Submission – Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) on university research specialisation

The Academy supports flexibility for universities to deliver high-quality research and scale in areas of strength and comparative advantage, as recommended in the Ambitious Australia report. Changes to the regulations to relax the requirement for research breadth would support institutions to develop research depth, critical mass and internationally competitive capability.

In implementing changes to standards for university research breadth, ATEC’s stewardship role for the sector must ensure that Australia can maintain research excellence and scale in critical national capability areas.

The Academy recommends:

1. Changes to the ‘Australian University Category’ should not compromise Australia’s national research capability and workforce. ATEC’s role as a national steward must include national monitoring of the system to ensure Australia sustains critical capabilities across institutions and can evolve to meet current and emerging national needs.
2. University specialisation supports development of research excellence, scale and competitiveness. ATEC should engage with the Australian Research Council as it develops its research insights framework to support a coordinated approach to research evaluation.
3. Preserving the research teaching nexus as a core requirement of Australian universities. Specialisation should strengthen research excellence while maintaining the connection between research and teaching that underpins education and research capability.