vision for a science nation - responding to stem...

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Cover image – International collaborative research links (data sourced from the Scopus database, 2012). The lines represent co-authorship of scientific publications; the size of the circles represent the number of collaborations between institutions within a mapped location.

“The global economy is changing. New technologies and smart companies lead. New industries and new sources of wealth are emerging. New skills are required for workers at all levels…

At the core of almost every agenda is a focus on STEM: science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

- Professor Ian Chubb ACSeptember 2014

Ministers’ forewordThe Australian Government has a vision for our nation in which science is an integral part of our society and our economy.

The value of science is measured beyond the confines of any one section of our community.

To make the most of our opportunities for the future, we must ensure that science becomes one of the bedrocks of our economy.

This will be an Australia in which science is woven, not only into our classrooms, but also into our boardrooms, our workplaces and our living rooms, as one of the building blocks of our prosperity.

Delivering on this vision will be a challenge, but it’s a task that is well within the capabilities of a nation with a proven track record of creativity, innovation and determination, and a willingness to think outside the square.

The Australian Government is developing a comprehensive science policy that will be underpinned by a strategy for a science nation in which scientific thinking and applied science can be found in all sectors of our economy.

This policy will be made up of several components. One important element of this broad policy will be the development of our capacity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – STEM.

A paper from the Chief Scientist, released in September 2014, set out the case for concerted effort in STEM. It has received positive feedback from all sectors of the community. In April this year, the Commonwealth Science Council considered actions the Government could take to respond. The Government has set in train further activities and policies to improve our STEM performance and address his recommendations. This paper highlights those activities and identifies additional actions that can be taken.

An important part of our nation’s STEM development is to expand the reach of STEM in schools and universities, but a thorough STEM strategy is about far more than simply igniting a passion for STEM in our classrooms. It’s about applying STEM skills to address the challenges we face as a country, and to ensure we can maximise our opportunities in a rapidly evolving and increasingly competitive global economy.

Enhancing our capacity in STEM will translate into direct benefits for our society through improvements in our economy, new opportunities for our industries and advances in our standard of living.

This will require improved coordination across the entire Government and beyond. It will mean investing wisely and coherently, for the long-term and in the national interest.

We will continue to work to ensure that Australia has high quality STEM education across all levels. Improved STEM education will mean we have world-leading scientific research. It will mean our businesses can improve their productivity by working with researchers to solve problems. It will mean we can work with international partners to solve, manage or mitigate the issues that confront us.

There is no doubt about the need for action to harness science, technology, engineering and mathematics for national gain. Other countries have been putting actions in place to ensure STEM can lift them to a globally competitive position.

The consultation on STEM will be one very important component in delivering our plan to develop a nation in which science is not only valued for its intrinsic merit, but also for its practical applications.

Our actions in this area will be complemented by the full suite of science policy developments, including our focus on national science and research priorities, boosting commercial returns from research and creating stronger links and greater collaboration rates between industry and research.

We will continue to work with the Commonwealth Science Council and the Council of Australian Governments Education Council to ensure that actions are coherent and complementary.

The changes we need to make demand commitment and a collaborative effort. We will work with states and territories, business and industry, universities and research agencies to implement the Government’s science policy. We welcome all their contributions to this important phase of national consultation.

The Hon Ian Macfarlane MP The Hon Christopher Pyne MP

Minister for Industry and Science Minister for Education and Training

Introduction.........................................................................................................................1

1. Australian competitiveness........................................................................................2

Targeting innovation efforts..........................................................................................3

Supporting translation and commercialisation of STEM discoveries.......................4

Integrating STEM experts across industry, business and public sectors................5

Building an entrepreneurial culture using STEM.........................................................5

2. Education and training...............................................................................................7

Advancing a national STEM in school education strategy.........................................9

Inspirational teaching and inspired learning.............................................................10

Connecting schools with STEM professionals..........................................................10

Improved STEM graduate employability.....................................................................11

Better community engagement with STEM................................................................12

3. Research....................................................................................................................14

Long term planning......................................................................................................15

Supporting research careers.......................................................................................16

Enhancing dissemination of Australian research.....................................................16

Connecting industry to research solutions................................................................17

4. International engagement.........................................................................................18

Developing international engagement strategies......................................................19

Building and maintaining government-to-government linkages.............................19

Supporting exchange of knowledge and research talent.........................................20

Leveraging science diplomacy....................................................................................20

Appendix: Recommendations from STEM: Australia’s Future....................................22

Have your sayThe purpose of this paper is to test the Government’s response to the Chief Scientist’s recommendations.

The paper suggests how government could respond and asks what else could be done, by the government or by the business, community and education sectors.

We are providing the opportunity for Australians to have their say.

Consultation Questions Do these proposals adequately respond to the Chief Scientist’s recommendations –

both now and over the longer term?

Do you consider there are any areas that require more urgent action? Have we missed anything?

Which of these proposals will have the greatest impact on Australia’s STEM performance?

Which of these proposals will enable you and your organisation to contribute to Australia’s STEM performance?

IntroductionIn September 2014, Australia’s Chief Scientist laid out the need for change in his paper Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Australia’s Future. Put simply, Australia risks falling behind if we do not address the gaps in STEM in this country.

The Chief Scientist’s paper identified critical vulnerabilities in our STEM efforts, which need to be addressed if Australia’s economic productivity, competitiveness and national well-being are to improve. The Chief Scientist made 24 recommendations (Appendix A) to the Government in the areas of:

Australian competitiveness; education and training; research; and international engagement.

The need for change is not in doubt.

The path we take must be coordinated, long term and bipartisan. It must result in enduring benefit for future generations of Australians.

To achieve this, the Chief Scientist recommended a whole-of-government approach be taken to STEM. This response will be developed in consultation with the Commonwealth Science Council.

The Government established the Council in 2014 as the pre-eminent body for advice on science and technology in Australia. Chaired by the Prime Minister, the Science Council advises the Government on areas of national strength, on current and future capability and on ways to improve connections between Government, research organisations, universities and business.

