Innovative research. Real world impact. Future focus.
Research is how we build knowledge and explore future possibilities. Researchers seek practical solutions to real-world problems, and world-class research is central to the lively and rigorous culture at UTS. Internationally renowned researchers work alongside students and early career researchers, addressing complex challenges and providing high level training. This keeps UTS at the forefront of future industries, with cutting edge capabilities in artificial intelligence, data science, robotics and more.
Transforming society and industry
The emphasis is on work that has a transformative impact on society and industry – work such as ‘Rapido’, UTS’s rapid prototyping unit, developed by researchers in the Faculty of Engineering and IT (FEIT). Founded in 2016, Rapido has quickly become a key industry partner. The technology supports organisations to deliver hardware and software products and solutions. It can help solve a specific problem, using a wide range of resources such as 3D printing, data visualisation, and the state-of-the-art tech labs available at UTS. Current partnerships include start-ups, small-to-medium enterprises and global companies.
Machine learning, data science, and public health
UTS is committed to work that will benefit the community. In a recent public health project, UTS data scientists played a key role in investigating the psychological impact of COVID-19 outbreaks and government policies such as lockdowns. Using machine learning, they analysed 94 million tweets from the first months of the pandemic, tracking effects on mental health in NSW. “Social media provides a real-time snapshot of the thoughts, feelings and activities of people’s daily lives,” says Professor Guandong Xu, from the UTS School of Computer Science. “Aggregating these digital traces makes it possible to monitor health at a large-scale.”
Partnering to restore the Great Barrier Reef
UTS is also a leader in sustainability research – delivering insights, solutions and technology around environmental science, climate change, green energy, clean water and public policy. For example, in a world first, UTS researchers from the Faculty of Science are partnering with tourism operators in Queensland to restore the Great Barrier Reef. The researchers were collecting data on what made certain coral more resilient, relying on the tour operators’ extensive local knowledge. The Coral Nurture Program is reaping benefits not just for the Great Barrier Reef, but also for the communities that rely on the Reef for their livelihood.
Do you see a research career in your future?
Explore UTS research now
Related articles