Photo: Tiffany Williams/Football Australia

The soaring popularity of the Australian women's soccer team after their semi-final run at this year's FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 has seen experts at ANU pick Matilda as their Word of the Year. 

The team name (Matildas, or Tillies for short) and singular form (Matilda) were everywhere as Matildas mania swept the country, with Australians transfixed by every minute of play. 
  
The Matildas' semi-final against England was the most-watched TV program in decades in Australia, reaching more than 11 million people. 

Each year the Australian National Dictionary Centre, based at ANU, selects a word or expression that has gained prominence in the Australian landscape over the past 12 months. 

The Centre's Director Dr Amanda Laugesen said this year's choice was easy given the massive popularity of the team and the word's long history in Australian English. It also reflects the growth of interest in women's team sports. 

Read the story

The refreshed ANU Digital Master Plan (DMP) website is now live.

Go to anu.edu.au/dmp to learn about the Digital Master Plan and see up-to-date information about what's been delivered in 2023 and what's coming next in 2024. You can also put up your hand to participate in future opportunities for co-design and testing, or jump on our list for DMP updates and news.

Informed by extensive consultation with ANU students and staff, the DMP is a 10-year vision to transform the way our University does business, enabled by:
• New ways of working and operating – thinking and acting as a University community
• Reimagined, optimised and streamlined processes
• Flexible, accessible and user-friendly core systems
• Stable and reliable digital infrastructure and support services
• A culture of data-driven insight and decision-making.

Find out more

Passionate about baking? Your dreams are about to crumb true. Join us in celebrating our outgoing Vice-Chancellor in the ‘sweetest’ way possible – through cake.

The challenge is simple: translate Professor Schmidt's remarkable achievements into delectable delights. From galactic cupcakes to Nobel cookies, let your imagination run wild.

Not only will the winning entry be the 'icing on the cake' for this special occasion, but tempting prizes await the most inspired bakers.

Entries close Monday 11 December.

Enter now

Thursday 23 November, 5.15-6.45pm 

Join ANU Drill Hall Gallery and the ANU School of Art and Design for the book launch of Crosscurrents in Australian First Nations and Non-Indigenous Art. 

Crosscurrents in Australian First Nations and Non-Indigenous Art (Routledge 2023) edited by Sarah Scott (ANU), Helen McDonald (Melbourne) and Caroline Jordan (Latrobe) is a collection of essays that examines art resulting from cross-cultural interactions between First Nations and non-Indigenous people, from British invasion up to now. 

Register now 

Tuesday 28 November, 2-6pm 

Join us for this year’s Energy Update to hear about recent developments in energy research and analysis in 2023. 

This annual event brings together energy researchers, policymakers, industry and the public to discuss an overview of energy sector developments and present an update on trajectories to decarbonisation. 

Register now 

Sunday 3 December, 9.30-2pm 

Join us at this end of year celebration with the ANU staff community and their families, for a fun-filled day and a visit from Santa.  

All ANU staff are invited to bring their families along to the annual ANU End of Year Kids Party on Sunday 3 December 2023. The ANU End of Year Kids Party is a beloved tradition of the ANU staff community, to celebrate another successful year and enjoy a fun-filled day. 

Get tickets  

Wednesday 6 December – Friday 8 December  

The ANU School of Philosophy and The Australasian Society for Philosophy and Psychology present a three-day conference that will bring together scholars and students at the intersection of philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive science.  

Register now 

Earlier this month the ANU Student Life's Kitchen Garden program was awarded a Green Gown Award for Student Engagement. 

Feedback from GGA Judges

The judges recognised the excellence of the ANU Student Life’s, Kitchen Garden program as the winner in the Student Engagement category. They commended the project for its participation and events, highlighting its potential to scale and have a significant impact. This initiative was praised for effectively connecting health and wellbeing with environmental issues, making it an exciting and practical way to teach sustainability. The judges also loved that it provides practical, lifelong skills in a fun and social manner while also emphasising its positive link to future employability. 

Kitchen Garden program overview

The Kitchen Garden program is a community of ANU students and staff working together cooperatively to grow, harvest, prepare and share fresh food on campus. They use organic, regenerative and biodiversity-promoting methods to grow the produce; harvested food is shared among participants and the broader student community through communally prepared and shared meals. Their aim is to bring ANU students and staff together to connect with each other, with our community and with nature through food.

This year's awards recognised 12 universities and 1 TAFE; celebrating 11 winners and 8 highly commended across 10 different award categories.

Learn more about the winners and their amazing initiatives

A reminder to get your early bird tickets to SupercomputingAsia 2024 (SCA 2024) on 19-22 February 2024 at the International Convention Centre, Sydney. 

Anchored by the National Computational Infrastructure at ANU, SCA24 aims to promote a vibrant and shared high-performance computing and Artificial Intelligence ecosystem, for both the public and private sectors, in Asia.

Early Bird Registration will close on Thursday 30 November. 

The Australian National University acknowledges, celebrates and pays our respects to the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people of the Canberra region and to all First Nations Australians on whose traditional lands we meet and work, and whose cultures are among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.