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1. Australian competitiveness

The Government aims to make our industries more innovative and internationally competitive by embedding STEM in all levels of the Australian economy.

We need to improve:

our performance on key global measures of competitiveness, entrepreneurship and innovation;

the proportion of Australia’s STEM experts that work in industry, business and the public sector outside of universities;

the ability of Australian businesses to produce new-to-market innovations on a larger scale as a result of working with STEM experts; and

business pathways to global supply chains.

Relevant activities already underway

The Government is working to place science at the centre of industry policy. We are focussed on lifting Australia’s rate of business and research collaboration to deliver commercial outcomes, economic growth and productivity gains.

The Government released the Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda in October 2014. This sets out goals for economic growth, greater innovation and entrepreneurship, a more skilled workforce and a more business-friendly economic and regulatory environment.

As part of this agenda, five high growth sectors in Australia were identified. These are advanced manufacturing, food and agribusiness, medical technologies and pharmaceuticals, mining equipment, technology and services, and oil, gas and energy resources. We are targeting these sectors through the Industry Growth Centres Initiative.

For individual firms, the Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme is the Government’s flagship initiative for business competitiveness and productivity. It helps firms improve capability and commercialise new products, processes and services by working with researchers and STEM experts to solve problems. It also helps businesses access global and domestic supply chains.

The Export Market Development Grants scheme also assists SMEs access export markets and global supply chains.

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STEM must underpin a differentiated and readily adaptable economy that is globally competitive and will enable all Australians to benefit from the opportunities that follow.

– STEM: Australia’s Future, September 2014

STEM: Australia’s Future recommends that the Government:

Establish an Australian Innovation Board to draw together existing Australian programmes and target research and innovation effort

Support the translation and commercialisation of STEM discoveries Accelerate the integration of STEM experts into industry, business and public

sectors Promote an entrepreneurial culture

New investment in innovative Australian ideas and emerging companies will be encouraged as part of enhanced Significant Investment Visa and new Premium Investor Visa arrangements.

The National Survey of Research Commercialisation (NSRC) measures commercialisation activity in Australian publicly funded research organisations. The Government is reviewing the NSRC to ensure future collections are aligned with current and emerging opportunities, target sector priorities, and can be compared to international data sources.

To acknowledge the contribution of entrepreneurs and innovators, the Government has introduced a new Prime Minister’s Prize for the commercial application of science from 2015.

What more could be done?

Targeting innovation effortsThe Government has announced nine national Science and Research Priorities, and five industry growth sectors.

Capability mapping of the science and research priorities and associated practical challenges will provide industry with a better understanding of Australia’s research capability in areas of national interest (discussed in more detail under the Research theme).

Five Growth Centres will be established by the end of 2015. They will bring together SMEs, industry organisations and researchers to tackle the challenges faced in each sector. They will enable industry sectors to access knowledge, set priorities and use research to solve problems that limit competitiveness.

Each Growth Centre will develop knowledge priorities to clearly articulate the kind of research and innovation each sector needs. Businesses in each sector will be able to pool their efforts to pursue research that supports these needs. This will help researchers and innovators understand the practical problems firms need to solve to increase their competitiveness.

The Innovation Australia Board supports industry innovation by overseeing innovation and venture capital programmes, as an independent statutory authority. The Government will amend the responsibilities of the Innovation Australia Board to address Australia’s science and innovation needs more clearly. The Government will also review the Board’s membership to ensure that it has enough science and innovation expertise to lead the way on innovation.

The Innovation Australia Board will oversee relevant Industry portfolio programmes such as the Cooperative Research Centres Programme and the Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme.

The Government could also ask the Innovation Australia Board to identify priorities for innovation that complement the Science and Research Priorities and the industry knowledge priorities.

The Commonwealth Science Council and the National Science, Technology and Research Committee will help ensure the Government’s strategy and priorities for research and innovation are coherent and mutually reinforcing.

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Supporting translation and commercialisation of STEM discoveriesAustralia can foster growth in SMEs by encouraging them to innovate. The Government could develop a programme to encourage firms to develop innovative solutions to challenges identified by Government based on domestic and global market opportunities.

Small business solving national challenges – international examplesThe German Federation of Industrial Research Associations supports research and development in SMEs by building alliances with partners from industry, science and government. It aims to promote research and development for SMEs, as well as qualifying the new generation of academics in innovative fields and organising the distribution of scientific knowledge.

Sweden’s Innovation Agency VINNOVA provides support to SMEs to investigate international market conditions and develop prototypes of innovative products and services.

The United States Small Business Innovation Research programme offers small businesses research and development grants for ideas with the potential to be scaled. This helps businesses bridge the gap between concept and a commercially viable product.

The United Kingdom’s Small Business Research Initiative connects national challenges with innovative ideas from industry. Government departments and public bodies hold open competitions to find innovative solutions to public sector problems. Winners are awarded a staged, fully funded research and development contract to develop new commercial products or services. Though the programme focuses on SMEs, any organisation can submit an application.

The Government is implementing a strategy to improve the translation of research into commercial outcomes. Many of the Boosting the commercial returns from research strategy’s initiatives are covered in other parts of this paper. Initiatives include:

developing simpler, more transparent research block grant arrangements that support greater industry and end-user engagement, while retaining a focus on excellence;

reforming Australia’s intellectual property (IP) regime;

reviewing the R&D Tax Incentive;

developing a plan to provide business with greater online access to publicly funded research and researchers’ expertise;

reviewing research training to ensure research training students have greater opportunities to gain experience and skills that are relevant to industry, so they graduate ready to work with industry and bring their ideas to market; and

improving information about collaboration and commercialisation by developing better tools to assess the research system including enhanced metrics on engagement and knowledge transfer with industry, research outcomes and impact.

