RED

Research, Experimentation and Discovery (RED) Your chance to embed research into your degree

Make a real-world impact while you study

RED is designed to expose undergraduate students to the world of cutting-edge research at Monash University.

All the challenges students work on relate to the global challenges of our time, so if you'd like to start making a difference, join us!

What is RED?

Why do we offer RED?

Hear from the RED community

RED is a three-week, in-person intensive unit enabling students to perform research alongside other innovators.

Working in small teams, students tackle real-world research problems set by external partners – problems aligned with global priorities like climate change, geopolitical security and thriving communities. The experience is immersive, collaborative and inclusive, encouraging students to contribute diverse perspectives to complex issues.

The unit is available to students in their second year or above who are enrolled in an eligible course.

RED is designed to give students the opportunity to explore what research can look like beyond the classroom, and address the under-representation of marginalised voices in research.

By embedding students in cutting-edge research at Monash, we create a bridge between research and real-world impact.

Listen to what alumni and the RED team have to say about the program, what it means to them, and how it can transform your uni experience.

Maria, RED alumni student

“The last 2 weeks of in-person RED have taught me more than 3 semesters of my degree. The experts we have met, conversed and networked with have been lovely and the opportunities RED has provided are priceless. The friendships made along the way have been truly authentic and genuine, I can truly say I have learned so much from these people already.”

Skill development and learning

RED welcomes research into your studies, giving you the chance to expand your horizons and increase your employability.

Complex problem-solving, critical thinking and analysis

Technology use and design, monitoring and control

Reasoning and ideation

Active learning and learning strategies

Leadership and social influence

Creativity, originality and initiative

Research projects

Each RED project addresses one of the difficult challenges of our time.

Climate change

Monash Food Innovation – revolutionising supermarket nutrition Explore how Monash Food Innovation is shaping the future of food in Australian supermarkets. With the global population growing and dietary needs evolving, this project focuses on improving nutritional quality and consumer communication. Join us in influencing healthier food choices and addressing the obesity epidemic by enhancing supermarket offerings.

Image Attribution: stock.adobe.com

Monash Food Innovation – sustainable food packaging solutions Dive into the future of food packaging with the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. This project addresses the environmental challenges of single-use packaging, aiming to innovate towards a circular economy. You'll work on creating sustainable packaging that protects products, informs consumers and minimises waste, paving the way for eco-friendly solutions in the FMCG sector.

Image Attribution: stock.adobe.com

RECARB Hub – market analysis and consumer awareness of carbon-abated products Investigate the commercial viability of products made from recycled CO2. As climate change urgency grows, converting carbon emissions into marketable goods is a promising solution. This project focuses on understanding consumer perceptions and market demand, helping bridge the gap between innovative technologies and real-world applications to foster sustainable practices.

Image Attribution: stock.adobe.com

RECARB Hub – carbon capture devices in urban spaces Explore the integration of carbon capture devices in urban environments. With cities being major emission sources, this project examines the feasibility and public acceptance of installing carbon capture technology in parks, transit hubs and commercial areas. Join us in developing strategies that reduce urban carbon footprints and enhance environmental sustainability.

Image Attribution: stock.adobe.com

Monash WonderLab – eco-anxiety and imaginative agency As the climate crisis accelerates, young people face not only environmental uncertainty but also emotional overwhelm, with eco-anxiety manifesting as disempowerment and anticipatory grief. Explore how we might use creative, participatory methods to help young people emotionally engage with and act on possible climate futures by fostering imaginative agency, building connections, cultivating hope, and navigating uncertainty. This project is led in collaboration with the Monash Wonderlab.

Image Attribution: Lisa Grocott

Net Zero Precincts – an interdisciplinary approach to decarbonising cities From precinct level to major urban centres, our vision is to help create cities that use net zero energy, are resilient to climate change, and support diverse communities. Focused at the Monash Clayton campus, Monash’s Net Zero Precincts ARC Linkage Project provides an exemplary demonstration project using a Living Lab approach for transitioning our cities - one that can be replicated in other places and contexts around the world.

