Deakin celebrates Chinese-Australian partnerships at annual CAPS symposium

The event, which was held at Deakin's Melbourne Burwood Campus, was co-organised by the Australia Chinese Association for Biomedical Sciences, and attended by more than 400 PhD candidates and research professionals.

Since 2007, the annual research symposium has invited PhD students and distinguished researchers from local universities and institutes to celebrate the contribution of Chinese academics in Australia.

The symposium is the flagship event of CAPS Australia for fostering academic exchanges and research innovations across different disciplines among Chinese scholars and professionals.

Deakin Vice-Chancellor Professor Iain Martin, who spoke at the Saturday 30 November event, said the conference had developed into a significant platform for the exchange of ideas and relationship-building across the multinational academic community.

"At Deakin, we have a special relationship with China and its universities," Professor Martin said.

"In 2008, Deakin became the first Australian university to open an independent office in Beijing. Since then, we have expanded our operations and collaborations, with offices opening in Wuhan and Chengdu.

"As a leading university, we know the value of education and research to communities, and how that can contribute to the raising of economies and cultural capital. Events like the CAPS symposium are important in sharing our knowledge and reaffirming the value of our work.

"International research collaborations must be a central pillar in a university's future strategy. We must continue to expand and strengthen our global connections, and work even harder to build our reputations as institutions that are inclusive, approachable and collaborative."

The CAPS research symposium was attended by Consul General Long Zhou, of the Chinese Consulate General in Melbourne. Mr Long praised the event as an interdisciplinary communication platform for young scholars and doctoral students, and thanked Deakin for its contribution to the knowledge exchange between China and Australia throughout the years.

The event also included a keynote speech from Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Alfred Deakin Professor Julie Owens. Professor Owens' portfolio covers the Institute for Frontier Materials, Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation, and Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute, which host many of the University's international PhD candidates.