Carr embraces humanities in mainstream
Criticised as isolationist and individualist, the high-profile, high-status Federation Fellowships are to morph into an internationally friendly and team-oriented laureate scheme. It will provide pathways for young researchers, encourage interaction between the star researchers, their faculties and students, and be less of a financial burden on universities.
The Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme was announced by innovation and research minister Kim Carr at an address at the National Press Club last Wednesday.
Each of the 15 fellowships will be worth about $600,000 a year for five years. This includes a salary top-up of $100,000 a year, with universities required to provide a base professorial salary, up to $300,000 each year, for research costs in addition to the post-doctoral and PhD positions.
“We wanted an elite scholarship scheme but we wanted to refocus Federation Fellowships with a greater emphasis on stronger leadership and mentoring roles – that’s what the new selection criteria will highlight,” Carr said.
He said the scheme, which will be open to Australian and international researchers, would have a significant national benefit. An unreleased report into the Federation Fellows scheme, commissioned by then-ARC CEO Peter Høj, found the scheme had so many on-costs for successful host institutions that fellowships had been handed back, Carr said.
“It will allow universities to offer internationally competitive salaries but address some concerns in respect of high levels of leverage required for the Federation Fellows,” Carr said.
The scheme was welcomed by the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations. “It reflects a shift in thinking in terms of recognising the realities of a research environment,” CAPA president Nigel Palmer said.
“Research is not about a group of individuals but about teams, networks and providing for the future of research.”
The development of teams is central to the new scheme, said Academy of Humanities executive director Dr John Byron.
“A good research environment is as important to many people as salary – some would say more important. These researchers need to have the infrastructure of suficient size and dynamism, and it seems this scheme will provide that.”
In a day of humanities-related announcements at the Press Club, Carr also announced the appointment of Professor Graeme Turner to the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council. It is the first time someone has been appointed from outside the hard science and technology areas. Turner is a Federation Fellow and director of the Centre for Critical and Cultural Research at the University of Queensland. Carr also said the National Collaborative Research and Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) roadmap had been revised to include ‘Transforming humanities, arts and social science’ research as a new capability. It is the first time these disciplines have been included in NCRIS.
Rounding out a bonanza day for the humanities, Carr said humanities researchers could now apply for the International Science Linkages program.
“The big issues won’t be solved by science and technology alone,” said Byron. “The importance of the humanities is now becoming an accepted wisdom.
“The scheme is highly praised for facilitating the working in teams, forming networks, developing new techniques, getting on machinery we don’t have here and so on. Researchers in our areas have so far been unable to be involved solely on the basis of discipline.”
The first step will be to include the Academy of Humanities and Academy of Social Sciences in discussions on research collaboration between the federal government and the European Union at the end of this month.