Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics

The Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics constitutes the largest concentration of philosophers working on applied philosophy and public ethics in Australia, and one of the largest such concentrations internationally. The largest centre of its kind in the world, the Centre is a national special research centre that brings together the strengths of Charles Sturt University, the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University. Research areas are criminal justice ethics, business and professional ethics, computer ethics and the ethics of nanotechnology, biotechnology, welfare and political violence.

Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education

The Centre focuses on understanding and developing professional practice in a range of professions including education, occupational therapy, speech pathology, nursing, accountancy, management and other professions. Researchers are working on problems including attracting and retaining professionals in rural and regional Australia and responding to increased diversity in the professions through initial and continuing education and research.

Centre for Public and Contextual Theology

This research group breaks new ground in the theological scene in Australia. Traditionally, theology has been undertaken within an ecclesiastical environment, which can narrow its scope and not account for wider contexts. The focus of this group is the concern for questions and issues relevant in contemporary society, placed within the Australian setting. Public theology needs be concerned with the engagement, via dialogue, of faith tradition with wider social and intellectual concerns of the day. Contextual theology in Australia must take account of our pluralist, multicultural society, in order to remain relevant to our diverse population, across the scope of our wide land. The context created by Aboriginal settlement, colonisation and progress to nationhood provides a perspective which influences the various strands of theology, to provide a unique resource for the tasks of theology today.

Centre for Research in Complex Systems

The Centre for Research in Complex Systems carries out world-class research in complex systems theory and applications. The many projects in the group cover a range of themes, from fundamental analysis of cellular automata to virtual environments.