The R&D Tax Incentive is a broad-based, market driven programme accessible to all industry sectors, including SMEs. It provides a targeted tax offset to encourage more companies to engage in research and development. However there may be better ways to use the scheme. This will be explored when the Government reviews the R&D Tax Incentive through the Taxation White Paper process.

A range of IP reforms is being pursued to keep Australia’s IP system modern and flexible. IP Australia has consulted on legislative reforms to streamline and modernise processes,

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helping all businesses engage with the IP system. An IP Toolkit will assist with IP collaboration and licensing between researchers and businesses, especially small businesses.

IP Australia is also expanding its range of services, including by: providing analytical services to universities and publicly funded research organisations; developing IP Government Open Data, an open dataset on all Australian IP rights for policymakers, researchers and IP professionals; and developing Source IP, a platform for public sector research agencies to indicate patent licensing preferences and facilitate collaboration with business. In addition, the Competition Policy Review recommended an overarching review of IP, focussing on new technology and market developments.

Integrating STEM experts across industry, business and public sectorsIn Australia, nearly 70 per cent of the research and development workforce is employed in universities and publicly funded research agencies, but there is limited engagement between business and researchers. Australia must drive further engagement to increase business competitiveness.

Further work could be done to identify what motivates people with STEM skills to work with business and vice versa. Data sources such as the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching surveys could be used to better map career paths of STEM qualified people.

Integrating STEM experts across business and industry must begin with their education. Research students in STEM fields would benefit from opportunities to access programmes that provide practical experience in industry and help solve industry problems. The Review of Research Training will include consideration of how to provide such opportunities.

The Research Connections element of the Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme, which helps businesses work with researchers to solve problems, is building on the success of forerunner programmes. Feedback on these programmes has been largely positive. The Government could consider increasing the scale or targeting this programme to increase its impact.

There is also an opportunity – through the Innovation Australia Board – to examine successful models for collaboration between business and research that exist at the state level, in business or in the science and research sector. These models could be integrated into existing programmes, or could operate separately.

Building an entrepreneurial culture using STEMA culture of entrepreneurialism starts with an attitude, is sparked by role models and is sustained by investment and incentives. From early education through to starting a business or marketing an idea, future entrepreneurs must be given opportunities to succeed.

Successful entrepreneurs and scientists serve as valuable role models who can both inspire future innovators and STEM experts, and encourage a growing entrepreneurial culture. The Government could capitalise on the reputation of the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science by promoting award winners as role models for the wider community. This approach could be extended to a national communication strategy for promoting successful innovators and entrepreneurs from both public and private sectors.

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Universities need to continue to develop their courses to respond to the need to cultivate a more entrepreneurial culture in Australia. This could be done through entrepreneurial skills training embedded in formal university courses or extracurricular initiatives.

As the Australian economy transitions to new areas of growth, we must give start-up businesses a better chance at succeeding. Venture capital is an important private funding source for early start-up companies. The Government could encourage Australian businesses to scale-up in Australia by providing incentives for more venture capital investment. The Government could also consider introducing tax incentives to attract capital into the Australian venture capital sector, and reducing red tape associated with managing venture capital funds.

The tax system has a number of elements that seek to encourage entrepreneurship and innovative businesses. The Tax White Paper process is considering taxation measures to encourage investment in innovation and entrepreneurship.

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2. Education and training

The Government aims to ensure that the skills needed both for the jobs of the future and for operating effectively in modern society are being developed and applied to the nation’s key challenges. Improving Australia’s participation and performance in STEM needs a national response from the key partners in education and training. We need to improve:

participation in STEM subjects in our schools through a national strategy; the training of mathematics and science teachers so that mathematics and science

content is taught at a high standard based on contemporary evidence of effective teaching practice, from primary to tertiary level;

the effectiveness of partnerships between schools, vocational education and training providers, research agencies and universities and STEM professionals and businesses;

the skills of STEM graduates, to meet the demands of today’s STEM careers and the professions of the future; and

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The education system must ensure that students not only acquire knowledge, but also learn how to apply and adapt this knowledge to a variety of contexts. Students must have clear pathways from the classroom to a career in the STEM economy. Our needs and our capabilities must align.



Support the national interest by maintaining the pipeline of STEM graduates, and increase the recognition of STEM education and careers as a public good

Lift the number of qualified STEM teachers Provide all pre-service and in-service STEM teachers with training and

professional development opportunities to deliver contemporary science using contemporary pedagogy, with a focus on creativity and inquiry-based learning — more like science is practised

Ensure active scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians are involved in the delivery of content in pre-service STEM teacher education courses at university

Develop science literacy in schools Use curricula and assessment criteria, from primary to tertiary levels, to promote

the development of long-lasting skills — including quantitative skills, critical thinking, creativity, and behavioural and social skills — in parallel with disciplinary knowledge

Ensure that changes to the Australian Curriculum do not diminish the place of STEM

Ensure that the skills of STEM graduates are aligned with workforce needs Increase the uptake of STEM across the workforce Facilitate community engagement with STEM Increase communication between STEM practitioners and the community

community engagement with science and technology.


The Government is working with universities to make available a national literacy and numeracy test to give effect to the requirement that graduating teachers have personal literacy and numeracy skills within the top 30 per cent of the population.

In response to the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group Action Now: Classroom Ready Teachers report released in February 2015, the Government has tasked the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership to strengthen course accreditation arrangements. This aims to make clear what universities need to include in each course to ensure their teacher education students possess the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in the classroom, paying particular attention to teaching literacy and numeracy. New course accreditation arrangements will also require universities to make sure that every new primary school teacher will graduate with a subject specialisation, with a focus on science, mathematics or a language.

The Government has commenced work with states and territories and their teacher regulatory authorities to improve initial teacher education and teaching workforce data to better match demand and supply in the teaching workforce, especially around STEM. The accreditation arrangements will also require universities to ensure their selection practices consider the academic capability and personal characteristics of aspiring teachers as part of their entry into initial teacher education programmes. These reforms will increase the number of teachers with a STEM specialisation in primary schools and improve the skills available within all schools for the teaching of science and mathematics.

