Chief Scientist Cathy Foley is leading an open access strategy for Australia. Foley estimates the Australian government invests A$12 billion a year of public money in research and innovation only for most of the publications that eventuate to be locked behind a paywall, inaccessible to industry and the taxpayer. At the same time, Australian universities and […] … learn more→

Most researchers don’t have to check the eligibility criteria of every funding opportunity that comes across their desk. Researchers from other countries do because there is a very real possibility that they won’t be eligible due to their citizenship status. This post discusses the situation of non-Australian researchers working in Australia, but the problem crops […] … learn more→

The impacts of COVID-19 on Australian university researchers are likely to have consequences for research productivity and quality for many years to come. According to an online survey of academics at the University of Canberra between November 2020 and February 2021, they have deep concerns about their ability to undertake research during the pandemic and […] … learn more→

The trajectory of those who research is subject to strict evaluation criteria in which scientific publications, especially journals, have substantial weight. The achievement or not of certain recognitions that allow us to advance in our career depends, to a significant extent, on the publications that have been made in prestigious magazines. These journals are indexed in international […] … learn more→

You all know about leftovers. The bits of a meal that you couldn’t quite finish. The remnants that end up in a plastic box or a covered bowl in the fridge. Mostly you get round to eating them for lunch afterwards, yum. But occasionally you find a long forgotten leftover lurking behind jars – it’s […] … learn more→

Undergraduate training for data scientists – dubbed the sexiest job of the 21st century by Harvard Business Review – falls short in preparing students for the ethical use of data science, our new study found. Data science lies at the nexus of statistics and computer science applied to a particular field such as astronomy, linguistics, medicine, psychology […] … learn more→

Female Scientist Sits at His Workplace in Laboratory, Uses Personal Computer. Screen Shows Analyze of DNA. I the Background Genetics Research Centre with Innovative Equipment.[/caption] Female Scientist Sits at His Workplace in Laboratory, Uses Personal Computer. Screen Shows Analyze of DNA. I the Background Genetics Research Centre with Innovative Equipment.[/caption] A sudden rule change by the Australian […] … learn more→

Research at Australian universities has been scrutinised through the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) assessment exercise, Excellence in Research for Australia, since 2010. A companion Engagement and Impact Assessment exercise began in 2018. The time and costs for universities of running these exercises (the ARC collected this information when ERA began but never released it) and the value they generate for […] … learn more→

According to a recent article, Australia’s academics “were already among the world’s most stressed”. Workloads are out of control. COVID-19 impacts on the university sector include retirements, redundancies, rising precarity, restructuring, and this sits alongside decades of underfunding. In this environment, we need to address the amount of unpaid work being done – not just in […] … learn more→

We love sharing good stuff. It’s something we’ve tried to do consistently. Most often, we share and talk about topics relevant to researcher life, funding culture, and academic track-record building. We know how much work it is to create and provide a quality resource that’s supportive and generates a positive community dynamic. We know we […] … learn more→