$40 million for nine new research hubs and training centres, forging greater research industry links
20 May 2015
Media release Minister for Education and Training, the Hon. Christopher Pyne MP, has announced almost $40 million in new research funding that will forge stronger research and industry connections.
The funding, awarded under the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) Industrial Transformation Research Programme (ITRP), will see nine new research hubs and training centres commence vital research programmes in priority research areas.
A total of $18.7 million will fund four new Industrial Transformation Research Hubs over the next five years, with research in areas such as sustainable agriculture, offshore oil and gas and the future fibre industry.
A total of $20.9 million will see five new Industrial Transformation Training Centres commence operations, covering research areas such as mining, forestry and biosecurity.
“This ARC funding programme helps to deliver on the government’s commitment to boost the commercial returns of research,” Mr Pyne said.
“These new research hubs and training centres will see Australia’s best researchers work collaboratively with industry to deliver important outcomes that would not be achieved working independently.
“The training centres will also equip our future generation of researchers by supporting Higher Degree by Research students and postdoctoral fellows in gaining real-world practical skills and experience through industry placements.”
The Minister made the announcement at today’s launch of the ARC Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production (funded under a previous ITRP funding round), at The University of Adelaide.
“This training centre is a good example of researchers and industry uniting to deliver outcomes that will benefit the wine industry and, in turn, the Australian economy,” Mr Pyne said.
“Australia’s wine exports are booming and we are the fourth largest wine exporting country in the world. South Australia produces the largest portion of Australia’s grape crush and has the highest wine production rate of all the states and territories.
“The ARC Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production will provide new knowledge, methods and technologies to tackle current wine industry challenges, including water restrictions and environmental change, along with changing consumer preferences.
“Importantly researchers from the training centre will collaborate with 12 partner organisations including CSIRO, the Australian Wine Research Institute, South Australia Research and Development Institute, Bio Innovation South Australia and Charles Sturt University.
“In addition, the Training Centre will focus on skilling 12 PhD and three postdoctoral researchers who will work closely with leading research centres and global wine and food companies.”
A list of the four new research hubs and five new training centres is below. For more information about the ARC ITRP, please visit the ARC website. For more information about the ARC Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production, please visit the Training Centre’s website.