Education should prepare young people to face the challenges of their time. To keep up with the changing world, this means that education has to keep adjusting. But unfortunately, our education systems have fallen out of sync with the times. Environmental decay is arguably the greatest challenge facing humanity today. However, education systems are failing to […] … learn more→

The other day, my good friend Professor Narelle Lemon sent me a link to an academic paper called “AI and its implications for research in higher education: a critical dialogue”  because it cited … one of my old blog posts. It’s a good paper, and open access, so I recommend having a read. It’s written as a debate between […] … learn more→

Many historical figures we know for their exemplary lives share a character trait such as resilience. Perhaps one of the most notable examples is that of the American Helen Keller : the fact that she became deaf and blind a few months after birth did not prevent her from having a full life. She actively participated in […] … learn more→

Of the millions of young adults heading off to college this fall, many will be international students. If trends continue, about 1 million students from around the world will come to the U.S. to pursue higher education this year. These young scholars make a big economic impact. Altogether, they pump more than US$40 billion into the U.S. economy and support […] … learn more→

Many people think science is difficult and needs special equipment, but that’s not true. Science can be explored at home using everyday materials. Everyone, especially children, naturally ask questions about the world around them, and science offers a structured way to find answers. Misconceptions about the difficulty of science often stem from a lack of […] … learn more→

Personalized medicine describes a treatment tailored to one or a few individuals who have potentially deadly health conditions, such as cancer that no longer responds to chemotherapy, or an infection resistant to multiple antibiotics. Although personalized medicine is promising, it is labour-intensive and expensive, and the pathways for its regulatory approval and reimbursement are complicated, since the […] … learn more→

It is the season of university open days and study decisions for Year 12 students. As an academic, the question I get asked most by students and parents is, “will this degree lead to a job?”. It is understandable. However, it isn’t necessarily the right question to ask as young people consider what course will suit them best. Focusing […] … learn more→

Imagine that you are an examiner. You are reading a doctoral thesis. And you’ve nearly got to the end. You’ve read a lot of carefully crafted words which have explained what the research is and why it is as it is. You’ve read the results and what these mean and how they fit with the current […] … learn more→

Title of course: Space/Power/Species What prompted the idea for the course? A few years ago, I came across the architect Joyce Hwang’s artificial habitat for bats at the Griffis Sculpture Park in upstate New York. Titled “Bat Tower,” this outdoor installation was designed to house the little brown bat, an endangered species threatened by a fungal infection […] … learn more→

Humanoid robots have long been a staple of science fiction, but there is now real progress being made. A range of new models made by or backed by the likes of Boston Dynamics, Tesla and OpenAI are able to walk and move like humans, as well as perform feats of agility and dexterity. But it’s the ability to incorporate artificial […] … learn more→