USC Australia will receive nearly $16.4 million in research block grants for 2021, under the Federal Government’s $3 billion university funding announcement.

The funding is up 94 percent (nearly double) on $8.4 million for 2020, the highest value-growth for the grant of any Australian university for 2021.

USC Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Helen Bartlett said the funding was a welcome investment in USC’s growing capacity to lead its regions in innovation, adaptation, economic recovery and translating research into public solutions.

“Our world and our workforce have changed so much this year, and USC research has played a key role in how we have adapted and will continue to thrive,” Professor Bartlett said.

“Our researchers have not only delivered programs to support our community, but are at the forefront of considering how we, as a country, will move forward.

“They are investigating what the future of work will look like and how we will solve our most pressing problems – from mental health and employment to climate change.”

The block grants will be used to support research student scholarships, academic salaries, laboratories and research equipment.

Professor Bartlett said the doubling of last year’s USC grant funding was due to the university’s strategic growth of its research capacity, coupled with an increased nationwide focus on the importance of regions.

“There is a new appreciation for the capacity in regions across Australia in terms of population, lifestyle and innovation,” Professor Bartlett said.

“And with that, there is a growing awareness that the research we are doing at USC is not only regionally relevant but broadly transferable, with the power to improve our world on a global scale.”

USC currently has 26 areas of research rated as world standard or above in the Excellence in Research for Australia evaluations, including USC’s research flagships such as agricultural and veterinary sciences, nursing, ecology, zoology and environmental sciences.

The Government’s announcement of the research block grant funding is here.

More on USC Research is here.