The Government has funded the Enhancing the Training of Mathematics and Science Teachers Programme. Under this programme, five university-led consortia, involving 25 universities, as well as research organisations, are collaborating to drive major improvement in the quality of mathematics and science training for teachers.

University faculties of science, mathematics and education are collaborating to design new pre-service teacher education courses that better combine content and pedagogy so that mathematics and science are taught as dynamic, forward-looking and collaborative human endeavours, and teachers will have the required and relevant pedagogical skills.

The Government supports flexible pathways such as the Teach for Australia programme to attract high-quality entrants into teaching. Around 40 per cent of the current cohort of Teach for Australia Associates are eligible to teach STEM.

The vocational education and training (VET) sector is a major developer of STEM skills for the workplace. The Government’s VET reform agenda will ensure the content and design of qualifications, including those in fields of study related to STEM, are fit-for-purpose for jobs in the modern economy. New Standards for Registered Training Organisations, which came into effect in April 2015, will increase the quality of teaching and improve connections between training providers and industry. The initiatives being progressed through the VET reform agenda will strengthen the STEM skills in the Australian workforce.

A strategy for community STEM engagement has been established through the Inspiring Australia Initiative which will work with government and non-government bodies at national, state and local levels. The strategy supports researchers, communicators and governments

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to work together to improve the quality, reach and impact of STEM engagement across Australia.

The Government is expanding the number of regional hubs across Australia from 20 to 40 to increase participation in National Science Week and year-round science engagement activities. Through its support of the Australian Science Media Centre, the Government is promoting access to evidence-based science and expertise.

Improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in STEM

STEM education is the key to entry to many professional careers. The development of a strong Indigenous presence in the professions will provide role models for subsequent generations of Indigenous school students and the champions for future professional advancement by Indigenous graduates. While growth in Indigenous participation in STEM disciplines in higher education is strong, it is coming off a very low base. The Indigenous share of domestic undergraduate enrolments in the natural and physical sciences, IT, and engineering disciplines in 2013 was under one per cent.

Increasing Indigenous participation and success in STEM disciplines in schools and in higher education is a priority for the Government. The Government will respond positively to the recommendations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Advisory Council aimed at increasing indigenous participation in STEM.


Advancing a national STEM in school education strategyExcellence in STEM education in schools inspires and encourages children to continue scientific education beyond what is mandated by the curriculum.

The Government is committed to restoring the focus on STEM in schools through its Students First policy.

The Government is also leading a national effort with state and territory, independent and Catholic education bodies, through the COAG Education Council, to advance a national STEM in school education strategy. The strategy would prioritise joint national action to:

increase student participation in STEM subjects, including consideration of increasing the extent to which STEM subjects are compulsory at senior secondary levels; and

improve the collection and reporting of data on STEM participation.

The COAG Education Council could also identify opportunities to share information about current activities by schools and teacher employers aimed at delivering high quality education in STEM subjects and improving the attractiveness of teaching in STEM

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Private-Public Partnership to Improve Participation in STEM

The Government recognises the value of working with other key partners to increase opportunities for students who have been under-represented in STEM careers. For example, the Government will continue to support private-public sector partnerships, such as the BHP funding of $28 million over five years for the CSIRO to manage six programmes that aim to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in STEM as they progress through primary, secondary and tertiary education, and into employment.

disciplines. An additional focus on Indigenous STEM education will contribute to increasing the number of Indigenous students ready to tackle STEM education at university.

Inspirational teaching and inspired learningTeachers need contemporary and deep content knowledge of STEM subjects as well as the skills to teach them effectively. Currently, some teachers without a background in STEM are teaching these subjects. As recommended in the Action Now: Classroom Ready Teachers report, the Government has committed to a review of the Graduate level of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers to make sure they continue to reflect the knowledge, skills and capabilities required of beginning teachers.

Consistent with the recommendations in the Chief Scientist’s paper, the Government has announced and is implementing new initiatives to improve the focus on STEM subjects in primary and secondary schools by:

providing innovative mathematics resources for primary and secondary school teachers and students through Mathematics by Inquiry;

providing greater exposure to computer coding across different year levels in Australian schools to expand the pool of ICT-skilled workers;

establishing an innovation-focused P-TECH pilot programme to help develop the next generation of innovators and job-ready graduates through active engagement of industry in curriculum design and student learning; and

increasing participation in the Summer schools for STEM students programme, with a focus on reaching underrepresented cohorts such as girls, disadvantaged and Indigenous students and those living in regional and remote areas.

The Australian Curriculum for school education includes a strong focus on STEM. In addition to learning areas in Science, Mathematics and Technologies, the curriculum embeds seven general capabilities – including numeracy, ICT capability, critical and creative thinking, ethical understanding and personal and social capability – which are essential in equipping students to function effectively in STEM-oriented workplaces. The Government’s recent additional investment in STEM education demonstrates its strong support for inquiry based learning in STEM subjects. Through the COAG Education Council, the Government will work with states and territories to ensure that the outcomes of the 2014 Review of the Australian Curriculum recognise the importance of STEM in school education and are guided by the Chief Scientist’s recommendations in relation to depth of content knowledge and pedagogical skills.

The Office of the Chief Scientist will use NAPLAN data to determine approaches to maths and numeracy teaching that have led to improvements in numeracy performance. The outcomes of the project could be used as a national evidence base to drive improvement in numeracy capabilities across all jurisdictions.

Connecting schools with STEM professionalsLinking teachers and students to STEM professionals in real workplaces provides inspiration and motivation and strengthens knowledge of contemporary practices as well as helping to secure the pipeline of future STEM professionals.

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The Government could require all of Australia’s publicly funded research agencies to participate in school engagement programmes like the Scientists and Mathematicians in Schools programme, which has participants from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Defence Science and Technology Organisation and the Bureau of Meteorology.

