University of Wollongong researchers will play a leading role in a new research centre studying technology's impact on children.
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UOW's School of Education head Professor Sue Bennett will be the deputy director of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child.
The centre will be based at Queensland University of Technology and led by QUT's Professor Susan Danby.
On Sunday Federal Minister for Education Dan Tehan announced $34.9 million in funding to establish the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child.
"Our children are growing up with unprecedented access to technology and we need to better understand the effect it is having on them," Mr Tehan said.
At the heart of the centre is a longitudinal study of the digital lives of Australian children from birth to eight years of age.
It brings together expertise from six Australian universities, including UOW, along with 33 academic and industry partner organisations from Australia, Europe, Asia and America.
Together they will provide an additional $32.2 million in cash and in-kind support to the centre.
"The aim of the centre is to make a positive difference to the lives of our youngest Australians through research that tackles big questions about digital technology," Professor Bennett said.
The aim of the centre is to make a positive difference to the lives of our youngest Australians through research that tackles big questions about digital technology.
- UOWs School of Education head, Professor Sue Bennett
"These questions include: how can families best manage screen time; what can parents do to create a safer online environment for their children; how can digital technologies be used to enhance children's education?
"We need to consider health, education and connectedness together.
"The scale of this national centre will allow us to do new work that brings those different areas together in innovative ways...it will also allow us to respond well to a rapidly changing world, one in which technology is increasingly shaping our lives."
Prof Bennett will lead one of the major strands of research into connectedness through technology, which has social and technical links with education and health.
There is no other centre like this in the world so this is a very significant investment in Australia's future.
- UOWs School of Education head, Professor Sue Bennett
Fellow UOW researcher Professor Lisa Kervin, will jointly lead the strand on education.
"A focus on the digital educated child enables us at UOW to make some really strong connections with Early Start - the Discovery Space, our engagement centres and of course the great innovative pedagogical advances that UOW researchers are known for," Professor Kervin said.
UOW researchers will work across the three research strands.
"This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for UOW and our communities to work with an extraordinary group of world class researchers and partners on some of our most pressing issues," Prof Bennett said.
"We know that making a difference in the early years of life has huge flow-on benefits for individuals and also across our society.
"There is no other centre like this in the world so this is a very significant investment in Australia's future."
The Education Minister added the new centre will undertake a family cohort study, run children's technology laboratories and lead research programs to improve our knowledge of the effects of digital technology on children.
"The results of this research will benefit parents and inform improvements to children's health and education policy," Mr Tehan said.
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
