The last Labor budget has seen the top half of the Education Revolution fizzle. The ideals that powered the 2009 Gillard policies are in fragments.
Demand-driven higher education will survive until the…
Universities Australia Chair Sandra Harding looks at the future of universities.
University image from www.shutterstock.com
Professor Sandra Harding, the Universities Australia chair and Vice-Chancellor of James Cook University addressed the National Press Club in Canberra today.
Here is a copy of her speech.
In his novel…
There’s renewed debate around whether universities need to specialise in research or teaching.
University image from www.shutterstock.com
“We must give universities more freedom to focus on what they are good at… If that means that some universities want to focus significantly more on teaching, then they should confidently do so… Government…
Vice Chancellor of Cambridge University, Sir Leszek Borysiewicz talks with one of our academic experts about the changing role of universities.
Cambridge University
To listen to the conversation between Leszek Borysiewicz and Lynn Meek, please see the link below. An edited transcript is available here.
Lynn Meek: Hello, I’m Professor Lynn Meek from the LH Martin…
It would be a mistake to assume that any private money funding research creates a conflict of interest.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
The research funding world is not often filled with controversy, but the story of indigenous academic Marcia Langton’s research funding has recently garnered a lot of attention.
Langton, who in her recent…
Super funds could fund research initiatives as well as provide good returns to fund members.
Image from www.shutterstock.com
By Kevin Davis, Australian Centre for Financial Studies
Can the growing stash of super savings be used productively to fund valuable bio-science and other R&D while still generating good returns for fund members?
Such research is typically high risk, but…
Consumers of research should not be satisfied with statements that “X is effective”, or “Y has an effect”.
Gwenae l Piaser
Empirical science needs data. But all data are subject to random variation, and random variation obscures patterns in data. So statistical methods are used to make inferences about the true patterns or…
Australian researchers are frustrated with a funding system that makes job prospects unreliable and often ties them to short term contracts.
AAP
There’s a lot of bitterness, anger and frustration out there in the world of Australian research.
A new survey has shown that researchers like their work, but not the system in which they work. It’s…
There’s still plenty to discover about how the brain works but what we know now is irrelevant to education.
Brain image from www.shutterstock.com
Neuroscience: the word oozes sophistication and intelligence – the very qualities we might want to nurture in our students, our children, our general populace.
Maybe that’s why many people involved in…
Measuring the quality and impact of university research is notoriously difficult but it’s time to watch this space.
Measuring image from www.shutterstock.com
Before this morning’s release of the Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) report, the scheme’s champion Aidan Byrne flagged that it could soon be looking at more than just research quality.
Measuring…
An In Conversation between federal coalition MP Andrew Robb and the director of the Waler and Eliza Hall Institute, Doug Hilton.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
Doug Hilton: Welcome Andrew to the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. This conversation between me, Doug Hilton, and Andrew Robb is part of The Conversation.
So Andrew, it’s been really exciting in the…
The research funding system needs to be changed to make it more efficient says coalition member Andrew Robb.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
It’s hard to argue with the importance of research, particularly medical research. It leads to breakthroughs and can change people’s lives for the better.
But there are some crucial questions about how…
Researchers have invested hundreds of hours to enhance their applications, only to miss out.
Paperwork image from Shutterstock.com
Last Friday, the results for this year’s round of applications for National Health and Medical Research (NHMRC) grants were released. Because headlines focus on success and rankings, universities and medical…
Researchers who have sometimes been waiting years for funding have been left in the lurch by government.
Research image from www.shutterstock.com
The Australian Research Council’s confirmation that all funding awards and rounds are currently frozen has caused major concern, if not panic, in academic circles.
The Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook…
Doctors are expected to be attuned to the latest developments in health care.
www.shutterstock.com
Most doctors shudder at the sight of the growing mountain of unread medical journals gathering dust on their desks over months, if not years. They need not despair though, as there are less time-consuming…
Leave “wicked” to the witches and let’s get on with the job of policy research.
Witches image from www.shutterstock.com
Wicked problems, so we are told, are everywhere. Climate change, conflict, an ageing population, obesity… the list goes on. The debate over asylum seekers, difficult and important and politically charged…
The debate around teacher quality should be informed by research, not hunches and misinformation.
Teacher image from www.shutterstock.com
All we seem to hear about these days is failing teachers in failing schools. Those from business, government and the field of economics have all weighed in, criticising teachers, teacher educators and…
Allocating research grants based on past projects and potential profits is immoral – it skews research and damages the academic psyche.
URBAN ARTefakte
WHAT IS AUSTRALIA FOR? Australia is no longer small, remote or isolated. It’s time to ask What Is Australia For?, and to acknowledge the wealth of resources we have beyond mining. Over the next two weeks…
Investing in research and innovation could pay handsome dividends for a cashed-up superannuation industry.
