GTVÄÐͬ

This past week has been a vivid example of the ANU mission – connecting people, ideas and action for a better future.

I joined the final SASS Lecture in the Pub for 2025, which was a wonderful opportunity to sit alongside students and staff in an informal setting, and share the roadmap for ANU and ensure our student voices are heard. I also enjoyed joining the College of Business and Economics students at their pizza party to mark the end-of-semester. It’s an important reminder to celebrate with our community when we can.

I was delighted to attend the opening of the Conjunction exhibition at the Drill Hall Gallery, which showcases recent philanthropic gifts and acquisitions to the ANU Art Collection. I was inspired to see how philanthropy and curatorial vision continues to grow our collection, and connect us with the broader cultural community.

At the College of Systems and Society Showcase, I witnessed collaboration in action. Students, researchers and industry partners came together to share innovative projects tackling real-world challenges.

To celebrate Founder’s Day at the School of Physics, we honoured Sir Mark Oliphant 76 years ago and recognised the University’s enduring role in building national research capability.

The launch of the Fair Play Hub, co-designed by the ANU Centre for Gambling Research and the Youth Coalition of the ACT, was a powerful reminder of our role in addressing urgent social challenges. The Hub provides young people, parents and communities with tools to reduce online gambling harm, an issue where prevention and education can make a real difference. 

Finally, at the Youth Climate Dialogue yesterday I was energised to see young leaders from Australia and the Pacific. It was wonderful to welcome the delegates to our beautiful campus as they spend time building on existing work and networks, and creating space for conversations to transform youth climate engagement.  

These events demonstrated the breadth of the University's impact, across education, research, and community – and made me very proud to be part of ANU.

From the language-rich shores of northern Australia and Western Arnhem Land, to the southern lowlands of Papua New Guinea, Distinguished Professor Nicholas Evans has spent his career listening to stories, jokes, songs and conversations in some of the world’s most fragile languages.

In recognition of his work, Evans has been awarded one of the most prestigious prizes in linguistics by the British Academy: the 2025 Neil and Saras Smith Medal for Linguistics.

His pioneering research has reshaped global thinking into how languages work, how they interact, how they encode cultural knowledge, and what clues they hold to our deep human past.

When readers pick up Rapture, the award-winning seventh novel by acclaimed author and HC Coombs Creative Arts Fellow, Emily Maguire, they’re immediately immersed in the world of 9th century Europe.

Rapture recently won the Queensland Literary Award for best work of fiction, but there’s a little bit of modern-day life at the ANU within those pages too.

“Canberra is in the soil of the book,” Maguire says.

            

As we continue to spotlight the pillars guiding our five-year strategy to support mental health and wellbeing at GTVÄÐͬ, this week’s theme is ‘more care in more ways’.

Anna Lockley of ANU Counselling explains how counselling and wellbeing services work together to provide tailored support for our students.

We’re making it easier for you to manage your study-related requests with a new feature in ANUHub – ANUHub Requests.

ANUHub Requests allows you to submit and track applications such as Voluntary Discontinuation, and in future, other online self-service requests to help you manage your degree.

These updates are part of the University’s commitment to improving the student administration experience.

Over the coming months, all Manage My Degree eForms will gradually move into ANUHub, starting with the Voluntary Discontinuation form by the end of October 2025.

Learn More: Introducing ANUHub Requests

ANU is home to a wonderful variety of wildlife that share our campus environment, from ducks, bunnies and insects, to our iconic native species. Please help keep them all safe by slowing down, staying alert and watching for wildlife, especially on roads, near wetlands and waterways, and during wet weather.

Spring is nesting season too, so you might spot ducklings around campus. Give them plenty of space and let our feathered friends go about their day undisturbed.

If you are involved in, or witness campus wildlife disturbances, please contact by emailing fixmycampus.fs@anu.edu.au.

The ANU Information Security Office has been hosting a month of tips, events, workshops and prizes for all staff and students as part of Cyber Security Awareness Month.

As we come to the end of this series, we look at the final theme of phishing:

Cyber security is for everyone, not just the tech-minded.

