March 11, 2004
NEWS
ALERTS
1. TROPICAL
SCIENCE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE
Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern
Territory have signed a Co-operative Framework
on Tropical Science, Knowledge and Innovation
which will provide the basis for cooperation between
the states and will encourage collaboration between
scientists across Australia's tropical regions.
The strategic alliance will aim to increase Federal
funding for tropical science and attract other
investment for science and innovation in northern
Australia.
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2. NEW SCIENCE AND INFORMATION
ECONOMY MINISTER FOR SA South Australia
has a new Minister for Science and Information
Economy following a decision by the Premier, Mike
Rann, to undertake a mid-term reshuffle of Cabinet
to " freshen up important areas of the Ministry
and keep new ideas flowing". Trish White,
also Minister for Transport, Urban Development
and Planning, has taken over the Science and Innovation
Economy portfolio from Jane Lomax-Smith. Dr Lomax-
Smith retains Tourism and has taken on Education
and Childrens' Services.
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3. CSIRO'S FOOD FUTURES
FLAGSHIP LAUNCHED CSIRO's $20 million
Food Futures research project has been officially
launched. The project has as its aim to generate
an extra $3 billion a year to the agrifood sector
by applying new technologies to five strategic
areas of food production and processing. They
are:
- Redesigning the composition of grains for
enhanced health and nutrition
- Designing new breeding systems for more efficient
and sustainable production of beef cattle and
seafood
- Extracting healthy bioactive compounds from
meat and dairy products as ingredients to enhance
the healthiness of other foods
- High-pressure processing of fruits and vegetables
to preserve freshness and improve food safety
- Biosensor measurement of flavour molecules
to improve wine and food quality.
The Food Futures Flagship is headed by Director,
Dr Bruce Lee, and is the fourth Flagship to be
officially launched. The program will involve
nine CSIRO divisions including Entomology, Livestock
Industries, Molecular Science, Marine Research,
Food Science and Plant Industry.
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4. NOIE TO BE DISBANDED
IN INFORMATION ECONOMY SHAKEUP The National
Office of the Information Economy (NOIE) is to
be disbanded and its function split between a
new Australian Government Information Management
Office (AGIMO) and the Department of Communications,
Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA).
AGIMO's role will be to focus on promoting and
coordinating the use of new information and communications
technology to the delivery of Australian Government
programs and services. The AGIMO will be headed
by the Australian Government Chief Information
Officer, a new position created to promote excellence
in the way that ICT is used to develop and deliver
Government policies, information, programs and
services.
An Office for the Information Economy (OIE) will
be set up within the Department, to be responsible
for ICT-related issues such as the National Broadband
Strategy, spam, the uptake of e-business by small
and medium sized businesses and the Australian
Government's innovation agenda through the Backing
Australia's Ability strategy.
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CALL
FOR NOMINATIONS
5. VICTORIA
PRIZE
Each year the Victorian Government awards the
prestigious Victoria Prize of $50,000 to celebrate
the excellence of Victoria's science, technology
and engineering achievements.
Nominations are now open for the 2004 Victoria
Prize which will be awarded to an individual whose
cutting-edge discovery or innovation has significantly
advanced knowledge or has the clear potential
to produce a commercial outcome or other benefit
to the community.
In association with the Victoria Prize, the Jack
& Robert Smorgon Families Foundation will
award the $100,000 Anne & Eric Smorgon Memorial
Award to a research institute supporting the work
of the 2004 Victoria Prize winner.
For nomination forms and more information go
to
http://www.innovation.vic.gov.au
or call (03) 9651 9038.
Nominations close 15 April 2004.
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6. THE VICTORIA FELLOWSHIPS
FOR INNOVATION IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING
In 2004 the Victorian Government will award up
to six Victoria Fellowships to encourage innovation
and the commercial application of research among
scientists and engineers in the early stages of
their careers.
The $18,000 Fellowships enable researchers and
innovators to undertake a short-term international
study mission to further their research, pursue
specialist training or develop a commercial idea.
Applications are open to scientists, engineers
and innovators working in industry as well as
researchers and students.
2004 Victoria Fellows planning a study mission
in France will also be eligible for a supplementary
$5,000 AFAS FEAST-France Fellowship from the Australian
French Association for Science and Technology
and the Embassy of France.
For application forms and more information go
to
http://www.innovation.vic.gov.au
or call (03) 9651 9038.
Applications close 15 April 2004.