Image Attribution: Net Zero Precincts

Monash Mobility Design Lab – future mobility, future cities Urgent, but as yet underexplored, research is needed to address our transition towards sustainable and effective mobility. To support the transition of vehicles and places to non-carbon-based energy systems, this project explores how we might advance future mobility and future cities through the lens of decarbonisation and sustainable service design.

Image Attribution: CDC Victoria

Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF) – advocating for Antarctica’s future Due to the current trajectory of human-induced climate change, Antarctica’s ice sheets are melting, its climate is changing and the Southern Ocean is warming, becoming more acidic and losing oxygen. This change will have profound consequences for Australia and our neighbours. The futures of both Antarctica and Australia are inseparable, and both are at risk. Explore how we can raise awareness about Antarctica's environmental future in the public, and what SAEF is doing about it here.

Image Attribution: Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future

Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF) – preserving the Antarctic treaty Antarctica stands out as a rare example of a place dedicated entirely to peace and scientific exploration under the Antarctic Treaty, which has enabled unprecedented international cooperation. Explore how we might preserve the Treaty amid rising geopolitical tensions, conflict, or war to ensure Antarctica remains protected and dedicated to advancing scientific knowledge. This project is undertaken in collaboration with SAEF, working to safeguard this fragile environment for generations to come.

Image Attribution: Adobe Stock

Geopolitical security

Scaling up mRNA technology with good manufacturing practice throughout the Indo-Pacific mRNA technology offers fast, flexible solutions to global health threats, yet its adoption in developing countries is hindered by limited infrastructure, technical expertise, and regulatory systems. Explore how we might support local capabilities in compliant mRNA manufacturing to ensure safe, effective, and scalable vaccine production. The project aims to develop the mRNA ecosystem across the Indo-Pacific, in collaboration with the Monash Centre for Advanced mRNA Medicines Manufacturing and Workforce Training.

Image Attribution: Monash mRNA. Team member: Dr Harry Al-Wassiti

Responding to mRNA misinformation campaigns The proliferation of misinformation about mRNA vaccines poses a significant threat to public health, fuelling vaccine hesitancy and undermining efforts to combat infectious diseases. Explore how we might develop proactive, multi-faceted communication strategies to counter misinformation and build trust. This project aims to strengthen public confidence in mRNA vaccines and enhance their adoption, in collaboration with the Monash Centre for Advanced mRNA Medicines Manufacturing and Workforce Training.

Image Attribution: stock.adobe.com

Impact of robots on public spaces Robotic technologies are increasingly present in urban public spaces, with applications for delivery, cleaning, security and wayfinding already in city spaces around the world. The Monash Data Futures Institute and Emerging Technologies Research Lab address this by developing new methodologies and policy insights for this rapidly proliferating technology.

Image Attribution: Shanti Sumartojo, Emerging Technologies Research Lab

Climate change disasters and impact on women in Southeast Asia Women are disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis. As extreme weather events increase, there is a critical need to explore how we respond to increased incidents of gender-based violence that follow natural disasters. Focussed in the context of Southeast Asia, explore how we might respond to this challenge in collaboration with Monash researchers in the ARC Centre for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Image Attribution: stock.adobe.com

Ending technology facilitated gender-based violence in the Pacific In 2021, up to 88% of women in Asia and the Pacific experienced online violence, with adolescent girls, and those from vulnerable backgrounds being affected disproportionately. In this challenge, explore how we might develop effective strategies to combat the growing issue of technology-facilitated gender-based violence in the Pacific to promote digital justice and create safer online environments in collaboration with Monash researchers in the new ARC Centre for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Image Attribution: stock.adobe.com

Diplomacy in the time of gender apartheid Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, there have been hundreds of diplomatic engagements, yet not a single policy restricting Afghan women’s rights has been reversed. This project explores “gender apartheid diplomacy” and how we might develop new ways of understanding diplomacy under conditions of systemic gender discrimination. Working with researchers at the ARC Centre for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the project reimagines diplomacy as a strategic tool to eliminate violence against women.

Image Attribution: There’s a need to learn lessons from the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan (2022), by Joana Ama Osei-Tutu, Monash University Faculty of Arts. Photograph: Muzafar Ali

Gender-safe spaces with Monash XYX Lab XYX Lab is a team of researchers who operate at the intersection of gender, identity, urban space and advocacy. XYX Lab brings together planners, policy makers, local government and stakeholders to make tangible the experiences of underrepresented communities in urban space and planning. Explore how we might make the Clayton precinct safer for women, girls and gender-diverse people - and what XYX Lab is doing about it.

