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Competing globally for the best research staff

Edwina Cornish

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)

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Why is our research performance important?

• Global “market” for students• International rankings• Increased competition from private

providers• Future viability of Go8 universities will

depend on the international standing of our research

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Global demand for academics(courtesy University of Adelaide)

• Hugo (2002) estimates 230,000 new academic staff need to be recruited in Australia, NZ, Canada, USA, UK in the next decade

• In the UK, an additional 19,000 academics are required over 2002-2012 for replacement purposes

• A further 17,000 required to realise UK government plan to encourage 50% of potential students to enter university

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Australian universities: age distribution 2003(courtesy University of Adelaide)

Age Distribution: academic staff 2003

01,0002,0003,0004,0005,0006,0007,000

<25 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 >64

Age range

Per

sons

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Median age of Go8 academic staff (2000) (courtesy University of Adelaide)

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

Age

in y

ears

UNSW

Adelaide

Sydney

ANU

UWA

Monash

Melbourne

Qld

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• Lack of academic jobs in recent times has seen many graduates leave the university system

• Many high quality graduates move to other countries as a result of Increased globalisation of knowledge and labour

• Growing international competition for top graduates and staff

Trends

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Competitive advantages

• Lifestyle considerations: – Western democracy

– English speaking

– Relatively unspoilt environment

– Low population

• Australian research generally “punches well above its weight”

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• Geography:– Distance from EU and USA is less of an

impediment to research

– Proximity to Asia is an advantage

• Many Australians like to come home

Competitive advantages

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Constraints

• Can’t offer the same level of salaries and infrastructure support as US universities

• We do not have the same level of endowments = discretionary spending power

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The challenges

• An ageing academic population

• A high-quality, English speaking academic workforce attractive to other English-speaking nations with deep pockets

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Strategies must address the whole pipeline

• HDR students• Early career researchers• Research leaders

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• Widen our HDR recruitment net – not just domestically but also internationally– More scholarships to attract the top students

– Provide high quality supervision

– Better infrastructure:> Physical (labs, equipment, space, IT)> Non-physical (support policies, environment)

HDR students

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HDR students

• There has been some growth in HDR enrolments over last triennium in Go8 but not sufficient to replace the academic baby-boomer bulge

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HDR enrolments, Go8, 2000-2002

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Year

Nb

r

Melbourne

Queensland

Sydney

Monash

NSW

WA

ANU

Adelaide

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HDR students

• Our ability to recruit HDR students is limited by funded places allocated by DEST

• AVCC suggests – increase of 1000 additional places by 2008

– Increased funding per research student by 7.5% by 2007

– Increased number of APAs and IPRSs

• Will AVCC approach result in sufficient in sufficient flow of qualified, high quality researchers into the Australian university system in 10-15 years time?

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Development of the range of skills ECRs will need to be top performers– Academic mentoring

– Exposure to national/international peers through collaborations and conferences

– Leadership development

– Management training

Early Career Researchers

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Attraction & retention of the best researchers

Influences:– Colleagues

– Infrastructure

– Time for research

– Career path opportunities

– Support for national/international collaborations

– Personal rewards

– Excitement about the future

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HR strategies/policies

• Recruitment• Career development/mentoring• Leadership training• Performance management

– Clear research performance expectations

– Rewards for excellence

• Workload management

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Policies and practices

• Are we clear about research performance expectations?– Is performance adequately rewarded as part of

annual review

• Are our policies too cautious and/or Inflexible?

• Do HR policies support achievement of our research objectives

• Are we too democratic?

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In conclusion…

• Excellent HR management is the key to excellent research performance

• HR management should be central to any research and research training management plan