Announcements

Labor’s innovation policy promises investment boost

The new Labor Government has undertaken to strengthen Australia’s research and innovation capacities through a number of key policy initiatives.

These include the $200 million Enterprise Connect network, that is aimed at connecting businesses to new ideas and new technologies. It will involve:

• a national network of Manufacturing Centres, including a $12 million Centre in North West Tasmania, and a $20 Centre at Mawson Lakes, Adelaide,
• a Clean Energy Innovation Centre,
• a Creative Industries Innovation Centre
• a Remote Enterprise Centre,
• an Innovative Regions Centre in Geelong with funding of $20 million to provide support to small and medium sized companies, boost local economies and create new jobs in areas that are experiencing adjustment pressures.
• a $14 million Mining Technology Innovation Centre in Mackay, Queensland
• $10 million for a Researchers in Business initiative, to build strong research links and develop the commercial potential of news ideas.

Labor has also undertaken to appoint a full-time Chief Scientist, appoint Industry Innovation Councils to foster partnerships in key sectors, and to reinvigorate CSIRO.

In the higher education and research sector, the government will double the number of Australian Postgraduate Awards for PhD and Masters by Research students, and create 1,000 new four-year Future Fellowships to keep top mid-career researchers in Australia.

HECS fees for maths and science students will be halved, and repayments will also be halved if they take up jobs in key fields, like teaching.

Initiatives to address climate change include:

• Clean Business Australia, with an investment of $240 million to support a Re-tooling for Climate Change grants program; Climate Ready support for R&D and early stage commercialisation of environmentally friendly products; and a Green Building Fund.
• A $150 million Energy Innovation Fund and a $50 million geothermal initiative.
• A $15 million Clean Energy Export Strategy to help Australian businesses take a larger
  slice of the renewable energy market, working alongside the Innovation Centre.
• A $500 million Green Car Innovation Fund to develop and build fuel efficient vehicles in
  Australia.
• $50 million to establish The Australian Solar Institute, incorporating CSIRO’s National Solar Energy Centre 

Labor’s policy documents, An Innovation Future for Australian Industry, and Clean Energy Plan to Help Tackle Climate Change, are available at http://www.alp.org.au/policy/index.php#industry_innovation_science_&_research

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Senator Carr takes Innovation, Industry, Science and Research portfolio

Senator Kim Carr has been appointed Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. A former teacher, Senator Carr, BA (Hons), MA, DipEd(Melb), was Shadow Minister for Science and Research for three years from November 2001, and from December last year was Shadow Minister for Industry, Innovation, Science and Research. Elected in 1993, he has had extensive experience serving on Senate committees.

The President of the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS), Professor Ken Baldwin, has welcomed Senator Carr’s appointment.

“Senator Carr has demonstrated a strong interest in innovation and science issues for many years and we are delighted his deep knowledge of the sector has been recognised by the Prime Minister.”

“Labor sketched out some important initiatives in education, science and innovation in the lead up to the election and we look forward to working with them to ensure they are implemented in a constructive and effective way.”

“The big challenges include proper resourcing of universities, and addressing skills shortages at all levels in science, engineering and mathematics.”

“Bringing industry, innovation and science and research into the one Department has the potential to re-invigorate a somewhat tired policy area by bringing supply and demand-side policy issues together.”

“FASTS would be very concerned, however, if science and research simply become subservient to industry policy. There is a strong view in the science and research sectors that public policy has been constrained by an over emphasis on short-term commercial outcomes”.

“This was a key focus in the recent Productivity Commission report on science and innovation which advocated a greater focus on preparedness and risk minimisation as an outcome of science and innovation,” Professor Baldwin said.

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NSW Innovation Council appointed

The membership of the NSW Innovation Council, the group charged with guiding the State’s future economic growth, has been announced. The Innovation Council was one of the undertakings made in the NSW Government’s Statement on Innovation.

Deputy Premier John Watkins announced the appointment of 10 business, academic and government leaders to the Council, which will advise the Government on initiatives to foster innovation-led growth.

