Collaboration with the University of Newcastle

How to Collaborate with the University

The University of Newcastle has a wealth of expertise, manpower and facilities across all disciplines. External companies and agencies can experience the benefits of working with the University of Newcastle by starting a partnership with an academic or research team. At first this may just involve discussing areas of mutual interest or getting involved in an undergraduate research project or providing a placement for a student to get work experience. But we are confident that the relationship will grow.

The next step is to start larger scale collaborations. These normally involve a contribution from the external partner but then they can access benefits and concessions in sponsoring University research. Some of these are that:

  • there is considerable University input into research of value to industry including time of academic staff, value of its know how, extensive research infrastructure and international links to research and development.
  • there are a variety of scholarship schemes which provide a cost effective way of attracting talented students to areas of research or study. These include summer vacation scholarships, UNISS scholarships or research higher degree scholarships.
  • the industry can directly sponsor research at the University by a collaborative contract or through consultancy.
  • there is potential to leverage additional funding to support Industry and University collaboration. Two funding schemes are discussed below.
  • Industry contributions to a project may be eligible for the R&D Tax Concession to the extent that the expenditure is incurred by an eligible company in respect of eligible R&D activities and provided that all other eligibility requirements are met. R&D Tax Concession is a broad-based, market driven tax concession which allows companies to deduct up to 125% of qualifying expenditure incurred on R&D activities when lodging their corporate tax return. A 175% Premium (Incremental) Tax Concession and R&D Tax Offset are also available in certain circumstances. For information on R&D Tax Concession please click here

Please Note: Confirmation of eligibility for the tax concession should be sought from the company taxation advisers. This advice can NOT be given by the University.

Funding Schemes Available to Assist Collaboration

The University and Industry partner can make joint applications to funding bodies. In this way, the Industry contribution can be leveraged. There are resources, provided by the University Research Office and TUNRA, to assist with the identification of funding opportunities.

Two major sources of additional funding to support Industry and University collaboration are the University of Newcastle Collaborative Project Grants and the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project grants.

The University Collaborative Scheme:

  • Supports research projects with new collaborative partners with the aim to apply for ARC Linkage or other external funding
  • University will provide:
    – Cash funding of $2,000 to $10,000 with no overhead charge.
    – Input of University researchers, technical staff and infrastructure as appropriate.
  • Collaborator must provide:
    – Matching or higher cash funds
    – In kind contribution
    – Active collaborative services of personnel
  • Must be a commitment by both parties to apply for an external grant within the year.
  • Applications are open all year and considered monthly by the Research Grants Committee (RGC).

The ARC Linkage Project scheme:

  • Supports research and development projects that are undertaken to acquire new knowledge and that involve risk or innovation.
  • Interaction with actual or potential users of research outcomes is a critical element.
  • Currently two rounds a year with the next round closing 26 November 2004 for grants commencing July 2005.
  • Grants awarded in the range of $20,000 - $500,000 pa for 1 to 5 years and can include PhD scholarships and/or Post-Doctoral Fellowships.
  • Industry partner contribution must be equal to or greater than the amount sought from the ARC. This contribution can be a combination of cash and in-kind but the cash contribution must be at least 20% of the amount sought from the ARC.
  • To support a PhD scholarship, the partner needs to contribute $5,000 in cash and $5,000 in kind per year.
  • The University does not charge the Industry partner overheads on their contribution.
  • Selection on:
    – Track record of investigators (20%)
    – Project significance and innovation (25%)
    – Project approach and training (20%)
    – National benefit (10%)
    – Commitment from Industry Partner (25%)
  • Further information is available on the ARC website

For both the University Collaborative Projects and the ARC Linkage Projects the collaborating partner must satisfy the following conditions:

  • Private sector industry organisation
  • Private non-profit organisation
  • Government agency where the funds being committed to the project have not previously been appropriated for internal research-related activities.

Directly Engaging Research at the University

There are several ways in which Industry can sponsor research at the University of Newcastle:

  • Scholarships to pay for a research student to conduct the research. These can be tax-exempt for the student and the University does not charge overheads on a scholarship. Scholarships earn various types of government infrastructure support both on income, student enrolment and completion. In addition the university provides the time and input of the supervisor and other staff. These are processed via the University’s Research Office.
  • The UNISS scheme provides 78 weeks of direct student involvement in your business (including a 15 month block) spread over 5 years, at a cost of $45,000 - $80,000. These scholarships are competitive so high quality students are attracted to your business.
  • Collaborative research on a specific project as agreed with industry which is normally governed by a contract. These can be processed by the University’s Research Office or TUNRA. The income from this research will earn some government infrastructure funding. This type of research attracts an overhead charge to cover some of the infrastructure costs of the research such as electricity, buildings, etc. This overhead charge ranges from 12.5% to 25%.
  • Consultancy where a University staff member is paid as a consultant to conduct research for Industry.

Contacts

For more information please contact:

Research Services
Phone: 4921 7733
Fax: 4921 7164
Website or Email

Newcastle Innovation
Phone: 4921 8777
Fax: 4921 8778
Website or Email

UNISS
Phone: 4921 6137
Website or Email