The wise counsel that drives UniSA’s research vision

Professor Marnie Hughes-Warrington, Standing Acting Vice-Chancellor at the University of South Australia.

The University of South Australia’s Adelaide campuses are located on the land of the Kaurna People, and we are fortunate to have the wise counsel of Kaurna senior elder Uncle Lewis O’Brien.

A few years ago, Uncle Lewis taught me a Kaurna word, ngadlurlu. It means we act together, we act now, and we are unstoppable. In helping me understand ngadlurlu, Uncle Lewis explained that the middle of the word, adlur, means that what hits our ears is translated into action. One step hearing, second step action.

I can’t think of a better way to describe UniSA’s approach to research excellence, or a better way to explain why our research successes have grown so rapidly.

UniSA’s research starts with the assumption that good ideas take flight in partnership. We work with industry and community organisations, listening out for ways in which we can support social and economic growth. We then act together to realise that growth. So, while our research excellence results have grown rapidly, we are also proud of the business and organisation growth we accelerate. We count our successes in discoveries as well as the number of people employed in jobs that will provide a strong future for Australia and the region.

Achieving these results turns on listening and inclusion in our own community. Our research committees are open to all staff, and we generally attract five times as many observers as committee members. It’s great knowing how much our research community is supported.

A large part of the appeal is that we feature founders, industry and community leaders in all our meetings. This ensures that we stay calibrated with what South Australia, Australia and the world most need.

Inclusion is also reflected in our commitment to diverse talent and diverse sources of research income. We work to stay balanced across all four research income categories, and all our large grant applications and bids reflect the best of our talent from across the University.

Industry and community tell us repeatedly how much they value our nimbleness, holistic view, and commitment to working with them and with other universities and other research organisations. Competition amongst universities only gets Australia so far. If we are to sustain and to accelerate our successes, we need to harness our talents, together.

These principles are seen in our award-winning Enterprise Hub, a single physical and virtual front door that works successfully to connect our community with industry and organisations.

The Enterprise Hub helps partners with things like developing a strategic plan, establishing IP pathways and training pipelines, and accessing manufacturing networks, all of which helps ensure successful outcomes – and impactful research.

Acting on what we hear also requires harnessing innovations from across the globe. During Covid, thanks to generous donors, we raised funds to support an extensive Visiting Research Fellows program. We learn and we take action together, across the world.

It also means, as Uncle Lewis reminds us, taking the second step. That means anticipating what research excellence and impact can be, not simply accepting what it is. For instance, we are garnering international attention for our approach to what have been called non-traditional outputs – like creative works and industry reports – redefining them as ‘x-traditional research outputs’, or Xtros, to move beyond the idea that they are non-traditional. All credit to our creative leaders in UniSA and across Australia for leading that change.

At the end of the day, we are one team. If you look around the room and you see only people like you, or you only hear your own voice, you are missing the world’s best opportunity to act for the good. That’s the secret of our success, and it’s no surprise to me that our research is taking off like a rocket. Uncle Lewis is right, and our community is right. Listen, act. That’s the secret of research excellence.

Distinguished Professor Marnie Hughes-Warrington AO is the Standing Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of South Australia.