Research Block Grants

The Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (DIISRTE) provide Australian universities with over $1.5 billion annually as block grants for research and research training. The grants are provided through a number of performance-based schemes. Research block grants (RBG) are allocated according to performance based formula and are independent of funding for specific research projects, programs, or fellowships.

The schemes are:

• Research Training Scheme (RTS)
• Joint Research Engagement (JRE)
• Research Infrastructure Block Grants(RIBG)
• Sustainable Research Excellence (SRE)

The return on investment per research performance measure (per research income dollar, per completion, per EFTSL and per publication point) are shown in the table below. The SRE also incorporates an excellence index, from the ERA initiative, and a transparent costing measure.

http://www.innovation.gov.au/Research/ResearchBlockGrants/Pages/default.aspx

QS World University Rankings

The QS world university rankings for 2012/2013 have been released. The three South Australian universities were ranked in the following order: Adelaide University 102; UniSA 293; and Flinders University 342.

The highest ranking Australian university was the Australian National University (ANU) at 24.

The university ranked number 1 in the world was Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

http://www.topuniversities.com/