With almost 25 percent of the nation’s international student population choosing to study at an ATN University, the ATN International Working Groups are focussed on:
Convenors:
Scott
Sheppard –
PVC International & Development (QUT)
Tze Ay Chuah - Director UTS International (UTS)
Directors
(International) at the 2009 ATN Conference
Left to right:
Tze Ay Chuah, Director UTS International (UTS)
Ray Kelly, Executive Director, QUT International (QUT)
Walter Ong, Director International Student Recruitment (Curtin)
Rob Greig, Director, UniSA International (UniSA)
Michelle Hoodbhoy, General Manager, International Services (RMIT)
The research questions that we face in the 21st century are not the kind
that will be solved by academics working in isolation. Climate change and
the new technologies we will need to adapt to its effects; reliable and
efficient fresh water supply for communities across the globe (including
Australia); next-generation energy generation that is both environmentally
friendly and renewable; the big questions in health – the solutions to these
problems are by no means simple and it is through cooperation between
researchers from diverse backgrounds that they will be found.
The Australia-China NanoNetwork is an initiative of the ATN in partnership
with the China based International Strategic Technology Alliance (ISTA). The
network is a partnership between nanoscience and nanotechnology researchers
at nine universities in both countries aimed at examining the ways that
nanoscience can provide advances in many key areas such as the environment,
health and energy. It embraces the multicultural, multidisciplinary and
holistic approaches that can lead to significant outcomes, particularly
around complex issues such as climate change that require a broad approach.
The network is designed to engage researchers at all stages in their
careers, from prominent researchers, to ‘emerging’ researchers in
nanotechnology fields, to PhD students. All of these will have the
opportunity to undertake research at multiple partner universities in the
other country.
Thus not only will participating researchers be able to pool their resources
and intellectual capital to address the ‘big’ problems, they will also be
exposed to culturally different ways of approaching research and make
linkages which can only serve them well in their future careers, and indeed
as citizens of a global community.