The Government can also work with the business community to establish a database of businesses willing to engage with schools and students to expand their exposure to STEM in the workforce.

The Government can ensure the Schools Vocational Learning and Training Working Group, established under the COAG Education Council and which includes representatives of the business community, will include school engagement with the STEM workforce as part of its agenda. During 2015, the Working Group will explore ways to improve industry and employer engagement with schools for vocational learning (including career education).

Improved STEM graduate employabilityThe Business Council of Australia and the Australian Industry Group have identified an increasing need for STEM education and training at senior secondary and tertiary levels to address employability skills, provide quality career advice to guide study paths and foster an entrepreneurial culture on campus.

The higher education sector and business can work together to strengthen the focus on the employability skills of STEM graduates. Australia’s first National Strategy for Work Integrated Learning was recently released by Universities Australia and the business community to help create the partnerships needed for activities such as work placements and internships. To contribute towards building those partnerships, the Government will bring education providers, business and philanthropists together to discuss how they might work together to communicate the career opportunities available to STEM graduates and develop graduate skills relevant to labour market needs.

The Government is developing a new Employer Satisfaction Survey to measure employer satisfaction with higher education graduate skills. The proposed areas to be surveyed are: foundation skills (which includes written and oral communication, critical and analytical thinking and problem-solving), adaptive capacity, teamwork, technical skills and domain-specific knowledge, employability skills and enterprise skills (such as understanding of business practice, initiative and customer focus). The survey will provide an evidence base on STEM graduates to guide future interventions to improve uptake of STEM in the workforce. Without imposing a significant additional regulatory burden on the higher education sector, the Government could work with the sector to improve the data it collects on employer satisfaction and graduate outcomes.

The Government’s VET reform agenda will enable industry to play a stronger role in new arrangements for the development of training packages through industry reference committees and the recently established industry-led Australian Industry Skills Committee. As these initiatives progress, the Government will monitor the extent to which the new arrangements are meeting industries’ need for STEM skilled graduates.

The Australian Postgraduate Awards support postgraduate students of exceptional promise who undertake a higher degree by research in any discipline. The Government could explore ways to enhance the Australian Postgraduate Awards by offering a number of targeted

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high value PhD scholarships in priority fields, including STEM fields (such as agricultural science, engineering and information and communications technology) to attract high potential STEM graduates to research careers.

Better community engagement with STEMEffective communication about STEM and its significance can inspire young people to pursue studies in core STEM subjects and to develop STEM-related careers. This helps to build a scientifically and technologically skilled workforce and to increase STEM literacy within the community.

National Science Week currently aims to have at least 10 per cent of Australians participating in associated activities by 2019. The Government could boost its community engagement by working with states and territories to build on its regional hubs and develop a national programme of year-round events to increase the level of STEM engagement for children, youth, families and adults across urban, regional and rural Australia.

The Government could encourage publicly funded research agencies to support citizen science initiatives to augment relevant data collections and promote community awareness.

The museum and wider informal learning sector provides a direct avenue for Australians to engage with and be enthused by STEM. In addition to science centres such as Questacon in Canberra, Scitech in Perth and Scienceworks in Melbourne, there are diverse informal learning resources provided by museums, botanic gardens, zoos, marine discovery centres, environmental education centres, observatories and other institutions across the country. The Government could work with local and state governments to achieve a coordinated approach to science centres to ensure access to STEM learning and engagement

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Citizen Science Initiatives

Citizen science has been defined as "the systematic collection and analysis of data; development of technology; testing of natural phenomena; and the dissemination of these activities by researchers on a primarily avocational basis..." (Finalizing a Definition of "Citizen Science" and "Citizen Scientists", OpenScientist, 3 September 2011)

Citizen science initiatives can increase public engagement, promote awareness and enhance data sharing and collaboration between scientists, managers and the community on a national scale.

A major citizen science project is an integral part of National Science Week each year. In 2015, ABC Science Online is developing a programme for the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research’s Galaxy and Mass Assembly project where citizen scientists will be invited to classify some 300,000 galaxies and helping to determine the large scale structure of the universe.

Other Government funded citizen science initiatives include:

The Range Extension Database and Mapping project (Redmap) which invites citizen scientists to share sightings of uncommon marine species, and monitor the coastline.

The Atlas of Living Australia which aggregates biodiversity data from a wide range of sources including citizen scientists, and makes it available and usable online.

The Weather Observations Website from the Bureau of Meteorology which enables citizen scientists to share weather information and observations.

http://www.openscientist.org/2011/09/finalizing-definition-of-citizen.html

opportunities, including in regional areas. This could include the development of STEM-focused exhibitions that tour regional Australia.

The Government’s new science.gov.au website will host information about science in government, industry, education, community, infrastructure and international science. The Government could consider the merits of expanding the science.gov.au website to encompass the broader STEM enterprise in Australia – making it a central platform for scientists, educators, employers, parents and students to share information about STEM.

Historically, training in STEM fields has not had a focus on media or communication beyond academic settings. The Government could build on the Inspiring Australia’s Science Communication toolkit and work with the higher education sector to improve communication training for students undertaking STEM degrees.

Australian businesses are an important source of inspiration and innovation in the Australian science sector. The Government could work with industry to deliver a programme of STEM events in each capital city, drawing on scientists to inform industry leaders and decision makers about the importance of STEM at all levels, including at the local level.

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3. Research

The Government aims to build a strong STEM research enterprise that adds to our understanding of the world and to our competitiveness as a country. It will build a framework under which existing and new programmes will operate.

We need to:

ensure long-term stable investment in science and research, including infrastructure; implement national science and research priorities backed by appropriate resources; increase the number of people using research in business and the community

beyond academia; and ensure the rankings for quality of research output and collaboration compare

favourably with the highest performing countries.


To make sure Australia enjoys the greatest benefit from our STEM research, the Government has adopted Science and Research Priorities that address the most pressing research needs of the nation.

