Out of my way: universities fight for funds

Unis are jostling for access­ to $700m of extra researc­h money which could be offered next year by the federal government to save key research programs.

Regional University Network chairwoman Helen Bartlett. Picture: Lou O’Brien

Universities are jostling for access­ to a $700m pot of extra researc­h money which could be offered next year by the federal government to save key research programs.

Regional Universities Network chairwoman Helen Bartlett said the seven universities in her group should be included in the proposed research funding boost, which would be government funding brought forward to 2021-22 from 2024-25.

“We hope it would not ex­clude­ regional universities from the mix because when you look at some of the examples (of research projects) … every regional university is doing work that is impactful in its local communities,” said Professor Bartlett, who is vice-chancellor of the University of the Sunshine Coast.

The research-intensive Group of Eight universities have called for the limited amount of government research funding to be focused on the world-leading, large-scale research that is centred­ on their campuses, but other universities, including the RUN group, are pushing back.

Professor Bartlett released an economic analysis of the econo­mic impact of the RUN universities on Wednesday which said that doubling their research budgets to $253m a year would prod­uce a $94m GDP gain in regional areas and an extra 600 jobs.

Universities are competing for every cent of government research money in the wake of the COVID-driven collapse in international student numbers which has crushed university budgets.

However, NSW universities may see international students return sooner than expected after Stuart Ayres, the state’s Jobs, Investment and Tourism Minister, said on Wednesday that international students could return, under strict quarantine, by the start of next year.

“That’s definitely something I’ll be working towards,” he told the Australian Technology Network of Universities Internat­ional Education Summit.

The University of Sydney welcomed Mr Ayres’s statement, saying student return was a key factor for recovery of universities and the general economy. But the university warned it would “be complex and require all levels­ of government, universit­ies and the private sector, including airlines, to work together”.

As reported in The Australian on Wednesday, the proposal to allow universities early access to research funding, within the four-year forward estimates cycle of the federal budget, carries­ the risk that they will suffer­ a reduction in research funding in four year’s time if international students don’t return and provide fee revenue.

Australian National University higher education policy professor Andrew Norton said the universities faced a tough choice.

“Bringing funding forward could be potentially useful for university research projects current­ly under way, but it would come at the cost of new ­research,” he said.

“If I were a university­ leader, I would accept it as the lesser of two evils … if there’s no new money, bringing funds forward­ is probably the least damaging option.” 

A report from the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Higher Education released on Monday­ found the nation’s biggest­ universities face an “extremely high” risk of losing their research capacity from COVID-19 and the loss of foreign students.

Opposition education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said the lack of new money would only push the nation’s best researchers overseas.

“University funding cuts, massive student fee hikes, and not a dollar extra for research — what a rip-off,” she said.

“Scott Morrison won’t be happy until he’s locked every Aussie high-school kid out of uni and driven every one of our ­brilliant researchers overseas.”