Australian are about to get access to Europe’s flagship research treasure chest, starting next year.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that universities are expected from 2027 to be allowed to compete for a slice of the EU’s premier research funding program, worth a total of $155 billion.
More than 20 countries outside the EU have already signed up for the pay-to-play associate membership, including the post-Brexit UK, Canada and even New Zealand.
Australian researchers in general and Group of Eight universities in particular have long campaigned for the Government to support gaining Associate Membership to access what is the world's biggest research funding program.
With a Budget in the offing, a sector groaning under the weight of reform and funding constrictions, and not a lot of cash to splash around, the cost of signing up for the program is small relative to directly funding research in Australia, and Prime Minister Albanese is hoping for a significant return. The Government said more than 60% of Australian science research is already conducted with an international partner, and consolidating collaboration with our top collaborators in Europe made strategic sense.
The Australian Government and EU will negotiate access this year, with a view to the good times rolling from early 2027 for researchers with enough citations, seniority and networking capability to make the most of the opportunity.
The decision comes despite no Australian Government taking the time to measure Australian university research performance since the last ERA process in 2018 and builds the governments’ policy focus on focusing Australian HE growth offshore. With significant levels of international student enrolments now only possible via offshore campus growth, and a significant proportion of research funding growth now focused on European collaboration, the Albanese Government is firmly pointing to offshore ventures for university revenue growth.
Whether by accident or design, this policy approach is conspicuous at a time when the Accord’s additional million domestic enrolments by 2050 remain largely unfunded, and there is ongoing concern about the implementation of compacts by ATEC and the intersection of managed growth and needs-based funding policies, amid clear evidence of a two-track higher education system emerging as a result of policy impacts.
The Australian Academy of Science, UA and Go8 all warmly welcomed the Horizon Europe initiative – which will undoubtedly be a boon for numerous Australian researchers.