On 26 May 2015, the Government announced nine priority areas and corresponding Practical Research Challenges that articulate the major problems we need to address in coming years. The Government is mapping Australia’s current progress against these challenges. Identified gaps in research activities within priority areas will be addressed by developing tailored strategies and targeted interventions.

Because quality research infrastructure is vital to Australia’s research success, the Government has secured funding for the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) for the next two years. The Government has commissioned a Research Infrastructure Review to examine existing research infrastructure capability and needs to inform future decisions. The Review will report in mid-2015.

The Australian Research Data Infrastructure Strategy, released in December 2014, provides a blueprint for an effective research data infrastructure system that can help

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Australian STEM research will contribute knowledge to a world that relies on a continuous flow of new ideas and their application.



Adopt a long term plan for science and research Develop and implement strategic research priorities Support research careers, including collaboration with industry and business Enhance dissemination of Australian STEM research by expanding open access

policies and improving the supporting infrastructure Provide support to encourage and enable quality research to respond to

problems identified by industry

Australia reap the full benefits of our research. It includes recommendations about sharing and promoting research data.

The Cooperative Research Centres Programme supports industry-led collaborations between researchers, industry and the community. The programme was recently reviewed, and it was recommended that the programme should continue with a more targeted focus, including: establishing and supporting industry led and outcome focused collaborative research partnerships between industry and research organisations; and conducting high quality research to solve industry problems, such as improving or developing new products, processes or services, driving emerging technologies, and exploiting new national and international markets.

The ARC Industrial Transformation Research Program funds research hubs and research training centres and supports Higher Degree by Research students and postdoctoral researchers in gaining real-world practical skills and experience through placements in industry.

The Government has commissioned the Australian Council of Learned Academies to undertake a review of Australia’s research training system to ensure it is truly world class and capable of underpinning our capacity for learned enquiry, innovation and productivity.

The Government has also proposed an ongoing Future Fellowships scheme that supports mid-career researchers. Future Fellowships support research in all disciplines, including STEM disciplines.

In the 2014-15 Budget, the Government announced a $20 billion research endowment fund: the Medical Research Future Fund which will complement and build on the success of the last 80 years of the National Health and Medical Research Council’s funding programmes.

What more can be done?

Long term planningPublic funding is essential to maintaining a vibrant national science and research enterprise. It provides the ‘patient’ capital needed for basic research, to ‘create an environment for inspired risk-taking that is essential to technological discovery’1.

As well as providing financial support for science and research, the Government has a role in setting the policy environment in which science and research is conducted. This includes supporting research careers, providing access to the outputs of publicly funded research, providing national research infrastructure, connecting business needs with publicly funded research and identifying research areas of national priority.

A core feature of the Government’s Vision for a Science Nation will be a 10 year outlook for research and research infrastructure. It will draw on the science and research priorities, provide support for research skills including skills relevant to industry, and provide targeted support for international engagement. Taking a longer view would also provide business and the community with confidence that Australia will be able to produce the knowledge we need to be adaptive and innovative.1 Congressional Record (1996) Volume 142, Number 139, 1 October 1996.

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The longer view will be informed by the outcomes of mapping Australia’s progress against the national Science and Research Priorities and practical challenges. As well as identifying gaps and opportunities in research activities within the priority areas, the mapping is also expected to identify issues that cross the breadth of the science and research system. The Government could regularly monitor progress against the plan to guide future policy decisions.

The Government will review and update the Science and Research Priorities, particularly the immediate practical challenges, every two years to ensure that they continue to address the most immediate problems facing the nation. Industry knowledge priorities developed by the Industry Growth Centres could be used to inform the development of future practical research challenges by identifying the research needs of key industry sectors.

Increasingly, important research depends on the convergence of disciplines in areas such as bioinformatics, sensor technologies and climate science. These interdisciplinary sciences depend on a strong capability in the core disciplines such as mathematics and physics. The long term plan could include a focus on these core disciplines by building on existing priorities and planning processes.

Supporting research careersStable support for early and mid-career researchers is essential to maintain and boost Australia's research and innovation capacity. Supporting the careers of researchers who have demonstrated potential, along with those with strong records of achievement, maximises the value of the investments in their education and training. The Government will continue to provide support for early and mid-career research fellowship programmes, to attract, develop and retain the very best researchers working on areas of national importance.

These programmes should also include a focus on improving the opportunities and career pathways for women in the research workforce.

To encourage collaboration and mobility, the Government will also work with funding agencies and universities to identify and introduce incentives for recognising or gaining industry-relevant experience.

The Government will explore ways of better targeting support for postgraduate students of exceptional promise who undertake a higher degree by research. The review of research training will include consideration of how to ensure the research workforce pipeline is secure in fields of national importance, including areas aligned with the Science and Research Priorities and the Industry Growth Sectors.

Enhancing dissemination of Australian researchAustralia’s research councils and some Government science agencies have arrangements in place to ensure wide access to research publications arising from the research they fund or conduct. There is no comprehensive policy covering all publicly funded research.

The Government will develop a policy to ensure that more publicly-funded research findings are shared openly and available to be used commercially or in other ways that will bring the greatest benefit to Australians.

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Connecting industry to research solutionsResearch has an important role to play in responding to the needs of industry. Initiatives under the Government’s strategy, Boosting the commercial returns from research, and the industry led Industry Growth Centres will encourage researchers to collaborate with industry and respond to industry problems.

The review of the Cooperative Research Centres Programme (CRCs) recommended that the programme should be more targeted. The revised programme will be more industry-focused and will encourage existing and new CRCs to make formal links with the Growth Centres. These initiatives are discussed in more detail under Australian competitiveness.

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4. International engagement

The Government aims to leverage international STEM engagements to Australia’s advantage.

We need to:

engage in a highly targeted manner in bilateral and multilateral partnerships to address shared priorities and challenges; and

increase the strategic participation of our researchers and businesses in international collaborative networks and projects.