Image Attribution: HyperSext City, Fremantle Design Week (2022) and Tin Sheds Gallery Sydney (2021), by Monash XYX Lab. Photograph: Brett Brown

Thriving communities

MATS – STEAM making for all Maker environments often overlook the inclusion of people with disabilities due to unaddressed accessibility requirements. In this challenge, we explore how an accessible STEAM program and toolkit can be scaled and mobilised to support inclusive participation across science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics. The project aims to build the scaffolding needed for sustained growth and community impact, in collaboration with researchers at the Monash Assistive Technology and Society (MATS) Centre.

Image Attribution: MATS Monash

MIME – sleeping devices to address sudden unexpected death in infancy Join forces with the Monash Institute of Medical Engineering (MIME) to design an innovative co-sleeping pod for infants. Despite public health campaigns reducing Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI), it remains prevalent in Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and socioeconomically challenged communities. This project aims to create a safe sleeping solution for infants in cramped co-sleeping conditions, providing peace of mind for caregivers and promoting infant safety.

Image Attribution: stock.adobe.com

Victorian Heart Hospital – at the heart of health literacy Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains a leading cause of death in Australia, and lower socioeconomic groups carry the greatest burden of this disease. Explore how we might address health inequalities and improve health literacy with the Victorian Heart Institute and A/Prof Alison Beauchamp to develop practical tools that support the application of health literacy. Discover heart health and foster genuine understanding to empower patients to recover fully, and live longer and more fulfilling lives.

The Victorian Heart Hospital: a partnership between Monash University, Monash Health and the Victorian Government

MIME – repurposing waste plastics from medical products Partner with the Monash Institute of Medical Engineering (MIME) to transform hospital plastic waste into new medical products. Hospitals discard large amounts of unused, sterile plastic due to strict regulations. This project explores repurposing this waste, inspired by the work of Medical Pantry, to create sustainable and innovative medical solutions, reducing environmental impact while addressing healthcare needs.

Image Attribution: stock.adobe.com

Space – global challenges and opportunities Australia’s sovereign space capabilities remain underdeveloped, limiting opportunities to harness space-based solutions for climate resilience, medical innovation, and national security. Explore how we might establish a world-class space innovation research and enterprise cluster at Monash University that contributes to Australia’s sovereign space future and unlocks the commercial and scientific potential of low-Earth orbit, alongside Monash Space Innovation Agenda researchers.

Image Attribution: Adobe Firefly

MIME – diagnostic devices for stroke thrombolysis Work with experts at the Monash Institute of Medical Engineering (MIME) to develop a rapid, point-of-care diagnostic device for ischemic stroke patients. This project aims to quickly identify candidates for thrombolysis, the only approved acute care treatment for stroke, potentially saving lives by accelerating critical medical decisions.

Image Attribution: stock.adobe.com

Wiser Healthcare – reducing low-value care through consumer engagement Many consumers believe that more healthcare means better healthcare, yet growing evidence shows that overdiagnosis and overtreatment can cause unnecessary harm and strain on health systems and the environment. Explore how we might improve communication with consumers to reduce the overuse of low-value tests and treatments without compromising trust in health professionals or access to essential care. This project is in collaboration with Wiser Healthcare.

Image Attribution: Medical materials (2022). Photograph: Mezidi Zineb

MIME – MedTech The most significant advances in healthcare technology are increasingly the result of collaboration between Medical Researchers, Engineers, Designers, and IT specialists - which is why the Monash Institute of Medical Engineering (MIME) was formed. Explore how we might translate the next generation of connected MedTech from the lab bench to the hospital floor and what MIME is doing about it.

Image Attribution: Monash Institute of Medical Engineering (MIME)

Get exposed to the world of research

By enrolling in RED, you can work on the global challenges and sustainable development goals that are defining our world and future. In RED you'll learn the way researchers learn: by doing and thoroughly interrogating your ideas with peers and staff.

RED is committed to addressing the under-representation of traditionally marginalised groups in research. All students are encouraged to bring their whole selves to the unit.