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FUNDING
OPPORTUNITIES
7. SUPPORT
FOR JOINT THEMATIC WORKSHOPS WITH THE EUROPEAN
UNION
The Innovation Access Programme - International
Science and Technology, an initiative of the Government's
Innovation Statement Backing Australia's Ability,
aims to promote innovation and competitiveness
by increasing Australian access to global research
and technologies and facilitate their uptake by
Australian researchers and firms, particularly
small to medium sized enterprises.
Applications are invited from Australian researchers
for support of Joint Thematic Workshops with the
European Union. The workshops should bring together
Australian and European researchers to assist
in identifying partners for activities and to
enable networking opportunities. It is expected
that the workshops will enable discussions on
current research activities, future directions
of research and reach agreement on joint projects
that would lead to applications under the European
Union Sixth Framework Programme.
Priority will be given to proposals in the areas
of Sustainable Transport & Energy, Environment,
Sustainable Agriculture, Information Communications
& Technology, Biotechnology and Nanotechnology.
Workshops should be linked to major conferences
or activities, in either Australia or Europe that
will encourage maximum participation of researchers
(a minimum of 5 researchers from each side is
required).
Applications will be accepted from Australian
private companies and organisations such as education
institutions, Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs),
industry groups and Commonwealth scientific agencies
(eg, CSIRO). Applications close on 31 March 2004.
Information and guidelines are available from
http://www.dest.gov.au/science/iap/
or by contacting the International
S&T Relations Section by email: ist@dest.gov.au
or (02) 6240 5176.
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8. CALL FOR RESEARCH
PROPOSALS, Murray Irrigation Limited
Murray Irrigation Limited and the Murray Land
and Water Management Plans (LWMPs) are calling
for research proposals from suitably qualified
individuals and research organisations to be funded
where relevant to the goals of the Murray LWMPs.
The Murray LWMP Research and Development program
underpins implementation of the Murray LWMPs,
and is aimed at providing innovative solutions
to the environmental and economic sustainability
issues within the region. Proponents of projects
which are accepted by the Murray LWMP Research
and Development Committee will be asked to produce
more detailed project submissions, and may also
be requested to prepare a presentation for consideration
by the Committee.
CONTACT:
Proposal proformas and a research priority list
are available on the Murray Irrigation website
http://www.murrayirrigation.com.au.
Project descriptions are to be submitted by no
later than Friday 9 April 2004 to Ms Demelza Brand,
Environment Officer, Murray Irrigation Limited,
PO Box 528, Deniliquin, NSW 2710. Fax (03) 5881
9317; email: demelzab@murrayirrigation.com.au.
For further information, please contact Demelza
Brand (03) 5881 9300.
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CONFERENCE
9.
DISCOVERY SCIENCE AND BIOTECHNOLOGY 2004
The aim of DSB is to present the most advanced
molecular research to the Australian research
community and promote the development of innovation
and commercial funding for research.
This year international speakers include:
- Edison Liu from the Genome Institute of Singapore
"Gene profiling in breast cancer"
- Julia Wulfkuhle from the National Cancer
Institute "Protein Microarrays for Molecular
profiling of cancer"
- Seth Grant from the Sanger Institute, "From
Genes to Cognition"
- Tony Buss from Merlion Pharma, Singapore
"Utilising chemical diversity from Natural
Products"
- Gábor Lamm from EMBLEM "Turning
ideas into products"
The major themes include cancer research and
neurobiology, genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics,
and natural products. There will also be 2 sessions
devoted to commercialisation, including gene patenting
and open-source biology. You can see a full program
at:
http://www.dsb.magicdatabases.com/
DSB will be convened at Cockle Bay in Sydney
on May 5th-7th 2004.
Discount registration ends on March 15th ($355
for 3 days represents excellent value - only $295
for students).
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SHORT
COURSE
10.
NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Melbourne University Private and the Australian
Institute for Commercialisation offer a five-day
intensive course in New Product Development.
* Learn how to recognise opportunities and translate
market knowledge into products
* Understand and manage the supply chain
* Develop risk and decision analysis techniques
If you apply your skill to the completion of
a new product development plan for your business
you can gain an accredited award at the same time.
It's an intensive experience that will take you
through the new product development process, involve
you in some hands-on learning and teamwork and
give you skills that you can apply immediately
to your work situation.
The program is delivered by a team of leading
management educators and experts with extensive
international experience and success in new product
development.
Next delivery dates are:
* Melbourne March 22nd to 26th 2004
* Brisbane April 19th to 23rd 2004
The cost for the intensive program is $3200 +
GST. A fully residential option is available for
Brisbane for an additional cost.
For more information go to http://www.muprivate.edu.au/commercialise
or contact Gemma Lane, 03 9810 3174 g.lane@muprivate.edu.au.
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