Our Communities

Arts, Culture and Society

A shift in energy

by Gemma Wolk

With the growing urgency to reach net zero by 2050, 17 Hunter Valley mines will close over the next 20 years. Conversations often centre around job losses, but what comes next for those who will remain?

Busines, Law and Politics

Money isn’t free. Here’s what to know before downloading a cashback app

by Mirella Atherton, Lecturer, University of Newcastle

“Cashback” apps make an enticing promise. You download an app or click on a web browser extension. You go about your online shopping as usual, spend money, but then get some cash back. It sounds simple, right?

Education

‘Mum and Dad both finished school in Year 10’ - How to help first-in-family students graduate from uni

by Sally Patfield, Lecturer, University of Newcastle

Each year, about 30% of new undergraduates in Australia are the first in their families to go to university.

Arts, Culture and Society

This uni program is changing the game for mob

by Shahni Wellington

From one students’ first time in a classroom to a mum-of-three’s return to learning, these real-life stories show what’s possible when universities open doors and open minds.

Health and Wellbeing

“I thought I was a bad mother”: How telehealth changed a young boy’s life and gave a family hope

by Rosemarie Milsom

“I thought I was a bad mother,” says Marlie Matthews, tearfully. “I tried everything, but Marcus was getting more and more behind. He wasn’t speaking much and when he did, I couldn’t understand him. It was very hard on all of us.”

Arts, Culture and Society

Through sage smoke and story: a life-changing Indigenous knowledge exchange for graduate students

by Jodan Perry, PhD student

A transformative week in Canada saw University of Newcastle students and educators connect with global participants, sharing Indigenous knowledge and building lifelong cultural bonds at the inaugural International Traditional Indigenous Knowledges Institute Gathering.

Arts, Culture and Society

Big dreams built through remote community partnership

by Shahni Wellington

The unlikely pairing of outback Menindee and seaside Newcastle have successfully bridged the distance

Education

Teacher transformation scores top marks

by Madelaine Love

A new way of teaching has helped turn the tables at Cessnock High School. The results speak for themselves.

Busines, Law and Politics

The policing of LGBTQ+ people casts a long, dark shadow. Marching at Mardi Gras must be backed up with real change.

by Justin Ellis, Lecturer in the School of Law and Justice at the University of Newcastle, and Nicole L. Asquith, Professor of Policing in the School of Social Sciences at he University of Tasmania

Public trust and confidence in NSW Police has been sorely tested in the past two weeks. The charging of a police officer with the murders of a Sydney gay couple, Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, has seen shock turn to grief and then anger.

Arts, Culture and Society

Not just a youth movement: history too often forgets older protesters

by Effie Karageorgos

Recent sustained anti-coal action by Blockade Australia in the Hunter Valley has brought public protest back into the news cycle. Activists have occupied trains, railway lines and machinery in an attempt to obstruct coal production and broadcast their message about the climate crisis.

Health and Wellbeing

Rerouting trauma

by Gemma Wolk

How cultural insight and the neuroscience of trauma is changing the conversation around youth violence.

Busines, Law and Politics

Fight for justice

by Carmen Swadling

The fight to free Kathleen Folbigg – the woman once dubbed Australia’s worst female serial killer – started in 2013 with the University’s Legal Centre and its law students helping to drive the movement.

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