Virtual lab speeds solar recycling breakthrough
Researchers at UNE have developed an AI platform that could make solar panel recycling economically viable at scale - by screening millions of potential chemical solutions in a fraction of the time traditional methods would require. The platform addresses a looming crisis: how to recycle the 90,000 tonnes of solar panel waste expected annually in Australia by 2030. To date, effective recycling has remained out of reach due to the complex and expensive chemistry required to recover valuable materials.
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Video update experiment
When Dwayne Hurst, Manager Analytics, Insights and Reporting in Finance, Strategy and Business Intelligence, created a six-minute team update video in June, he had no idea it would prove a creative spark for departmental communications.
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New AI architecture challenges large models on complex reasoning
Research from a Singapore-based AI startup suggests that for complex reasoning, smarter design may be more effective than massive scale. A new research paper on the Hierarchical Reasoning Model (HRM), developed by Singapore-based Sapient Intelligence, shows strong performance on difficult logic problems along with significant improvements in efficiency over current approaches.
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Staff-led innovation reimagining student support
A pioneering initiative from UNE’s Student Services team is exploring how artificial intelligence can help tackle one of the university's most complex manual tasks. The project is a story of practical innovation, highlighting a journey of learning and discovery as staff partner with AI to build the student support tools of the future.
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Stepping you through your academic promotion
The Academic Promotions Assistant is an AI-powered tool made to guide UNE staff through every stage of their promotion application - from confirming workload and academic level, to drafting compelling narratives for Teaching, Research, and Service, and finally assisting with the Executive Summary and application form.
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AI system’s code optimisation ‘evolution’
A new research paper details an AI system that could change how complex code is developed and optimised. AlphaEvolve, released in May 2025 by Google DeepMind, attempts to combine large language models with automated evaluation at scale to tackle problems in science and engineering.
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Talking therapy: AI competition winning AI bot redefines mental health support
Meet Prarthana Sapkota; the winner of last month’s LabNext70 AI Competition. Prarthana is studying Master of Data Science at UNE. Part of her prize is an internship at LabNext70. Currently, Prarthana is working remotely with the LabNext70 team in a research and development role.
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Driving innovation at UNE
LabNext70 is a dedicated team at the University of New England. We’re driving innovation by developing AI-driven solutions that enhance the learning experience for our students, assist academics, and empower our staff.
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AI competition
Are you a student working with generative AI or coding?
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