The Government is developing a National Strategy for International Education that recognises the importance of the link between international education, research, science and innovation. The draft strategy provides a foundation for Australia to build further international engagements in STEM fields. It states that the Australian Government will put in place education policies that encourage autonomy, competition and quality improvement and will make strategic investments in research and research infrastructure. The draft strategy was released for consultation in April 2015, and it is intended that the strategy will be finalised in the second half of 2015.

The New Colombo Plan is deepening Australia’s relationships in the Asia Pacific region, both at the individual level, and through expanding university, business and other stakeholder links. It will encourage a two-way flow of students with the region, complementing the thousands of students from the region coming to Australia each year.

The Government has developed intergovernmental relationships with selected countries. These provide a basis to support and extend collaboration between Australian and international researchers as well as fostering collaboration at the research institute level across STEM fields. These relationships are fostered through bilateral and multilateral agreements, government level joint science meetings, shared research infrastructure and research investment funds, which include the Australia China Science and Research Fund and the Australia India Strategic Research Fund. Collaboration between Australian and European researchers and SMEs is driven through Connecting Australian and European Science and Innovation Excellence. These programmes are bilateral and are too limited to be considered a comprehensive international response.

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Australian STEM will position Australia as a respected, important and able partner in a changing world, for both domestic and global benefit.



Adopt an international strategy for science, research and education Establish a fund for strong government-to-government linkages as a basis

for international collaboration Unlock flows of knowledge and research talent Leverage STEM in international diplomacy


Developing international engagement strategiesTo complement the national strategy for international education, the Government will develop an international science engagement strategy to provide a clear direction for Australia’s relationships with partner countries, covering global leaders and emerging regional partners in science.

The international science engagement strategy will:

set priority countries for international engagement in science;

identify and prioritise Australia’s major global partners – with a focus on those countries that enhance our performance and are working on shared challenges;

develop strategies for relationships with emerging science partner nations;

include regional cooperation strategies for addressing challenges facing Australia, regional powers and developing countries in our region;

focus on government to government links; and

complement other Australian Government strategies with an international focus, including a national strategy for international education.

Building and maintaining government-to-government linkagesThe Government will build on existing linkage activities to establish a global science and innovation collaboration programme to build international STEM collaboration with priority countries on shared interests. This will align with the national Science and Research Priorities and the Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda.

The programme will support engagement with priority countries in priority areas. This would be guided by the international science engagement strategy and aligned with broader innovation priorities.

It would:

support Australian businesses and researchers to make international research connections with priority partner countries;

provide voucher-style support for international exchanges for businesses, including SMEs, to work with researchers; and

provide seed funding for Australian business research consortia to work globally.

Regionally, emerging Asian partners are increasingly building impact in research and innovation. As European countries and the United States have done in their respective regions, Australia must seize the opportunity to cooperate within its region to address challenges facing both Australia and our near neighbours. The Government could work with partner economies in the region to develop an Asian Area Research Zone to enhance regional STEM cooperation.

The Asian Area Research Zone could promote cooperation based on shared research priorities, including regional issues such as food security, aging populations, biosecurity,

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disaster resilience, blue economy and environmental threats. It could also develop a regional job market for the STEM workforce by assisting researchers and entrepreneurs to move within the region. It could see partners share access to world class research infrastructure that exists in the region. The existing education and science counsellors in 10 locations across Asia would play a key role in leveraging STEM in diplomatic efforts and assist in establishing the research zone.

Supporting exchange of knowledge and research talentThe Government and research councils currently fund a range of research exchange programmes. The Government could consider whether this support is appropriately targeted, both at priority research areas and priority countries.

Attracting international STEM experts to Australia will provide greater opportunities for Australians to work on globally significant projects. It also helps Australians work on shared priorities, establish enduring partnerships and build our domestic knowledge base.

The Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships (part of the Australia Awards) could be used more strategically to attract world-leading STEM researchers and technical experts to Australia for short term visits and facilitate regional exchanges. The Government will also ensure that Australian Research Council fellowships remain open to international applicants.

Further initiatives to attract international talent could be delivered through specific funding programmes based on similar activities in Europe, the US and Asia. The Government could consider the merits of drawing on the principles of the French “Hosting High-Level Researchers” programme, or China’s Program for Attracting Overseas Scientists and Experts. Joint mobility programmes with key international partners could also be developed such as the European Union’s highly successful researcher mobility programme, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowships.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the student visa programme is competitive and helps to attract talented researchers to Australia. The new Simplified Student Visa Framework arising from consultation on the Government discussion paper Future directions for streamlined visa processing will simplify and streamline the visa process for genuine students, including those in the STEM sector.

Leveraging science diplomacyAustralia could leverage science more strategically in international diplomacy. The Government could develop a science diplomacy strategy that promotes international understanding of Australia’s science, research and innovation capabilities. The strategy would complement Australia’s international science engagement strategy and wider diplomatic efforts, including work to promote research and to promote Australia as a partner and destination of choice for education, training, and research. Initiatives under the strategy could include:

inbound visits for STEM experts and media to promote Australian STEM expertise and infrastructure internationally;

exchange programmes under the Australian aid programme to build institutional and individual collaborations;

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an alumni engagement strategy in collaboration with government and tertiary institution partners; and

support for non-government policy dialogue on science, research and commercialisation.

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Appendix: Recommendations from STEM: Australia’s FutureCompetitiveness1. Establish an Australian Innovation Board to draw together existing Australian

programmes and target research and innovation effort to: identify innovation priorities and support them with an earmarked portion of overall

research funding solicit and fund research projects that are relevant to the innovation priorities ensure adequate support for public sector research that supports innovation

priorities design and deliver new models for collaboration for maximum impact (for

example, the UK’s Catapult Centres and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships) support local companies with the capacity to take new products and services to

the global market bring coherence and shared focus to the suite of programmes that presently

support innovation.

