Why UTS is one of the 15 ‘fast moving’ research universities

UTS vice-chancellor Andrew Parfitt explains why his institution is one of the 15 ‘fast moving’ research universities.

UTS is one of the 15 ‘fast moving’ Australian research universities.

There is a cycle to be followed when building up research in a university, says UTS vice-chancellor Andrew Parfitt.

“You take the time to build the base, then you bring the partners in to scale out the research, then build the base again in terms of the scale and quality (of research), which is where we’re now at,” he says.

And that, in turn, will lead to another cycle. “What we’re looking to do is to leverage that into larger projects, bigger collaborations, more interdisciplinary work that enables us to tackle bigger problems,” he says.

UTS is, at its core, a technology university, but it’s also strong in science, business, law and health, although it does not have a medical school. “We pick our (research) areas pretty much aligned with our teaching strengths so we’re able to build on the base,” Parfitt says.

He points out that UTS is not large, certainly not in the Australian model of higher education where some institutions are nearly three times the size of UTS. “So it’s really important for us to leverage both teaching and research and build out our academic cohort,” he says.

UTS researchers are also active in connecting with colleagues overseas, both in business and universities. “Certainly, it’s well-known that international collaborations, in particular, increase the visibility of published work,” Parfitt says.

The university has been successful in increasing its research income in recent years – from government competitive grants, industry, and other funding sources – and this has boosted its research strength.

“So we’ve invested heavily in facilities that allow us to do interesting research in engineering and other technology areas, science as well, with really unique facilities that really bring partners to us,” Parfitt says.

“They don’t come to us because we’re able to transact a contract piece of research. They come to us because they know we have the intellectual horsepower that’s demonstrated by the academic output. So it’s a virtuous cycle in many ways.”