Turnbull Government Welcomes Defence Partnership

The Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP and Minister for Education and Training Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham today congratulated Adelaide’s Flinders University and four French schools of engineering for entering a Defence partnership.

The agreement is between Flinders University and a consortium comprised of ENSTA ParisTech, École Centrale de Nantes, CentraleSupélec and École Polytechnique.

Minister Pyne said the MoU with French partner institutions not only recognised Flinders University’s expertise in defence and maritime related programs but added the collaboration would be of great benefit to the Future Submarine Program overall.

“It is encouraging to see the benefits from the Turnbull Government's decision to construct 12 future submarines in Adelaide flowing to our outstanding research institutions such as Flinders University.

“Research and innovation will be a critical component of the future growth of South Australia's defence industry for the decades to come.

“Agreements such as this one are just the beginning of the rapid expansion of defence research and innovation which will take place in South Australia thanks to the Turnbull Government's investment.

Minister for Education and Training and Senator for South Australia Simon Birmingham said partnerships like the one between Flinders University and four leading French graduate schools were strong examples of the work the Turnbull Government has been doing to support innovation and research that will lead to advanced skills and jobs for Australians.

“The Turnbull Government has been working hard to ensure the foundations and incentives are in place for universities and businesses to collaborate on research and skills development that help this and future generations of Australians,” Minister Birmingham said.

“The partnership between Flinders and the French graduate schools specialising in defence research is exactly the sort of opportunity our National Innovation and Science Agenda and $50 billion Future Submarine program have been designed to create.

“This is about real education collaboration leading to real skills and advancements and ultimately to real jobs for South Australians.”

Based on analysis, the 12 submarines to be built in South Australia are expected to generate an annual average of around 2,800 jobs over the life of the program including approximately 1,700 jobs in the national supply chain.

The signing of the MoU is a clear demonstration of a combined and expanding France/Australia industrial/innovation partnering commitment in support of the Future Submarine Program.