Universities Foresee Requirement of Additional $10 bn-$15bn by 2025 To Achieve Meeting Participation Targets. (February 10, 2010)

In his address last week to representatives of the Australian Technology Network of Universities the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr approached with choke collar and rolled-up newspaper in hand to get them to heel.

Clearly his view was to tell them the while he truly believes that science and scientific research are very, very good things, there should be no misunderstanding, if you want the wherewithal, you're gonna do it my way.

 Nevertheless, according to Andrew Trounson reporting in The Australian's HES it wasn't the casting down of that gauntlet that worried them nearly to the same extent as the unease about infrastructure funding to support projected participation increases.

Following the conference University of Technology, Sydney, vice-chancellor and ATN chairman Ross Milbourne told Mr Trounson: "I think the government and the sector are going to have to have a rethink about how the increased participation is going to be achieved."

RMIT's chief operating officer Steve Somogyi told the conference that in his view even after accounting for increased debt levels and the Education Investment Fund there was a looming funding gap of at least $10bn, and perhaps as much as $15bn through 2025.

And then later he told Mr Trounson: "We have aspirational targets but I'm not sure that the means of generating the investment funds has been considered."

Queensland University of Technology vice-chancellor Peter Coaldrake noting the overall picture said: "It is a huge issue because we need human capital, physical and technological infrastructure to deliver the agenda."

But Patricia Kelly, deputy secretary of Senator Carr's Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research made it clear that the federal budget would be tight.