The University of Newcastle has welcomed more than $34 million in Australian Government funding for research and research training.

The Research Block Grant allocations, announced today by the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr, will support research infrastructure and scholarships at the University in 2010.

"The funding is an increase on last year's allocation and is a direct result of the University's recent research performance and the Australian Government's commitment to greater financial support for research infrastructure," Professor Mike Calford, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), said.

"I am particularly pleased that we have secured 73 new Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) places, to support domestic students undertaking a full-time research Masters degree or PhD," he said.

"This is a rise in our APA places of 90 per cent over the last two years."

The increase reflects the Australian Government's pledge to double the number of APA places by 2012, to encourage young students to undertake research studies and remain in Australia rather than study overseas.

"Early career researchers are the next generation of academics and represent the future of innovation in Australia. It is important to nurture this talent," Professor Calford said.

There are currently more than 1,200 research students at the University of Newcastle, working in a range of national priority areas including reproductive science, asthma, childhood obesity, cancer, environmental science, and clean/renewable energy sources.

The University of Newcastle ranks ninth overall in Australia for research funding and holds a unique place in the higher education sector as the most research-intensive university outside of an Australian capital city.