As one of the key contributors to the Australian Council of Learned Academies’ (ACOLA) Review of Australia’s Research Training System report, ATSE is pleased to see that a number of the report’s recommendations are included in the proposed changes to the Research Block Grant (RBG) system. The Academy strongly urges the Department of Education to consider all findings and recommendations from the Review of Australia’s Research Training System report and the Research Engagement for Australia (REA) Pilot when making any changes to the research training system.
ATSE is supportive of the proposed RBG arrangements. However, the Academy recommends that the Department considers further changes including:
- tripling rather than doubling weighting for Indigenous Higher Degree by Research student completions, to increase participation by Indigenous candidates in HDR training
- including supervision standards in the proposed Research Training Program Scholarship policy, to increase accountability and transparency of Higher Education Providers
- improving longitudinal data collection of research graduates, to drive performance improvements within institutions and the entire system
- implementing the model of ATSE’s Research Engagement for Australia (REA) for robustly measuring research engagement in a cost-effective manner
- including research extension income in the HERDC for measuring engagement
Australia’s research training system has been a great strength and is performing well in academic outputs, however ongoing reform and support is needed to ensure it delivers its full potential social, economic and environmental benefits to our nation.