wish lists for 55 years. So…
Being a child in the 21st century is very different, and some would say more complex, than in previous times. What remains constant is that children love playing and that play is regarded as the most effective…
Cycling in Australia centres around the Austral Wheel Race, and no other wheeling event in the world is so rich in traditions. It is an oft-told tale now, this of the Austral, as it has been repeated each…
Australia is now in an income recession. A fortnight ago, when the National Accounts revealed a second quarter of negative growth in seasonally adjusted real gross domestic income, treasurer Joe Hockey…
Across Australia Year 12 students are collectively holding their breaths to see what results they’ve achieved and, consequently, what their futures hold. Only hours after their release, many secondary…
Growing up with a Jamaican grandmother in 1970s small-town Australia was unusual. There weren’t any other Caribbean (or West Indian) people living nearby and a Caribbean community did not exist in Newcastle…
In the 40 years since its inception, rarely has TAFE featured as a central platform on which political parties win or lose votes. As such it seldom rates mentions in political campaigns as a distinct sector…
We rightly marvel at the skills of a talented musician, especially witnessing them perform live. But how does someone become so skilled? Obviously hours and hours of dedicated practice is a necessity…
The announcement yesterday by the Northern Territory government that it is selling the Territory Insurance Office’s insurance assets to Allianz Australia for A$236 million has many worried their premiums…
Victorians will soon go to the polls to decide who will be responsible for the management of the state for the next four years. Voters are confronted with many issues on which they must pass judgement…
Whether an athlete has endured the repeated joint stresses of a marathon run, or the relentless battery of hits during a football match, many will opt for a post-activity polar plunge into an ice-cold…
Netflix will launch in Australia and New Zealand in March next year. Expectations are this is just the start of an influx of new streaming options in Australia. The internet and television are increasingly…
The proposed changes to higher education, including the deregulation of fees, while offering potentially significant benefits, also carry significant social and economic risks. Should the bill pass in…
Honorary Professor, School of Kinesiology, Western University, London, Canada; Adjunct Fellow, Olympic Scholar and Co-Director of the Olympic and Paralympic Research Centre, Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University