The Australian National University (ANU) is unlike any other university in Australia.

Founded in 1946, in a spirit of post-war optimism, our role was to help realise Australia’s potential as the world recovered from a global crisis.

That vision, to support the development of national unity and identity, improve our understanding of ourselves and our neighbours, and provide our nation with research capacity amongst the best in the world, and education in areas vital for our future, has been our mission ever since.

Today, we work not only to ensure our national prosperity, but to help Australia to tackle the complex challenges facing humanity, like the climate crisis and global pandemics.

We are trusted by Australia to lead. We lead with foresight and a commitment to making our world a better place, as a diverse and dynamic community that inspires minds and different perspectives.

ANU has a responsibility, as the national university, to be a university that Australia trusts. This means we are a community that is inclusive and open to all people who have the talent and passion to succeed, regardless of their background. Our campus is one that seeks to reflect our nation and our region.

We connect these talented minds, by fostering a sense of community on our beautiful bush campus  in the heart of our nation’s Capital. Our campus is a meeting place for our community to converge and collaborate, as First Nations people have done on these lands for thousands of years.

Connections are important to us – be they to people or to country. We connect both locally, where our ties to the Australian Government and policy makers enable our researchers to help shape national policy, and on the international stage, where our trusted experts act as a conduit for Australian contribution to the global community.

It can be difficult work, but it’s work we proudly do – because connecting talented people with diverse perspectives, equipping and encouraging them to address the most complex of tomorrow’s problems, and ensuring Australia’s future is not just our approach – it’s also our national role and international responsibility as Australia’s national university, and it’s a responsibility from which we’ll never waiver.