Coast unis cash in on research dollar
GOLD Coast universities are raking in big research bucks, attracting massive increases in funding to continue their groundbreaking work.
The Coast’s leading researchers and experts are luring at least $30 million to the city each year through Bond, Griffith and Southern Cross universities.
University academics say that figure is increasing each year despite tight competition across the country and cuts to government funding.
Bond has already eclipsed last year’s total research income of $4.25 million, receiving record growth of $10.6 million in contracted grants so far this year.
SCU, which has a campus on the Coast that attracts money for its tourism and leisure work, had a 30 per cent increase from 2010 to 2011 at $13.4 million.
The organisation has now become a Research Intensive University, according to the Sustainable Research Excellence Assessment.
Griffith’s research income jumped nearly 16 per cent in a year, with the Coast’s Institute for Glycomics and Griffith Health Institute attracting most of their $74 million last year.
Deputy vice-chancellor for research Ned Pankhurst said the Coast made up about $25 million of that figure.
‘‘We’ll see that grow quite substantially over the coming years, both with biomedicine and health,’’ Mr Pankhurst said.
SCU’s pro vice-chancellor Neal Ryan said they hoped to pull more health funding when their new building opened at Bilinga.
Funding is awarded through the Federal Government’s Australian Competit i ve Grants for higher education providers.
Bond unveiled its latest figures to kick off Research Week, which started yesterday.
Bond’s Professor Chris Del Mar has been awarded a $2.5 million National Health and Medical Research Council grant to lead an international collaboration with Oxford University, Cardiff University and other Australian universities to establish the Centre for Research Excellence in Minimising Antibiotic Resistance for Acute Respiratory Infections.
The prestigious centre will be one of only four such funded centres across Australia, and the first time such a facility has been established at Bond.
The centre will conduct research on the major contributors to antibiotic resistance.
Bond’s vice-chancellor Professor Tim Brailsford said: ‘‘Research Week provides us with a platform to showcase our research successes and our research culture to the wider community.’’