Research
Deakin University
By Professor David Stokes, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, (Research) Deakin University.
Senator Kim Carr, Australia’s new Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, said recently that: “Brazil has legislated to provide incentives for research cooperation between universities, research institutes and private companies … if Brazil can get the public and private sectors sharing research staff, funding and facilities, why can’t we?"
I agree. And surely we can take this initiative even further. It is time for Australia to have another go at providing new incentives for universities and industries to work together.
The potential for more industry ready graduates, more focussed research and more benefit to regional economies is enormous.
At Deakin University in Geelong we have been building a strong portfolio of discovery and applied research in advanced manufacturing. This includes research in new materials, composites, nanotechnology, biotechnology and intelligent systems.
We have also been building opportunities for industry to co-locate and collaborate with Deakin researchers at our Geelong Technology Precinct – more than 40 partnerships are already in place.
Deakin University’s Geelong Campus at Waurn Ponds sits on a 360-hectare site, with ample room to accommodate the widest range of new research facilities and co-located industries.
Space is one of the advantages that we have over universities on inner-city sites where most of the land has long been built out.
The innovative nature of Deakin’s approach was recognised in late March when Senator Kim Carr announced at the annual dinner of the Geelong Manufacturing Council that the Innovative Regions Innovation Centre for Australia would be located at the GTP.
“The Innovative Regions Centre in Geelong will be a cornerstone of Enterprise Connect, with $20 million in funding over four years,” Senator Carr said. “It will help SME’s (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) with benchmarking, technical assistance, process improvements and sourcing new technology. “The Innovative Regions Centre will serve the whole country, giving people in Geelong with good ideas and special expertise the chance to hook into the national network of Enterprise Connect sites – and, more importantly, a national network of SME’s.” Needless to say, Deakin University is delighted to be chosen by the Australian Government for the Innovative Regions Innovation Centre under the Enterprise Connect scheme.
Geelong has long been the home of Victoria’s manufacturing industry.
Many of Australia’s traditional industries, and not just those in Geelong, are facing intense competition from overseas manufacturers. Innovation in current practice as well as innovation in future design are both essential in the survival of these industries.
If existing industry is to make an ongoing contribution to regional economies, national economies and the global knowledge economy, it will need to become involved in clever, creative partnerships with academia and governments.
To encourage these partnerships, shifts in policy setting for all parties will need to be made.
Senator Carr has set the ball rolling. He has announced reviews into Innovation, the Clothing, Textiles and Footwear Industry, the Auto Industry and the Co-operative Research Centre Program. These developments are occurring at time when Higher Eduction in Australia is also going to be reviewed.
Universities in regional economies have a key role to play in the value adding chain.
Universities are not commercial enterprises in the sense that SMEs and large companies are commercial enterprises, but there is a real opportunity for industry and universities to work together in partnership, each benefiting from the other in areas of their core business.
Strong universities and strong industries can then jointly make new contributions to regional, national and international ventures.
This is at the heart of the Deakin approach. Some of our established partnerships are in applied research. In other cases, Deakin is providing companies with opportunity to co-locate and to collaborate.
Recently the Victorian Government provided $6 million to add a “proof of concept” space at the GTP. This is a facility in which ideas can shelter, grow and be fully tested, before taking their chance in the commercial world.
What are the benefits to the University in opening up its doors and developing such a model? The answer is partly in the role that universities can play in proving access to new markets in countries such as India and China through existing academic partnerships in teaching and research.
The benefits include the quantity and quality of new ideas that come into a university and a region through new staff and students.
At the GTP, Deakin is working with its industry partners in what is a two-way knowledge exchange pathway to the region, to the rest of Australia and through mutual connections to the global knowledge economies in India, China, Europe and North America.
The regional significance of the “here and now research and innovation” which needs to occur in our existing industries and its impact on the economy of today is immense.
The significance for the Australian economy of the future and for our capacity to compete in this economy is just as important.
The recent changes to the policy settings on research are welcome. Australia needs strong discovery and applied research and a strong manufacturing industry prepared to invest and to co-invest in our future.
