{"id":29923,"date":"2025-12-09T09:08:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T01:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/?post_type=media-release&#038;p=29923"},"modified":"2026-02-11T15:35:36","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T07:35:36","slug":"new-94-6-million-arc-centre-of-excellence-to-empower-workers-in-the-digital-age","status":"publish","type":"media-release","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/media-release\/new-94-6-million-arc-centre-of-excellence-to-empower-workers-in-the-digital-age\/","title":{"rendered":"New $94.6 million ARC Centre of Excellence to empower workers in the digital age"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Curtin University has secured major funding from the Australian Research Council to create and lead its inaugural Centre of Excellence, driving pioneering research over the next seven years to develop quality work in an increasingly digital future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ARC Centre of Excellence for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.qwida.org.au\/\">Quality Work in a Digital Age<\/a> (QWiDA) will bring together leading researchers from institutions across Australia and the globe, alongside industry and government partners to explore how new technologies can be integrated responsibly to create and sustain productive, inclusive and healthy work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"New $94.6 million ARC Centre of Excellence to empower workers in the digital age\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uHwz0NWl160?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Director of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.transformativeworkdesign.com\/\">Curtin\u2019s Centre for Transformative Work Design<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/media-release\/best-in-the-west-curtin-professor-named-wa-scientist-of-the-year\/\">2024 WA Scientist of the Year<\/a> and ARC Laureate Fellow <a href=\"https:\/\/staffportal.curtin.edu.au\/staff\/profile\/view\/sharon-parker-1c9ef7b1\/\">John Curtin Distinguished Professor Sharon Parker<\/a> will lead the new Centre, which she said would revolutionise how Australia approached the design and use of digital technologies to achieve a fairer, healthier and more productive future for all Australians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFrom artificial intelligence to robotics, digital technologies are already changing how, where and when we work,\u201d Professor Parker said.<br><br>\u201cThrough QWiDA\u2019s collaborative and interdisciplinary approach, we will ensure these technologies are designed and implemented in ways that enhance, rather than erode, the human experience of work for workers, organisations and society at large. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur goal is simple but vital: to make work better, for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Curtin will partner with the University of Queensland, University of Melbourne, UNSW Sydney, Swinburne University of Technology, QUT and the University of South Australia, plus many international industry and tertiary organisations in sectors such as technology, education and manufacturing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>QWiDA will operate across three research streams, supported by a <em>Design in Action Hub<\/em> to translate research outcomes into real-world practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Augmented Working<\/em> will focus on developing safe, productive human\u2013machine partnerships, <em>Networked Workplaces<\/em> will reimagine how people collaborate across time and space, while <em>Future-Ready Workforce<\/em> will equip Australians with the skills and leadership needed to thrive in a digital world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Curtin University Vice-Chancellor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/about\/leadership\/vice-chancellor\/\">Professor Harlene Hayne<\/a> congratulated the QWiDA team, saying the Centre reflected Curtin\u2019s global leadership in future-of-work research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis Centre embodies Curtin\u2019s commitment to tackling the biggest challenges facing our society,\u201d Professor Hayne said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIts findings will inform policy, education and industry design, helping Australia stay at the forefront of ethical and effective digital transformation in the workplace.<br><br>\u201cBy ensuring technological progress goes hand-in-hand with worker wellbeing and inclusion, QWiDA will help secure a fairer and more productive future for Australia and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leveraged by more than $59.7 million in cash and in-kind contributions from partner organisations, plus a $34.8 million investment from ARC, QWiDA will aim to bring more than 1000 researchers together and support at least 17 new research positions and more than 80 new research students over the life of the Centre.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Curtin University has secured major funding from the Australian Research Council to create and lead [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4457,"featured_media":29924,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"8360,7276,7052,4909,14599,8298","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":4,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-29923","media-release","type-media-release","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research"],"acf":{"experts":false,"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"","content":"","image":false},"related_courses":[{"title":"","qualification":"","link":"","description":"","faculty":""}],"credits":{"author":"","photographer":"","media":[22646,24387]},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/sharonparker-3-1000x500.jpg","author_meta":{"first_name":"Sam","last_name":"Jeremic","display_name":"Samuel Jeremic"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media-release\/29923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media-release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/media-release"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media-release\/29923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29923"},{"taxonomy":"research-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-areas?post=29923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}