ERA results for mathematical sciences in Australia

The 2010 ERA (Excellence in Research Australia) results were released by the ARC on 31 January 2011. Comprehensive reports are available from the ARC ERA 2010 webpage. Forty-one tertiary institutions submitted research outputs to be evaluated. Out of these, 17 did not receive an assessment in the mathematical sciences. This means that these 17 institutions [...]

Research not bad, but not stellar

As reported by the Australian, the Australian Innovation System Report 2010 ranks physics, geosciences, space sciences, environment and mathematics among Australia’s strongest research fields (as measured by impact factor of publications), with the country as a whole ranked 16th among OECD countries.   (via Birgit Loch)

Federal government awards $2 million for Improving Mathematics Education in Schools project

As reported today on the Funneled Web, the Federal Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, has announced a $2 million grant to fund the “Improving Mathematics Education in Schools” project, an initiative run by AMSI in collaboration with industry and teachers to promote mathematics education and awareness of mathematics career opportunities, particularly in low-income areas. See [...]

ARC releases consultation paper on its peer review process

The Australian Research Council has released a consultation paper on its peer review process; the consultation period runs until October 19.  One of the proposals is to increase the weight of specialist reviewers, rather than focusing on other metrics such as track record.  This seems like a promising idea (and is supported by the AAS [...]

Mathematicians in Schools

The CSIRO has recently launched a “Mathematicians in Schools” initiative (as part of its broader “Scientists in Schools” program), to support applicants with a mathematical background who are interested in working with primary and secondary school teachers in the classroom. (Via the AustMS)

Australian Research Council ERA rules may work against multi-disciplinary research

In an article by Guy Healy in the Australian today entitled “Alarm at Australian Research Council ‘restrictions’“, Peter Hall discusses the federal Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) initiative, raising the concern that the requirement that research be assigned to at most three research codes may result in multi-disciplinary work not being assessed properly. Peter discussed [...]

National Curriculum in Mathematics

The National Curriculum Board has just initiated its public consultation period for its draft proposed curriculum on mathematics (concurrently with similar consultations on science, history, and English), as reported on recently in the Australian, the Courier-Mail, the Age, and elsewhere.  The draft, which is to be implemented in 2011, draws upon the National Declaration of [...]

Sackett interview

Penny Sackett, the recently appointed new Chief Scientist for Australia, and a professor of astronomy at ANU, gave an interview this week on ABC radio on various scientific topics (audio available here).  I was especially pleased to see her support for pure research as well as applied research, given that mathematical research is often placed [...]

Australian Laureate Fellowships

Senator Kim Carr, the federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, has recently announced a Discovery Australian Laureate Fellowships program to attract outstanding researchers and research groups both in Australia and abroad.  This program, which is being funded with $239 million for the first five years and run by the ARC, replaces the existing [...]

Journal Ranking — the Second Incarnation

Australian academia is again in the throes of a journal ranking exercise.  We went through this last year in preparation for the previous government’s Research Quality Framework (RQF), but the new government wants to redo things for its Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA).  Again the journals must be placed into four tiers — the [...]