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campusreview.com.au
A new hope
Higher education sector responds
to new innovation strategy.
By Kirstie Chlopicki
T
he newest national plan to boost
innovation and productivity
in Australia will rely heavily on
universities to succeed, experts say.
Australia 2030: Prosperity through
Innovation was recently published by
Innovation and Science Australia (ISA)
to highlight the need for upskilling and
retraining workers.
The plan also adopts a proposal supported
by Universities Australia, which involves
increasing incentives for businesses and
industry to collaborate with higher education
institutions on research and projects.
Universities Australia chief executive
Belinda Robinson commended the ISA
on backing the tax incentive, and said
the new strategy would send a strong
message to the government about the
importance of research and education as
economic drivers.
“The $3.1 billion R&D Tax Incentive is the
single biggest element of the government’s
innovation spend – yet Australia sits close
to the bottom of the OECD for innovation,”
she said. “In recent years, the debate
on how to encourage greater industry-
university collaboration has focused
entirely on universities – the supply side of
the equation. This recommendation for a
premium tax incentive also acknowledges
the need to get the demand side of that
equation right.
“Our universities will help to develop
the new ideas, new products and new
industries that are needed to drive our
future prosperity.
“Australia will struggle to become a
top‑tier innovation nation if we don’t at
least maintain our public investment in
university research and education.”
The Australia 2030 plan released by
the chair of ISA, Bill Ferris, contains
30 recommendations across industry,
education and training.
It builds on the National Innovation
and Science Agenda announced by the
government in 2015.
The Group of Eight has welcomed
the plan as a “long overdue big picture
approach” to recognising the role of
innovation in Australia’s economic future.
Go8 chief executive Vicki Thomson said
that while the document had much to
offer, questions still remained regarding the
funding of universities, and there needed to
be a unified vision for education and its role
in innovation.
“We agree that the five identified
strategic imperatives – Education, Industry,
Government, Research and Development,
and Culture and Ambition – are critical
areas of focus, and some of the specific
elements of the plan are sensible measures
– many advocated for by the Go8 in
the past – including securing long-term
funding for national research infrastructure,
a collaboration premium in the R&D Tax
Incentive, better preparing students for post-
school STEM occupations and scaling‑up
research placement programs,” she said.
“However, while the plan acknowledges
the quality of Australia’s universities and
their research effort, it takes universities
largely for granted. The assumption that
higher education in Australia will remain
globally competitive up to 2030 and
beyond, and at the same time significantly
increase collaboration with industry, while
billions are removed from the system by the
government, threatens to see the whole
innovation plan unravel.
“Similarly, while reviewing and
strengthening the contribution of the
vocational education and training
system in producing the innovation
workforce of the future is important,
where is the consideration of how this
fits with university education in delivering
innovation and research skills?
“As the Go8 has publicly advocated
for previously, a review of the entirety of
post-secondary education is necessary to
ensure that every Australian receives the
education best suited to them.
“This plan is a valuable starting point
which needs further development and
backing from government. Freezing
university funding as the government is
seeking to do will seriously compromise the
implementation of this plan.” ■
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