Issue Two

New knowledge empowers people, it encourages the open inquiry and debate crucial for addressing the world’s most pressing issues. At Western Sydney University our researchers are delivering research that informs and leads this debate. Western’s rigorous research, and our outstanding collaborations with industry and end users, confronts real world challenges. The research produced at Western is robust, transparent and, importantly, reproducible.

In the second edition of Future-Makers we showcase some of Western’s incisive and innovative research. It is a glimpse of our work that is empowering communities and improving lives, locally, regionally and globally. Genuine research impact is not achieved in isolation. Western’s research is inclusive and co-designed with those beyond the University’s gates, those who know the issues through lived experience.

Western Sydney University is ranked among the top two per cent of universities worldwide with a growing international reputation as an impact driven, research led institution. Western’s world-leading research teams continue to attract outstanding researchers from across the globe to add to our intellectual excellence and cutting-edge research facilities. We are continuing this strategy by launching new research centres that bring together and support our cohorts of research excellence and our partnerships with industry. This strategy, coupled with our prestigious scholarship schemes, is helping to realise Australia’s next generation of research leaders.

The stories of discovery and research translation delivered in Future-Makers are exciting and intriguing but, perhaps most importantly, they are relevant to peoples’ lives. This issue reflects the often unique cross-disciplinary and collaborative lens through which problems are viewed and research is driven at Western. The research projects discussed in this publication are wide-ranging and include: a complementary medicine–based education program that can significantly reduce medical interventions during childbirth; the use of biologically inspired cameras to make space safer; the development of non-intrusive methods to monitor both cardiac and respiratory functions; professional and volunteer home visiting support programs for families living with adversity; and the documentation and analysis of the transformation of Sydney’s Chinatown into a transnational, hybrid economic and cultural space in the context of the rise of China.

We are delighted and proud to share these and other stories arising from the excellent work by Western Sydney University’s researchers.