Content
USC receives $5.45 million to boost research
The University of the Sunshine Coast will receive $5.45 million in Commonwealth funding over the next three years to help boost its research in areas like water, sustainability, forestry and aquaculture.
The funding for USC’s Research Future Project was announced by Federal Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Minister Senator Kim Carr yesterday as one of 12 projects nationally to gain funds under the Collaborative Research Networks (CRN) program.
USC’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research Professor Roland De Marco said he was delighted by the CRN funding, which is designed to help smaller, less research-intensive and regional universities like USC partner with larger institutions in research projects.
He said the University’s Research Futures Project was an integrated package of initiatives with research partners comprising Griffith University, the University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology and the University of Tasmania.
Partnerships with Griffith University will focus on research into water, sustainability and forests, and will involve the University of Queensland through the recently announced Australian Water and Environmental Research Alliance.
USC will work with the University of Tasmania on aquaculture, forests and sustainability projects, and with QUT in the Centre for Leadership in Research Development.
Professor De Marco said USC’s Research Futures Project would have a profound impact in boosting the University’s current research strengths in areas that are significant locally, nationally and internationally.
“The project will stimulate, motivate and underpin productive and sustainable working connections between the researchers at USC and those of other institutions,” he said.
“These hub-and-spoke relationships will also allow us to kick some big goals very quickly which is important in a rapidly growing University.
“And it will significantly increase the quantity, quality and impact of research outcomes and outputs from the collaborative research activity.
“The Research Futures Project will increase the internal capability and capacity for USC’s best research groups to collaborate with excellent researchers in their fields in Australia.
“It also will provide state-of-the-art research infrastructure and skills to support this cutting-edge collaborative research program, including professional development, professional resources, and essential equipment.”
Professor De Marco said USC would seize this opportunity to develop a robust mechanism for growing productive research partnerships that will underpin the further development of collaborative arrangements with these and other external research providers.
In Senator Carr’s official announcement of the CRN funding yesterday, the Minister highlighted the importance of collaboration and the benefits that would be achieved by linking experts from across Australia.
"Collaboration is crucial to successful research. It draws together experts from a variety of institutions and it gives Australia more bang for its research buck," he said.
— Terry Walsh