Wednesday 29 October, 7–9pm

Join a public lecture from Emeritus Professor Annie Clarke, Museum and Heritage Studies at the University of Sydney, as she reflects on over-arching archaeological themes and frameworks and discusses how they continue to transform interpretations of the archaeological record. 

Thursday 30 October, 4–5:30pm

Join Distinguished Fellow and Principal Asia Analyst Andrew Scobell as he discusses US-China relations in 2025. Exploring the question, “how did bilateral ties become so fraught and what does the future hold?”

Thursday 30 October, 5.30–6.30pm

Join a public lecture from Emeritus Professor Philippa Pattison, University of Sydney and University of Melbourne, as she describes how mathematical approaches have been used to build an understanding of the structure of human social networks.

Thursday 30 October, 6–8pm

Join feminist scholar Associate Professor Kirsten Ainley for an insightful lecture examining how rebuilding existing environments offers opportunities to address systemic inequalities by drawing on international legal developments and feminist theory.

This week marks the launch of a new On Campus series featuring members of the ANU community through three questions. We begin with Dr Kim Blackmore, Senior Fellow in the School of Engineering.

How did you come to be at GTVÄÐͬ?

“I came to ANU to do my PhD and have only managed to leave for a year or two at a time since then. I keep finding myself drawn back here.”

What are you most passionate about in your work?

“I feel like I have found ikigai – that sweet spot where what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can get paid for all come together. For me, that’s in the work I’m doing with the ANU Centre for Energy Systems. I get to contribute to decarbonising the electricity system in a way that brings together engineering, social and technical systems, and human behaviour – which is exactly the kind of big, messy challenge I enjoy. What I love most is finding new educational angles which meet the complexity of the energy transition.”

What is your favourite spot on campus and why?

“Walking east to west along University Avenue – it feels luxurious to walk this long corridor towards the green lawn lined by trees.”

This series aims to shine a light on people who make up the ANU community. Know someone with a great story to tell? Email the On Campus team at on.campus@anu.edu.au.

The ANU National Security College (NSC) is undertaking first-of-its-kind research to better understand how Australians view national security – and they want to hear from you.

You don’t need to be an expert to make a submission. NSC is seeking feedback from everyday Australians on the challenges they see Australia facing, the values we should be trying to protect, and what priorities government should focus on. .

There’s still time to enter the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) “Biodiversity on Our Campus” photo contest as the submission deadline has been extended to Friday 14 November 2025. 

Capture the biodiversity that makes ANU unique, from buzzing insects to leafy giants, and see your work shared internationally across the IARU network. 

ANU staff and students have free and unlimited access to the ACTS Conference 2025 – The Future of Sustainability, running virtually from Wednesday 5 November – Friday 7 November 2025.

Across three days, hear from sustainability experts, explore best practice and connect with peers across Australasia. ANU staff and students can register for free and receive unlimited access to all sessions. 

Don’t miss the chance to be part of the leading sustainability event for the tertiary education sector. 

Last week, we shared the entries from our Describe Your Favourite Book in Six Words competition, to win passes to the Canberra Writers Festival. This week, the answers for the confirmed books are in:

Thank you to everyone that participated in the competition. We hope you enjoyed the Canberra Writers Festival!

Do you have a photo you’re proud of that you’d love to have featured in On Campus?

We’ll now be featuring your photo submissions in each edition of On Campus to showcase your moments, scenes and perspectives that make our University special.

This week’s picture comes from Vanessa Galloway, Library Services Coordinator, who captured a row of rare books in the saying, “the vibrant illustrations on the books in the Victorian era  caught my eye, framed against the reflection of books on the shelves behind.”

 and include a short note about why you chose it and what makes it special to you.

Help is available if you need it. If you are dealing with a personal or university-related issue, ANU encourages you to seek support through the Student Safety and Wellbeing team by emailing student.wellbeing@anu.edu.au or calling 02 6125 2211, Monday to Friday, 9am–4pm.

You can also visit our Urgent Support page for a list of 24/7 and crisis support options.

For life threatening emergencies first call 000 (or 0000 if dialing from an internal phone), then call ANU Security at (02) 6125 2249