Victorian universities work together to help regional Australia
Friday, 14 November 2011
A $6 million research project by a group of Victorian Universities - led by the University of Ballarat - into the issues facing regional Australia was launched today.
The University of Ballarat’s Self-Sustaining Regions Research and Innovation Initiative was one of the 12 successful Collaborative Research Network projects announced by the Australian Government, with $61.5m in funding in May 2011.
“Regional Australia faces significant challenges, including poor health outcomes; demographic change associated with outward migration of the young, skilled and educated; and increasing social discontent,” Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr said at the launch in Ballarat.
This initiative will look at ways of addressing these significant challenges.
The project will:
- seek to increase research capacity in energy efficiency and carbon recycling within Western Victoria;
- focus on population health research, including eHealth, with a view to providing better research for health care and social support providers and educators; and
- help improve environmental research and analysis into ecosystem responses to trajectories of climate change, including the impact on water resources.
As well as encouraging collaboration between universities, the project offers exciting research outcomes for the revitalisation of industry.
Regional industry and manufacturing, health systems and service delivery in Western Victoria stands to benefit from this important research by Ballarat University. The University of Ballarat is working effectively with its partners – Deakin University, Monash University and the University of Melbourne – to make significant contributions to the project.
All universities will benefit as increase their capacity to assist regional issues and regional communities.
