The Innovation Minister, Senator Kim Carr, has announced that a Gillard Labor Government would continue to pursue closer collaboration between researchers and industry, in the lead-up to the Federal Election on 21 August.
Speaking at Curtin University of Technology, Senator Carr said Australia had made a lot of progress in breaking down the barriers to collaboration, but that more work needs to be done.
“Institutions like Curtin University will be encouraged to strengthen their ties with local industry to ensure we have the best prepared graduates for the innovation economy of tomorrow,” he said.
“In our first term Federal Labor introduced and refined initiatives to help universities collaborate with each other and with industry, including the Collaborative Research Networks Scheme, the Joint Research Engagement Scheme, and the revamped Cooperative Research Centres Program.
“We will continue these programs in partnership with industry, entrepreneurs and universities and research agencies to help create the connections and opportunities for collaboration that drive real innovation.
“This is one of the priorities set in the in Labor’s Powering Ideas innovation agenda.”
Initiatives include the recently-announced Clean 21 industrial PhD awards, which will see up to 200 research students working on industry-focused research projects, in real-world settings, with the emphasis on developing green industries, Carr says.
“The opportunity to work in real environments on real problems is going to be attractive to so many PhD students, especially at a university with a strong industry focus like Curtin,” said the Federal Labor candidate for Swan, Tim Hammond.
“Curtin’s track record of collaboration with industry is outstanding, so it is well placed to make the most of a program like this.
“I can see a lot of prospective students being drawn to Curtin to take up such an award, given the expertise and relationships that the university has built over many years.”
According to Carr, a Gillard Labor Government will offer up to 100 awards through the Australian Research Council’s Linkages program in each of 2012 and 2014, with stipends starting at $30,000 a year for up to three and a half years. These will be worth $23.4 million and are already included in the budget, Carr says.
“Tony Abbott has no policy for innovation, science and research,” he said.
“The Liberals have refused to rule out cuts to the research funding distributed by the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council.
“When the Liberals came to office in 1996, they cut higher education outlays by $1.8 billion over their first four years.
“Investments in science and research are investments in Australia’s future.
“They are an integral part of Labor’s plan to move Australia forward and deliver a strong and secure economy.”