Amid a STEM crisis, here's what the 2023 budget promises for Australian science and innovation
Retrieved on:
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
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Australian innovation has the capacity to protect us – our environment, our digital world, our borders and our health.
Key Points:
- Australian innovation has the capacity to protect us – our environment, our digital world, our borders and our health.
- But the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sector has been sounding the alarm for years that our research system is in crisis.
- Reviews in progress – including the Universities Accord, National Science and Research Priorities, and the Australian Research Council – are an opportunity to examine and respond to systemic problems.
More STEM degrees
- The nuclear submarine workforce will be bolstered by $128.5 million for 4,000 new places for tertiary STEM education.
- We’ll never say no to more STEM degrees in this engineer-poor, rapidly innovating world.
- We’re already behind our OECD counterparts – Australia trains an insufficient number of engineers, with just 8.5% of Australian university graduates receiving engineering degrees compared with over 12% in Canada and over 23% in Germany.
- This will continue to build a positive commercialisation environment and lead to more of Australia’s world class research becoming world class innovations.
En route to a net zero superpower
- In a decarbonising global economy, Australia has the potential to be a clean energy superpower.
- The new Net Zero Authority is an important step towards the urgent need to decarbonise and transform our domestic and export energy markets.
- Read more:
Australia finally has a Net Zero Authority – here's what should top its agendaWe need a coherent plan for clean energy research, development and deployment, with the backing to realise the vision.
What’s missing from the budget for STEM
- As we await Universities Accord outcomes, the government has avoided supporting the full cost of teaching STEM degrees.
- Nothing has been announced to address urgent STEM professional shortages, and to support STEM workforce diversity.
- Likewise, there’s silence on much-needed industry bodies – a National Engineering Council and the National Indigenous STEM Professional Network.