2. Support the translation and commercialisation of STEM discoveries through: readily accessible mechanisms for industry to link to STEM, including services in

the Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme translation-specific initiatives, particularly in areas of Australia’s innovation

priorities stronger incentives for SMEs to commercialise discoveries and enter global supply

chains a national scheme to foster growth in Australian SMEs, drawing on the US SBIR

Programme a modern and flexible IP framework that embraces a range of capabilities from

open access regimes to smart and agile use of patent and technology transfer strategies.

3. Accelerate the integration of STEM experts into industry, business and public sectors through: business assistance programmes that facilitate awareness of and use of STEM

capability including commercialisation skills in research training programmes mobility programmes across business, research and public sectors that are

recognised by research funding bodies better incentives for researchers to be actively involved with industry.

4. Promote an entrepreneurial culture by: supporting entrepreneurship courses in higher education institutions facilitating access to novel sources of equity funding, including crowd funding integrating innovation and entrepreneurship into mainstream school curricula and

assessment promoting business innovators and research entrepreneurs as national role

models.

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Education and training

A Secure Pipeline5. Support the national interest in maintaining the pipeline of STEM graduates, and

increase the recognition of STEM education and careers as a public good through: mechanisms to encourage student uptake into STEM courses, with particular

regard to presently less popular core STEM courses and subjects career advice for students that explains the value of study in the core STEM

disciplines and the pathways to work it opens, not only in STEM-related fields active participation of employers in positioning Australian STEM to be a key to

future prosperity establishing a framework to design and evaluate school-university partnership

programmes.

Inspirational Teaching6. Lift the number of qualified STEM teachers by:

increasing the attractiveness of STEM teaching careers, including the promotion, remuneration and support available to teachers

ensuring that pre-service training for teachers reflects demand for STEM teachers creating incentives for high-achieving STEM students to enrol in teacher training.

7. Provide all pre-service and in-service STEM teachers with the training and professional development opportunities to deliver contemporary science using contemporary pedagogy, with a focus on creativity and inquiry-based learning – more like science is practised.

8. Ensure active scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians are involved in the delivery of content in pre-service STEM teacher education courses at university.

Inspired Learning9. Develop science literacy in schools by:

ensuring every primary school has at least one teacher with specialist STEM skills mandating study of the scientific method, the philosophy of science and the history

of scientific discovery helping schools to teach STEM as it is practised, in ways that engage students

and encourage curiosity and reflection, and link classroom topics to the ‘real-world’.

10. Use curricula and assessment criteria, from primary to tertiary levels, to promote the development of long-lasting skills – including quantitative skills, critical thinking, creativity, and behavioural and social skills – in parallel with disciplinary knowledge.

11. Ensure that changes to the Australian Curriculum do not diminish the place of STEM.

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Skilled Workforce12. Ensure that the skills of STEM graduates are aligned with workforce needs

through: fostering partnerships between schools, higher education institutions, training

providers and employers use the partnerships to identify required STEM capabilities identifying the mutual responsibilities of industry and government in addressing

supply and demand gaps (not sure this is addressed) commencing a review to ensure that STEM graduates are equipped to work

across all sectors of the economy working with educators to identify how required skills can be built into school and

post-secondary courses promoting inquiry-based STEM teaching in vocational education through the

Vocational Education and Training (VET) reform agenda, in consultation with states and territories

supporting STEM professional development opportunities for members of the workforce to maintain and broaden their skills and focus.

13. Increase the uptake of STEM across the workforce through: mechanisms that explain the opportunities of STEM engagement to business and

encourage employment of STEM practitioners supporting the widespread adoption of work-integrated learning models, including: exchanges between business and research organisations incentives for education institutions to include work placements for credit in most

degrees and training programmes targeted support to increase the STEM participation of women, disadvantaged and

marginalised students, including Indigenous students.

Engaged Community14. Facilitate community engagement with STEM through:

initiatives that increase public interest and involvement in STEM on a national scale

new and expanded community science groups and citizen science projects promoting parental engagement to nurture children’s creativity; alongside fostering

an interest and involvement in STEM activities and subjects.

15. Increase communication between STEM practitioners and the community through: support for science media channels amended standards for government funded research that ensure the appropriate

public communication of research findings an online portal acting as an access point for information about STEM – including

new discoveries, current projects, community activities and career advice.

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Research16. Adopt a long term plan for science and research that will:

ensure capability in the core sciences and maintain key components of our basic research – the continuous flow of new knowledge

support excellent research that provides new ideas and new insights that will enhance Australian competitiveness

cover the full direct and indirect costs of research enable strategic investment in research infrastructure provide stability and direction for both research institutions and businesses.

17. Develop and implement strategic research priorities that: support Australia’s needs and draw on our comparative advantages complement priorities for innovation are reviewed periodically to ensure they remain aligned with challenges

confronting Australia.

18. Support research careers, including collaboration with industry and business, by: providing stable, continuing support programmes for postgraduate, early and mid-

career researchers reforming researcher recognition to value collaboration with industry and business

where academic publications are not the primary focus.

19. Enhance dissemination of Australian STEM research by expanding open access policies and improving the supporting infrastructure.

20. Provide support to encourage and enable quality research to respond to problems identified by industry.

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International Engagement21. Adopt an international strategy for science, research and education that provides:

a prioritised approach for international engagements that are funded for collaborative activities, excellence-driven institutional and individual

collaborations, and business partnerships.

22. Establish a fund for strong government-to-government linkages as a basis for international collaboration, with a focus on: building on existing partnerships with regional countries to establish an Asian Area

Research Zone further developing STEM relationships with the EU and US building similar strategic relationships with countries aimed at mutually beneficial

outcomes with enduring legacies.

23. Unlock flows of knowledge and research talent through: international exchanges for post-graduate, early and mid-career researchers incentives for top international STEM experts to study, teach and work on projects

of global significance in Australia.

24. Leverage STEM in international diplomacy by: providing a framework for science diplomacy as a tool in Australian diplomacy promoting the role of Australia’s education and science counsellor network.

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vision for a science nation - responding to stem...

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