University of Canberra

Did someone say GOLD?! 🥇🥇🥇

The Commonwealth Games have wrapped up, but the celebrations are just beginning for our UC students who competed in Glasgow.

Helping Australia secure an outstanding result, our students fought hard to win an incredible three gold medals, one silver medal and two bronze medals! 🎉

Congratulations to Jesse Moore (artistic gymnastics), Georgia Godwin (artistic gymnastics), Claudia Marcks (para track cycling) and Jasmine Greenwood (para swimming) for their medal-winning performances, and well done to Timothy Fraser (para athletics) as well!

A special shout-out also goes to UC alumna Petria Thomas, who led Australia’s highly successful campaign as Chef de Mission and commemorated the experience with a Commonwealth Sport emblem ankle tattoo.

Join us in congratulating them all!

She’s not just a model – the recognisable face of our iconic new brand campaign is also a student and staff member!

U CAN @ UC is designed around the stories of real UC students: mature age students, career changers, and people who were told they couldn't. So it's only fitting that Riley is helping represent that story.

In college, Riley was told she wasn't cut out for university. Years later, she's a mum, crushing a double degree, and working in our Student Recruitment team 👊

Ready Riley's story here: https://bit.ly/4xiD3Lz

🚶 Can your walk predict dementia?

📚 How can we better empower new teachers?

🎬 How does consumption of Korean media shape cultural identity for the diaspora?

🎭 How do you capture the secrets that trauma masks?

🩺 Why do some people have the same pain risk factors, and yet very different health outcomes?

Just some of the questions on the enquiring minds of UC’s emerging researchers, who will be exploring the above – and more – at the latest instalment of Pints and Insights next week 🧠

The students are all competitors in UC’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.

When: Wednesday 6 August, 7pm - 8.30pm
Where: Cypher, Gungahlin

Register at https://bit.ly/4yKmQ3b or email [email protected] for more info.

Book a table to guarantee your spot!

For most of her working life, Belinda Muir built a successful career in education – but one ambition never quite left her.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period of personal reflection prompted Belinda to revisit the career she had dreamed of pursuing when she finished school: cultural heritage conservation.

Five minutes after mentioning that dream to her husband, she was online enrolling in the UC’s Graduate Certificate in Cultural Materials Conservation.

That decision opened the door to a new profession. Through a combination of theory, practical projects and industry connections, Belinda developed hands-on skills conserving objects including an 18th-century painting, an embroidered textile and a tin toy car.

By the end of her first semester, she had secured work as a Conservation Technician. Today, she is helping protect Australia’s cultural heritage at the National Film and Sound Archive.

“My advice would be simple: take the leap and do it,” Belinda says.

“The rewards of education and lifelong learning are profound. Returning to study can open doors, create opportunities and take you places you may never have imagined possible.”

Read Belinda’s UnCover story: https://bit.ly/4vR6LpJ

What if the most powerful tool for student wellbeing isn’t in the classroom, but just outside it? 🌳🏫

With teen mental health in decline, researchers from the UC Health Research Institute have explored how schoolyards influence adolescent wellbeing, and how their designs could be improved to better meet the diverse range of modern student needs.

The resulting “Schoolyard Greenprint” provides evidence-based practical guidelines to help school communities transform their outdoor spaces beyond the traditional, outdated designs, and create spaces that support teenagers as they navigate the social, physical and emotional changes of adolescence.

🔗 Read more about the research and how to download the free guides here: https://www.canberra.edu.au/uncover/news-archive/2026/july/from-concrete-to-connection-the-uc-research-guiding-schoolyard-transformations

Tuggeranong takeover!

We've officially launched the UC Southside Hub at Lake Tuggeranong College – a dedicated space bringing university advice, support and pathways closer to students and the wider southside community.

Through workshops and drop-in sessions delivered by UC staff and faculty specialists, the Hub will help college students make a smooth and successful transition into higher education.

Workshops will cover key areas including academic writing, financing university, portfolio entry, career planning and alternative pathways.

The Hub will also host intergenerational workshops, fostering connection, belonging and conversations about pathways across generations.

"Tuggeranong residents shouldn’t have to spend upwards of an hour each way on the bus to access advice and support on university pathways. The UC Southside Hub meets residents where they are," said VC and President Professor the Hon. Bill Shorten.

Learn more via: https://bit.ly/45rnLbm

Nearly one in five pregnant Australian women will receive a diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM).

The experience can be overwhelming: blood glucose monitoring four times a day, diet tracking – and for some, insulin injections – become the norm.

UC researchers have now released an evidence-based app to help women manage their GDM, and are seeking users to participate in a feedback study.

Dr Cathy Knight-Agarwal, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics at the Faculty of Health has led the development of the app.

“By joining our research project, women with GDM will have a one-on-one online consultation with a dietitian, who will go through the app and explain the features comprehensively,” she says.

If you or someone you know is currently navigating gestational diabetes, the researchers would like to hear from you.

Find out more about the app and register your interest here: https://bit.ly/4h13YXj

UC students have taken home four medals in the first weekend of the Commonwealth Games 🥇🥈🥉🥉

It’s been an action-packed start to the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, with artistic gymnasts Georgia Godwin and Jesse Moore, and Paralympic swimmer Jasmine Greenwood, all winning medals.

It was gold for Georgia – Australia’s most decorated gymnast – in the women’s artistic team event, silver for Jasmine in the 200m individual medley SM10, and Jesse completed the collection with a bronze medal in the men’s artistic team event before claiming another bronze in the men’s individual all-around event.

Join us in congratulating Georgia, Jasmine and Jesse!

Also keep an eye out for our other UC students, Timothy Fraser and Claudia Marcks, as they take to the global stage this week 🎊



📸 Kin Cheung/AP, Commonwealth Games Australia, Delly Carr

Can just 60 minutes help build resilience against misinformation?

New research from the University of Canberra has found that a one-hour media literacy course significantly improves older Australians' ability to spot misinformation, verify information and identify trustworthy sources online – with benefits still evident three months later.

The research also found the course had the greatest impact among groups traditionally shown to have lower levels of media literacy, including older Australians, regional communities and culturally and linguistically diverse Australians.

"Media literacy is a cost-effective and proven way to build people's resilience to misinformation by developing critical thinking skills to analyse and evaluate information in an increasingly overwhelming and polarised online ecosystem," said University of Canberra PhD candidate Saffron Howden.

Read more: https://www.canberra.edu.au/about-uc/media/newsroom/2026/july/a-60-minute-course-can-help-older-australians-stay-safe-online

Social media is no longer just where Australians connect – it's increasingly where they get their news. 🗞️📱

The latest Digital News Report: Australia 2026 found that nearly half of Australians aged 18–24 use TikTok for news, highlighting the growing role of social platforms in how younger audiences stay informed.

The report also found that many Australians view news from creators and influencers as more relatable, entertaining and easier to understand than traditional news media.

Combined with the growing popularity of online news videos, these findings show audiences are increasingly seeking news that is accessible, engaging and easy to consume.

As news continues to evolve, understanding how audiences discover and engage with information is becoming just as important as understanding what they consume.

📖 Read the full report via https://bit.ly/4n39PvX