International collaboration key to innovation

Speaking to a business leaders' event in Melbourne today, Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research said that Australian Research Council (ARC) fellowships will be progressively opened to greater international competition, including the new Future Fellowships scheme.

"International collaboration is the key to stimulating Australian innovation and the Rudd Government is committed to facilitating international partnerships wherever we can find them," Senator Carr said.

"Australia is finally in a position to participate effectively in the global competition for research talent, to attract and retain the world's finest minds and to actively pursue partnerships that will reap truly innovative rewards.

"It is time to capitalise on this position and tap into global advancements in knowledge to help secure Australia's future prosperity," he said.

Senator Carr said that opening ARC fellowships to the best Australian and international researchers was part of a suite of improvements to ARC funding schemes to create and enhance international collaboration opportunities for our research community.

Other changes announced today include:

• Allowing Australian Postgraduate Awards (Industry), available under the ARC Linkage scheme, to be awarded to the highest calibre postgraduate students irrespective of nationality;
   
• Removing restrictions on the use of ARC funds for travel for international collaborators; and
   
• Making enhanced international collaboration a priority for all ARC fellowship schemes.

"This new approach to publicly-funded research in Australia will bring ARC schemes into line with those of overseas counterpart agencies. Other countries have increasingly encouraged international mobility of researchers and international collaborative research," Senator Carr said.

"In devising the suite of improvements, I have taken into consideration the opinions of the newly established ARC Advisory Council, which had its inaugural meeting earlier this month."

Media contacts:        Patrick Pantano (Minister's Office)        0417 181 936
                                 Fiona Skivington (ARC)                        0412 623 057