Melbourne and ANU sign alliance on research and learning

[ The University of Melbourne Voice Vol. 3, No. 1  14 April - 12 May 2008 ]

By Christina Buckridge

The University of Melbourne and the Australian National University will form a formidable alliance in advancing the cause of research and learning in Australia, under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed recently.

The MOU will encourage closer ties between Australia’s two top-ranked research-intensive universities through programs of collaboration and exchange and the development of appropriate research links which could bring national benefits.

Announcing the MOU, University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Professor Glyn Davis and ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Chubb said it will enable the universities to develop joint endeavours in research, research training, teaching, scholarship, external funding bids, consulting, and international outreach.

Professor Davis said the signing of the MOU highlights the importance of Australian research ‘powerhouses’ working collaboratively together, making the very best use of their personnel and infrastructure to maximise research capacity.

“This has significant institutional benefits for students and staff at each university but, in strengthening the capacity of these two research leaders to carry out world-class research at the very highest level, it also brings important national benefits,” he said.

The MOU will also allow the universities to explore opportunities for exchange of staff and the sharing of major research infrastructure and equipment.

It will also open up further opportunities for interested and qualified students to pursue programs of study in each other’s institutions and obtain credit transfer enabling students to carry credit from one institution to the other.

Institutional quality assurance and benchmarking will be among other areas of possible collaboration.

The ANU and the University of Melbourne are the only two Australian universities ranked in the top 100 universities by the highly-regard Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s annual rankings of best performing universities in the world.