Ahead of the 21 May election, campaign commitments are now coming thick and fast. 

This week, the first two Trailblazer Universities were announced. A consortium of universities and industry partners led by Curtin University will get $50 million to develop a research commercialisation hub for critical minerals and resources technology, and a University of Adelaide and University of New South Wales partnership was awarded $50 million to boost defence sector innovation. The others will also likely be announced in the campaign.

Investing in Australia’s research commercialisation skills and capability will return a huge intergenerational dividend for the country, and it’s something STA has long advocated on behalf of our members. But it’s just one of the election pledges we are urging all political parties to make to support the country’s vital science and technology community. To amplify the sector’s messaging, please share our election pledges social media tiles. For inspiration, check out this great thread by STA member the Royal Society of Victoria.

STA welcomed the announcement of Judi Zielke as the new CEO of the Australian Research Council. Judi was appointed Acting CEO for the research granting agency in February, and has shown a clear desire to engage with the research sector on key issues in her time at the helm. We look forward to working with her and her team as she leads the agency into its next era.

It was an honour this week to host an event featuring two living legends of Australia’s science community - Nobel laureates Professor Brian Schmidt and Professor Peter Doherty. The event was part of the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of The Australian National University. As befits a university which has always engaged in public debate, the discussion was wide-ranging, deeply research-informed, and put science front-and-centre in front of a huge crowd.

We are delighted to welcome a new member organisation to the STA family - Campus Plus. Under the outstanding leadership of Founder and CEO Nick McNaughton and Chief Operating Officer Zoe Fieldhouse, Campus Plus helps universities with their industry engagement through researcher commercialisation training and mentoring, entrepreneurship training, and strategic partnership creation. We are so pleased to have them as a member of the ever-growing STA community.

Until next time, 

Misha Schubert 
CEO, Science & Technology Australia