October 3, 2017
FutureAsia: supporting Australia’s future in Asia
IRU welcomes the Australian Labor Party’s focus on deepening Australia’s engagement with Asia.
IRU members have a foundational commitment to engagement with Asia, enjoying long-established links with Asian counterparts. As opportunities for Australian interaction with Asia grow, IRU members lead the way in collaborative teaching, language, research and policy initiatives.
FutureAsia offers constructive and tangible measures for businesses looking to engage with the Asian region. IRU supports these simple yet effective measures, seeing the benefits that will flow from more business to business linkages across the Asian region.
The IRU particularly supports the establishment of an Australia-ASEAN studies centre, for which its members would be outstanding hosts.
In addition more should be done to strengthen Australia’s research and innovation links with Asia. IRU’s Statement Strengthening Research in Asia: An Asia Research and Innovation Network, sets out a framework for an Asia Research and Innovation network that increases effective engagement with Asia across academic and industrial areas. The proposal builds off efforts to improve research engagement that recognised the benefits that flow from university engagement in the region.
An Asia Research and Innovation Network is the most effective way to grow and secure Australia’s place at the forefront of high quality research and relations. It is the basis for 21st century engagement.
With the establishment of the successful New Colombo Plan, student mobility and engagement in Asia by universities have never been stronger. IRU continues to advocate for bipartisan support for researcher to researcher exchanges and greater research collaboration between Australia and its Asian neighbours.