The NSW Innovation Council members are:

• Steven Harker (Chair) – Managing Director and CEO Morgan Stanley Australia
• Catherine Livingstone – business director and former chair of the CSIRO, former head of Cochlear Pty Ltd
• Professor Jonathan West – Director, Australian Innovation Research Centre, on whose work the Innovation Statement is based
• Dr David Skellern – Chief Executive Officer, National ICT Australia
• Greg Smith – Director, Animal Logic
• Mark ONeill – former Executive Director, Australian Coal Association
• Robyn Kruk – Director-General, Department of Premier and Cabinet
• John Pierce – Secretary, NSW Treasury
• Michael Coutts-Trotter – Director-General, Department of Education and Training and Managing Director, TAFE NSW
• Director-General, Department of State and Regional Development. 

The NSW Government is focusing on developing five key sectors: 

• logistics and transaction services; 
• financial services; 
• entertainment, design and media; 
• manufacturing; and 
• resources, especially coal. 

Mr Watkins said that analyses have been commissioned in each of five key areas to map innovation opportunities and identify possible barriers to innovation. He said the Government’s five innovation goals are: 

• boosting high-level skills; 
• upgrading knowledge infrastructure – such as working to support improved broadband for businesses. 
• reducing the cost to business of using science and technology; 
• encouraging more private sector investment in innovation; and 
• cutting red tape that stands in the way of innovative NSW companies.

The Innovation Council will meet regularly and be supported by a secretariat within the Department of State and Regional Development, headed by the newly-appointed Director of Innovation Strategies Todd Clewett.

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University of Melbourne launches Engineering Research Institute

The University of Melbourne has officially lauched its Melbourne Engineering Research Institute (MERIT).

Incoming Director of MERIT, Professor Rod Tucker, said the Institute brings together world leading research in the Melbourne School of Engineering to address four critical areas – bioengineering, information and communications, materials and sustainability.

“MERIT will increase opportunities for researchers to work together on a large scale and to increase partnerships with industry. It offers a single point of contact for industry to link with specific research areas.”

Professor Tucker said the establishment of MERIT also contributes to the University’s goal to have one of the top-ranking engineering schools in the world.

The four themes of focus within the Institute are:

• Biomedical Engineering – in support of medicine and health;
• Information and Communication Systems – which underpins the future of information sharing, collaboration, education and business;
• Structured Matter – the role modern materials play in our world; and
• Sustainable Systems – the future of water, energy and the environment for our society.
  “In areas such as nanomaterials, research will have direct benefits for the community, ranging from environmental to medical applications,” said Professor Tucker.

“There are other activities focusing on water resources, new research looking at sustainability and global energy implications of the internet and ICS projects exploring communications for remote communities and developing regions of the world.

More information is at www.eng.unimelb.edu.au

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Victorian facility to study crop response to climate change

The Victorian Government is funding a $3.7 million Free Air Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Enrichment (FACE) facility that will investigate how crops respond to carbon dioxide increases in the atmosphere as a result of climate change.

The research facility, based at Horsham, uses advanced equipment including special gas release systems, similar to research facilities in the United States, Europe and China, to expose naturally grown wheat crops to different CO2 concentrations.

Testing at the facility will focus on the behaviour and responses of wheat experiencing the drought-prone and nutrient limited conditions typical of Australia.

Dr Rob Norton from the University of Melbourne said FACE experiments provide information that increases the accuracy of existing crop models. Models are used to predict what is likely to happen with climate change, with CO2, rainfall and temperature all forecast to change significantly in the future.

Dr Norton said FACE is the only technology available in the world that can accurately test the interactions of elevated carbon dioxide with nutrition, soil conditions, water, and temperature on plants and trees under natural field conditions.

“FACE technology is able to elevate carbon dioxide without compromising or modifying other variables in the field and so we will be able to test the impact of a range of carbon dioxide levels against the other factors in plant growth to identify the opportunities presented by climate change,” he said.

