INDUSTRY & RESEARCH
campusreview.com.au
on both sides – although we wish there was
more collaboration.
I would like to see government,
industry, business and universities move
beyond that conversation to develop a
coherent framework. Unless we have that,
government investment won't realise full
value, and industry and business [won't be]
able to progress as far as they'd like.
Over the past 12 months, it seems the
relationship between universities and the
government has become fraught, or even
adversarial at times. Can you see a future
where it’s a bit more collaborative?
of approaches to be tested, and at least
that would not destabilise the system or
produce such volatility in it that it would
have inadvertent consequences. I hear
what the sector has been asking for: the
opportunity to test the impact of a policy
shift in a systematic way to determine the
outcome in support of the government’s
long-term agenda for economic transition
for Australia.
Broadly speaking, do you think we’ve seen
a greater focus on universities, academia
and intellectualism since Malcolm Turnbull
became prime minister?
Yes I do. Look at the economic
headwinds; within Australia and globally
in terms of our major trading partners,
commodity prices are down. When we
look at the changes around us and in
other countries, such as in Europe, the
UK, or the US, [we see that] making a
transition requires innovation in existing
businesses or development of new
businesses. We have a world in which 3
per cent of large firms collaborate with
research partners in Australia, and it’s less
for small to medium-size enterprises, so
we have a disconnect there.
I think the government is trying to
[use] the powerhouse of Australia’s
world-class research … to drive
innovation and [generate chances] to
work with partners to support their
endeavours to help turn around the
economy over a period of time.
How do Newcastle and the Hunter Valley
region fit into this?
We want students to stay in the region
and drive its economy because they’re
equipped to do so in the emerging
contemporary industries. Also, we want
our research to add strong value, whether
it’s in drones or automation or changes in
business processes, or in the emergence
of the creative industries in an edgy and
creative city like Newcastle.
These are important ways forward for the
city and the region, because otherwise, the
future … it’s quite bleak.
Where do you see the relationship between
government, business and universities in
10 years?
I would like to see a policy framework
that has enabled the delivery of the key
performance indicators and objectives
for the economy and for the social and
environmental sustainability of Australia.
That means being clear about how
that triangle of government, business and
university engages and interacts within
a policy framework. Sometimes there
is finger-pointing between industry and
universities, about whether universities
d