industry & research
Rough trim
Innovative Research Universities group fears impact of potential funding cuts. By Dallas Bastian
The idea that we’ re going to be able to have some universities that will climb the rankings is really, I think, out of reach, unless there’ s a serious investment in research infrastructure.
Australian research universities will struggle to keep up with global competitors and expand access to higher education if federal funding is cut, experts warn.
Chair of the Innovative Research Universities,( IRU), professor John Dewar, says,“ We are concerned about the levels of government investment being made by our competitors in the Asian region and we’ re not seeing that replicated in Australia.
“ The idea that we’ re going to be able to have some universities that will climb the rankings is really, I think, out of reach unless there’ s a serious investment in research infrastructure.”
Dewar says IRUs were created to be different from the universities that preceded them in terms of the research they do, which he says is more applied or translational than what goes on in the older research-intensive universities.
He says another reason for the creation of IRUs was to expand participation in higher education in the 1960s and’ 70s. That is still an important focus of the universities and the fact that they will probably be forced to increase fees to make up for the drop in Commonwealth support will pose a challenge for IRUs, Dewar says.
“ We know that many disadvantaged students are very concerned about taking on debt, particularly where the debt increases in line with a higher interest rate, as is proposed,” he says.“ So from an access point of view, I think there are some reasons to be concerned about the impact this will have on the disadvantaged communities that we were created to serve.”
Dewar says he’ s particularly concerned about the impact the fee increases will have on members’ regional students and adds policy will be needed to ensure that these students are not either discouraged from studying locally or at all.
“ We know that students who leave regions to go to cities do not often go back and that means that you’ re draining the regions of human capital and I think that’ s something that will have to be addressed,” he says.
He adds because regional students have unique challenges, it is important that the IRU has an important voice in the sector.“ We are the largest provider of higher education to regional Australian students,” Dewar says.“ All of us have campuses that are rural or regional and … our presence is absolutely vital to the vibrancy of those communities, and frankly to their economic future,” he says.
IRU executive director Conor King says the group institutions are also national leaders in participation from Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islanders people and those from low-socioeconomic backgrounds.
He says IRUs pursue questions of importance to the regions in which they’ re located, through their research.“ There is particular common research strength across the network in health and medical sciences, biological, agricultural and environmental sciences and social sciences,” King says.
The IRU will argue for a final Budget package that it doesn’ t feel creates dangers. Still, Dewar says the current package as a whole offers universities potential opportunities if it’ s implemented properly.“ I’ m sure that IRU universities will flourish around their strengths and that’ s what a deregulated system would encourage us to do,” he says.
Dewar says the chance to expand the reach of Commonwealth support through allowing the universities to enrol students in higher education qualifications below bachelor’ s level, which was previously capped, gives the university significant scope to discharge its outreach and participation mission.
He says the extension of Commonwealth support to non-university providers creates opportunities for IRUs to partner with organisations such as TAFEs to create programs that will enable students to come into university. ■ campusreview. com. au | 15