“While the dramatic rises in carbon dioxide over the past 100 years are a major contributor to climate change, the gas has the potential to increase plant growth and overall crop productivity, possibly offsetting some of the predicted negative impacts of climate change.”

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Call for Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine

A group of leading medical and health organisations is lobbying for the establishment of an Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine (AITHM) in northern Queensland, to be based at James Cook University with major facilities in Cairns and Townsville.

The group took out full-page advertisements in regional papers prior to the election calling on the major parties’ candidates to commit to the research institute.

The signatories include representatives of the Australian Medical Association, Research Australia, the Australian Veterinary Association, the Pharmacy Guild, Australian Dental Association, Australian Institute of Medical Scientists, General Practice doctors, Tropical Medical Training, Australian Rural Nurses and Midwives, Rural Doctors Association, and the Cairns Chamber of Commerce and Townsville Enterprise.

One of the signatories, Dr John Hall, President of the Rural Doctors Association of Queensland said his association strongly supported the proposal to establish the Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine.

“Given global warming projections, the incidence of tropical disease is likely to rise in Australia in the future,” Dr Hall said. “We also face increasing challenges with respect to biosecurity issues. These factors add to the already strong need for a world-class research facility in tropical health.”

The Pro Vice Chancellor of JCU’s Faculty of Medicine, Health and Molecular Sciences, Professor Ian Wronski, said the establishment of the Institute was vital for the future health of Australians.

“As the open letter shows, there is strong support right across the health and medical field to get the AITHM up and running,” Professor Wronski said.

“Northern Queensland is the ideal place for an Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine because we are the frontline for Ross River, Barmah Forest, dengue fevers; for Japanese encephalitis, group A streptococcus and rheumatic fever; melioidosis; Q Fever, chlamydia and malaria,” the letter says.

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MoU to focus conservation research in South Australia

Collaborative research and education on conservation issues in South Australia will be strengthened under a memorandum of understanding signed by Flinders University, the Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH) and the Board of the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium.

The SA Minister for Environment and Conservation Gail Gago said the MoU was an initiative of the South Australian Strategtic Plan and would foster creativity and innovation in research and teaching about conservation issues and also support the Government’s No Species Loss strategy, by strengthening research into methods of conserving South Australia’s precious native animals and plants.
Under the MOU, the institutions will share resources and facilities, work together to seek funding for cooperative research projects, and jointly supervise postgraduate research students.

They will also exchange information and consult each other on relevant projects or activities, and undertake joint sponsorship and promotion of significant scholarly events and exhibitions.

Departmental employees who contribute to teaching or research programs at the University will be eligible to hold full or adjunct academic status.

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Further Education

Clinical Research Context and Practice 2008

The School of Enterprise, University of Melbourne, is pleased to announce that we are taking enrolments for our Graduate programs in Clinical Research.

Start your career with the Professional Certificate in Clinical Research (25 point qualification) by enrolling with Clinical Research Context and Practice (12.5 points)

Topics covered include:

• Basic ethics in human research
• Principles of respect, autonomy, beneficence and maleficence
• Balancing harm and benefit
• Balancing the role of physician and researcher
• The convergence of statistical and clinical reasoning in research
• Difficulties in various types of trial
• Case studies of high-profile mistakes and problems in studies
• Need for integrity in trials and studies.
• Principles of recruitment, selection, allocation and randomisation
• The role of blinding and the need for objectivity
• Measurement of exposure and response, including surrogate measures, markers of response, and choice of endpoints.

Cost: $2,100
When: February 4, 5, 7 & 8 2008
Where: (Room 2114)
The University of Melbourne
442 Auburn Road
Hawthorn, Victoria Australia 3122

www.soe.unimelb.edu.au/clinicalresearch

Express your interest in this course or related courses by contacting;
Mary Georges on (03) 9810 3185 or email m.georges@soe.unimelb.edu.au
Steve Farish on (03) 8344 4986 or email s.farish@unimelb.edu.au

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Applied Analysis of Clinical Trials

This course focuses on the major biostatistical techniques used in Clinical Research, with an emphasis on clinical trials. Real data sets will be analysed in a workshop environment, so that both the challenges and the outcomes are experienced. The use of multiple presenters will enable various viewpoints of analytic problems to be explored and discussed.

