UWS shines with best ever ARC grant result

Digital compilation of UWS research images

The University of Western Sydney is now among the highest performing research universities in the country, following the announcement of prestigious Australian Research Council grants this month.

Achieving its best ever result, with over $5.8 million awarded for 18 Discovery Project grants, UWS now ranks 11th out of 40 universities nationwide, on both the amount of dollars and the number of grants awarded - a jump from 16th.

UWS research areas as diverse as climate change, conducting business in the Asian Century, speech development and languages, urban infrastructure, increasing the competitiveness of Australian company logistics, health and exercise and an ageing population all received grants.

In further good news, UWS was awarded a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award to support promising early career researchers, and a further $400,000 has been awarded to the University in Linkage, Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities grants.

UWS Vice-Chancellor Professor Janice Reid says this is a demonstration of the University's long term commitment to excellence in research, and an example of why the nation needs diversity in the higher education system, and not to just concentrate research resources in a few institutions.

"This outstanding result means the University is now knocking on the door of the top 10 research performers in the country, all universities that are much older than UWS," says Professor Reid.

"This research success reflects the dedication of our researchers and the quality of their work. The University has worked very hard to nurture our fields of research expertise and develop world-class facilities that can deliver relevant research which makes a real difference in the lives of Australians."

UWS has also continued its success supporting Indigenous researchers, with a further two Discovery Indigenous grants totalling $1,015,000 being awarded, placing UWS first in the sector for Indigenous grants.

These include a study on the interplay between bullying and racism, and a project led by Miles Franklin winner and UWS academic, Alex Wright, looking at the role and effectiveness of Aboriginal storytelling in the current environment of Aboriginal policy in Australia.

Professor Reid says the strong connection UWS has with the community helps shape the University's research landscape.

"Our success in the current ARC round of grants not only demonstrates the excellence of UWS research but its relevance to the local Greater Western Sydney region and beyond," says Professor Reid.

"It is vital that Australia continues to have a world-class university system which allows a diverse sector to achieve excellence in both teaching and research." 

Ends

12 November 2012

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