Public Health & Humanitarian Engineering | Institute for Global Development

UNSW Engineering researchers have decades of experience in engineering and public health activities in the Indo-Pacific region, including coastal protection in the Cook Islands, air quality monitoring in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu, improving the nutritional status of children in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and improving tools for electricity access in PNG.

UNSW Medicine & Health is a major contributor to global development and health in the Indo-Pacific. It engages in world-class health and medical research, education and outreach. Its mission is to improve health in Australia and globally, with a particular focus on eliminating health disparities. Broadly speaking, iuts areas of focus for sustainable development are: health systems strengthening, non-communicable diseases, injury and environment, and infectious disease and COVID-19.

Notable Research Highlights and Facilities

A hand is positioned under a running stream of water.

Global Water Institute

Drawing together experts from law, engineering, science, the arts, and social sciences, the Global Water Institute works with communities to design and implement unique and sustainable solutions to improve water quality and access, improving people's health and limiting their exposure to debilitating disease.

A person looking through a camera above Manly beach

Water Research Centre

The WRC is an international leading university centre that provides multidisciplinary research in water resources, engineering, management and the development of tools for environmental management and sustainability for improving aquatic and atmospheric environments.

Facilitating sustainable energy in the South Pacific

UNSW Energy Institute

The Energy Institute unites energy activities across UNSW with industry, government, community stakeholders and other research institutions. It specialises in traditional and renewable energy, energy storage, energy systems and integration, power-to-gas and gas-to-power, digital grids, energy efficiency and productivity, and energy access and affordability.

A producer is kneeling in the foreground in a wet rice padding planting by hand.

Future Food Systems CRC

Established in July 2019, Future Food Systems Cooperative Research Centre partners leading Australian universities with industry and government bodies to deliver impactful research in the future food systems domain. Its mission is to develop smart, sustainable, resilient food systems that capitalise on Australia’s unique strengths, add value to our primary produce and shore up food security.

Xiaojing Hao working in her laboratory in the Tyree building, Kensignton campus UNSW.

Tyree Foundation Institute of Health Engineering

Tyree IHealthE harnesses the considerable capabilities of UNSW Engineering and UNSW Medicine & Health. Powered by collaboration, Tyree IHealthE is an engine of discovery and research translation. It specialises in predictive analytics for managing disease, managing chronic disease and wellness and smart assessment of mental state, and hosts the Signal, Information and Machine Intelligence Lab.

The George Institute for Global Health

The George Institute is a leading independent global medical research institute with major centres in Australia, China, India and the UK, and an international network of experts and collaborators. Its mission is to improve the health of millions of people worldwide, particularly those living in disadvantaged circumstances, by challenging the status quo and using innovative approaches to prevent and treat non-communicable diseases and injury.

Partners in medical education in Myanmar

The Kirby Institute

The Kirby Institute is a world-leading health research institute at UNSW Sydney. It works to eliminate infectious diseases, globally. The Institute's specialisation is in developing health solutions for the most at-risk communities and working to build a safer, healthier world for everyone.

Rows of hard-bound books are stacked on a bookshelf. The letter e and d are assigned on the right side of the bookshelf. A ladder rests against a wall on the left side of the bookshelf.

Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policy

UNSW Medicine & Health is the lead academic institute for the APO, providing guidance on: the role of digital health, including telemedicine and peer-supported clinical decision-making; policy responses and planning for an ageing Pacific population; and health system governance and financing reform in Fiji.

A group of young girls are wearing helmets that say 'Road safety is no accident'

World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Injury Prevention and Trauma Care

UNSW Medicine & Health worked with The George Institute in the establishment of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Injury Prevention and Trauma Care, generating and implementing evidence-based interventions for universal injury prevention. This includes road traffic injury prevention, rehab programs for burns, drowning prevention and communication and advocacy materials for injury prevention and emergency trauma care.

A depiction of a strand of purple and grey RNA

UNSW RNA Institute

UNSW is leading cutting-edge RNA science and medicine via the newly established UNSW RNA Institute. The Institute links and expands multidisciplinary teams in RNA biology, RNA chemistry and RNA medicine, with clinical experts and services, underpinned by a pilot-scale RNA accelerator facility.

Rapid Urbanisation & Population Health (RUPH) Network

A streetscape of parkland in the UK. In the foreground is a small park with people sitting and standing. In the background is a building with windows.

Led by Associate Professor Xiaoqi Feng, the research network aims to build new capacities for consequential and policy-relevant research by generating knowledge sharing and collaboration opportunities, as well as connecting early and mid-career researchers to senior academic mentors and established multi-institutional research entities.