The University of Melbourne has recently relaunched Pursuit, its award-winning news and research content website, with a fresh design and enhanced multimedia features. The revamped site aims to provide a more immersive and dynamic experience, effectively showcasing the university’s transformative research and its global impact.
The newly redesigned Pursuit leverages a variety of digital tools to narrate stories more compellingly. It features a diverse array of recent articles, including:
- The role of an Australian algorithm in verifying US election results
- The correlation between bird nest designs and specific climate conditions globally
- The detrimental effects of cold housing on mental health
- The potential threat of AI-generated music to Australia’s live music scene
- A proposal to integrate regional cities into a high-speed rail network
- An exploration of the current state of K-Pop
Professor Mark Cassidy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), emphasized the significance of the University of Melbourne’s research in driving societal progress. He noted that the university’s research translates discoveries into practical applications that benefit society.
“The Universities Accord report released earlier this year underscores the critical role of research in Australia’s prosperity, global competitiveness, and the advancement of knowledge,” Professor Cassidy remarked. “We have a responsibility to ensure that our research contributes to societal progress and is utilized by our communities, industry partners, commercial partners, stakeholders, and governments both domestically and internationally.”
Professor Cassidy highlighted the importance of Pursuit in amplifying the university’s groundbreaking research. “Pursuit showcases our research, helping to strengthen knowledge and improve lives. It covers a wide range of topics, from climate change and workplace behavior to biodiversity loss, artificial intelligence, and vaccine safety. It also addresses domestic violence, tax reform, schoolchildren’s wellbeing, and tools to better predict landslides. Pursuit enables our researchers to share these vital stories.”
The platform also plays a crucial role in attracting prospective students, graduate researchers, academics, and industry partners to the University of Melbourne. “Our research is a magnet for those seeking to study and collaborate with Australia’s leading university,” Cassidy added.
Imogen Crump, Pursuit’s editor, pointed out the increasing need for reliable news sources, especially in light of the 2024 Digital News Report, which highlights the rise of misinformation and disinformation in news and social media. “Pursuit plays a vital role in ensuring that public debate, discourse, and policy are properly informed,” Crump stated. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pursuit became a trusted and credible voice in both Australian and international media, publishing expert articles that countered misinformation, contributed informed opinions to public discourse, and guided policy development.”
Since its inception in 2015, Pursuit has garnered a significant international audience, with over 50% of its readers hailing from countries such as the United States, India, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and Indonesia. In 2022, Pursuit was honored with the Universities Australia Award for Excellence in University Research Reporting.
Over the past decade, more than 1,200 academics have contributed to Pursuit, offering a wide range of expertise, opinions, and knowledge. Notably, over half of these contributors are female academics. Some of the most popular stories on Pursuit include:
- Insights into long COVID and its impact on the brain
- The long-term health risks associated with tonsillectomies
- A look at 50 words in Australian Indigenous languages
- The myth about the extinction of redheads with blue eyes
- University students’ innovative uses of AI technology
Crump expressed her excitement about the new features of Pursuit, stating, “The new-look Pursuit maintains our high standards of storytelling while creating a more engaging connection with our audiences. We now have the ability to bring the university’s research to life through enhanced graphics, data visualization, videos, audio, and animation. This allows us to take our audience on an immersive digital journey, showcasing the how and why of research.”
Explore the redesigned Pursuit at www.pursuit.unimelb.edu.au to experience the latest in research and storytelling from the University of Melbourne.
