We integrate research into child health, education, and digital and social connectedness. Innovating across disciplines, our evidence-based research focuses on the opportunities, risks and innovations provided by digital technologies that can benefit children and their futures.
Explore the Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child website
Mission and priorities
Our vision is for Australian children to be healthy, educated and connected in a digital world.
Technology innovation
Evidence-based research and research dissemination to optimise children's use of digital technology.
Policy development
Policy recommendations to inform policy stakeholders about optimising children's digital experiences.
Educators
Curriculum and pedagogy recommendations to enable child-directed digital learning, participation and enjoyment.
Community stakeholders
We are a global first, focussing on children from birth to eight years of age with a detailed seven-year research program, including a longitudinal family cohort study with 3000 families.
The centre provides guidelines and resources for parents, educators and communities about safe and effective digital practices.
We undertake community and stakeholder engagement through centre activities that include the Children’s Technology Spaces, workshops and conferences, and outreach events.
Partnerships
The Centre is a collective of national and international partners across education, government, business and the community, all working together to achieve a singular vision.
We’re collaborating with a cohort of researchers from Australian universities, led by QUT and including Curtin University, Deakin University, Edith Cowan University, The University of Queensland and University of Wollongong.
Our partnerships with government agencies, technology developers, education sectors, policy makers and community groups will help us incorporate real-world insights and link our research to a wide range of real-world applications.
Research news
16 April
$2.5M Medical Research Future Fund grant to study recurrent wheeze in preschoolers
QUT Professor Anne Chang has been awarded a $2,588,607.14 Medical Research Future Fund grant to lead a multidisciplinary, multi-institution project, “Improving outcomes of recurrent preschool wheeze: a multicentre randomised controlled trial with biomarker discovery”.
12 April
QUT fashion lecturer given fellowship to join global costume research centre
A QUT fashion lecturer and acclaimed theatre costume designer will spend 2025 in Finland on a fellowship funded by the European Union to explore new technologies in her field.