At the end of this subject, Clinicians should be able to:
• Understand the major statistical methods used in analysing data from clinical trials
• Perform analysis on such data within limitations, using an appropriate statistical package.
• Understand the limitations and assumptions of such analyses
• Be familiar with the statistical terms used in the literature
• Interpret and explain to others in clear language the relevant information from such analyses
• Understand the advantages and weaknesses of repeated measures, crossover designs, factorial and blocked designs from a statistical perspective.

This subject is one half of the Specialist Certificate in Clinical Research (Informatics & Analysis). To lean more about this award, visit our website www.soe.unimelb.edu.au/informatics

Dates: February/ March 2008 - To be confirmed
Cost: $2,100 per person

For further details contact Mary Georges on (03) 9810 3185 or email m.georges@soe.unimelb.edu.au

Alternatively, you may contact: Subject Coordinator Associate Professor Steve Farish on (03) 8344 4986 or email s.farish@unimelb.edu.au

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Clinical Neuroscience Research Trials - Part 1

The School of Enterprise, University of Melbourne, in association with the NH&MRC - Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Neurosciences and the Florey Neuroscience Institutes, are pleased to announce that they will be holding a 4 day short course on Clinical Neuroscience Research: Methodology and Disease Applications Part 1, at the Austin Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital on March 3 4, 6 & 7 2008

NUMBERS ARE LIMITED, so be quick!

This course has been specifically designed for people already in clinical practice, who want to broaden their understanding of clinical neuroscience research, improve their research skills and critical thinking about research questions before embarking on clinical research studies. Experienced clinicians in their first years of conducting clinical research will also benefit by updating their research knowledge and skills. In addition, this course will provide basic orientation in various clinical research methodologies applied to neuroscience for other professionals who are unfamiliar with the field of clinical neuroscience or research. 

Specialist Certificate in Clinical Research (Neuroscience) 

The 25 points specialist certificate is a Masters level award and is achieved by completion of the two four day subjects, Methodology & Disease Applications Part 1 and Neuroimaging & Disease Applications Part 2, with associated assessment. It provides full credit into the Masters program in Clinical Research.

NEED TO KNOW MORE? CHECK OUT INFORMATION AT:

www.soe.unimelb.edu.au/neuroscience  

Cost: $2,100 + GST

When: March 3, 4, 6 & 7 2008

• Kathy Lefevere on (03) 9496 2990 or email lefevere@unimelb.edu.au  
• Mary Georges (03) 9810 3185 or email m.georges@soe.unimelb.edu.au  

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Business Services

Clinical Research Information & Resources At Your Fingertips

www.AccessCR.com.au

How much time do you waste finding information and resources specific to clinical research in Australia/New Zealand?

Got a question about clinical research and don’t know who to ask?

Launched in November, AccessCR.com.au collates for the first time information and resources for anyone needing information on clinical research, with an Australian/New Zealand flavour.

General information is freely available including an understanding of what clinical research is, the many ways to get involved to publicise, drive decision making, fund or participate in clinical research, news, events, jobs and tenders, and a place to interact with others to share your questions and opinions through the surveys, blog and discussion forum.

If you are a professional and would like a consolidated resource for accessing regulations, suppliers and tips for clinical research, then subscribe to the Professional members portal. This portal is your solution for reducing the time spent looking for information and resources to implement your trials, and an opportunity through the professionals forum to interact and network with the broader clinical research community to strengthen partnership and knowledge transfer.

Two Special Offers Available now!

1. Get a 10% discount on your professional subscription fee for all subscriptions during December 2007 with the mention of Discount Code: ENRD01

2. Free Advertising of all your major news, events, jobs and trials until mid January 2008.

To find out more about this service, advertising or subscriptions, please visit www.AccessCR.com.au, or email us at ContactUs@AccessCR.com.au.

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