Flickr/Truthout
Superannuation funds typically invest in the market – ASX 200 companies, property, cash and bonds. These are attractive for several reasons. Management costs are relatively low, the assets are objectively…
Real impact is important when considering how to fund research.
Flickr/Mozzer502
By Vicki Thomson, Australian Technology Network of Universities
When it comes to engaging with industry, government and the broader community, there is one secret weapon that is often overlooked in the university sector – the humble story. The art of storytelling is…
Asking for only the primary carer’s views assumes that fathers have no major impact on their children’s health.
Grant Potter
If we want to survey families to discover how the children are going, we usually have to ask an adult. It seems common sense to ask the “primary carer”, usually the mother, who knows the child the best…
There are concerns about the take-up of science subjects by students.
Ahd Photography
The Office of the Chief Scientist today releases the Health of Australian Science report and it’s an intriguing read.
The report was compiled to help the office and the public understand the current state…
Is Australia’s standing among OECD countries of national value, or apples and oranges?
japi14
How well does Australia’s science, research and innovation system perform compared to other developed nations?
The Office of Australia’s Chief Scientist has just released a report addressing this question…
The image of the bearded, grubby ecologist, out-dated spectacles askew and sporting an eccentric grin of geeky, scientific relish, is one that is shared by many, including novice ecologists themselves…
Congratulations class of 2011, you’ve been given the opportunity to have real-life professors – future classes might not.
Flickr/Pauls Creative Cakes
The University of Melbourne was founded in 1885 with five professors teaching 15 students. In 1952, at the start of the post-war tertiary boom, there were around 3,000 Australian academics teaching 30…
If Australia wants to be a leading force in the knowledge economy, strategic investment in university research and infrastructure will be essential.
Novartis AG
At a time when unprecedented levels of investment are being made in university infrastructure in nations such as China and India, it is worth reflecting on how Australia has built its notable areas of…
Universities are centres of research… but what kind of research?
flickr/pcgn
Fundamentally, there are two big motives for research.
On the on hand there is intellectual ambition: the desire to know and understand the word, to appreciate the best that has been said and thought…
Driving technology: Prime Minister Julia Gillard has outlined a $275 million package to keep Holden in Australia.
AAP
Carmaker Holden will receive a $275 million government package, in return for committing to stay in Australia until 2022 and promising it will invest $1 billion.
Phillip Toner, senior research fellow…
In the UK, innovation and research has been at the forefront of the government’s economic policy agenda.
bisgovuk
After decades in the wilderness, industry policy is back centrally on the economic agenda in the UK. What is striking is how the policy is being driven by strong evidence on what works from years of accumulated…
They way we research Asia has been misguided.
Flickr/-AroFarMeR-
Australia desperately needs to invest more on research into Asia if we’re to better understand a part of the world so vital for our future economic prosperity. But not only do we need more research, we…
Australian universities must raise their game to compete in the global education market.
Flickr/Reality-check
The world is in a state of transition.
The Indian and Chinese economies continue to grow at around 9 and 10 per cent respectively each year, while the North Atlantic economies – the 20th century epicentre…
Working to improve the performance of the resources sector is a challenging, yet important research focus.
AFP/Christian Sprogoe/Rio Tinto
There is common assumption that those of us who undertake applied research with the commercial world must be biased.
This month the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI), which…
Bushfires are a greater risk in areas of human habitation than in alpine regions.
AAP
Last summer, the Victorian government allowed cattle to graze in the Alpine National Park. They claimed it was part of a scientific trial to assess grazing as a tool to reduce fire risk. Now it seems there…
Keep track of your efforts and learn from doing.
John A Kelley USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Welcome to “One small thing …”. We asked our authors what one small thing they, or you, could do for the environment. We’ll bring their answers to you on Friday afternoons.
Today’s one small thing comes…
When is comes to research, it seems quantity has become much more important than quality.
Flickr/Iscan
Imagine the following conversation between a finance academic and his or her supervisor during an annual performance review:
Academic: So, do you think I am ready for a promotion?
Supervisor: Well, I…
The university funding system discourages research on volunteers like these men who are risking their lives to help their community.
Flickr/Rob Down Under
In Australian universities at the moment research is everything. They obsess over the rankings in the new ERA system which measures research performance. For academics publishing in the top journals isn…
Publicly funded scientists have a responsibility to the public.
AAP
Australian science institutions and scientists must retain the confidence of the public and Australian governments. By blurring facts, disrespecting other institutions' research processes and turning their…
Cattle grazing in Alpine National Park is not supported by science.
foxypar4 on flickr
In January, 400 cattle were released into Victoria’s Alpine National Park as part of a research trial to investigate the influence of strategic grazing as a tool to reduce fuel loads and bush fire risk…
