ATSE believes that to be competitive, Australia needs to match or exceed the relative investment levels in higher education of other developed countries
It is important that this Review is thorough and comprehensive. ATSE believes that this Review must have wide-ranging impacts at national, state, community and individual levels. Effective implementation of the Review recommendations will be just as important as determining the content of the recommendations. The Review is also expected to result in changes to the funding of higher education and influence cooperation between higher education institutions. It is therefore important that stakeholders are given opportunities not only to provide submissions but also to comment on the draft report of the Review. It is important that the final report of the present Review includes realistic estimates of the often considerable costs of implementation of any changes and that additional funding is provided for this purpose. This has not been the case in previous reviews, slowing their implementation.
ATSE considers that Australia’s sustained economic growth and social development will increasingly be dependent on national investment in innovation and skills formation. To be competitive, Australia needs to match or exceed the relative investment levels in higher education of other developed countries.
ATSE argues that Australia needs to adopt strategies that will ensure a supply of well-educated and knowledgeable scientists, engineers and technologists. Shortages of engineers and technologists will limit our ability to benefit from innovation. ATSE is concerned that university student to staff ratios have increased. Together with an over-reliance on student fees, this poses a threat to the quality of teaching and research provided by our universities. There are also serious concerns about the lack of up-todate infrastructure, particularly in engineering schools, for developing practical competence. ATSE considers that increased government and corporate sector support for cooperation between business and our universities could greatly assist research, teaching and learning, innovation, community engagement and knowledge transfer in Australia. New approaches are needed to encourage this.