Intellectual property is expected to be a hotly debated issue at an international conference in Melbourne this week of the peak group representing research administrators.
Ethics, project management, commercialisation, and seed funding are also among the issues to be tackled at the Australasian Research Management Society`s annual conference in Melbourne from November 25 to 27.
Society incoming president Jan Massey said the conference would also cover issues including funding opportunities, professional development and European-Australian science and technology cooperation.
"The research management sector is increasing in complexity with a variety of issues which need to be managed efficiently," Ms Massey said.
"These include the importance of protecting and utilising intellectual property more effectively; increased accountability and compliance in ethics, gene technology, animal welfare and biosafety; rapidly changing legislation; and the links between research and research training
Ms Massey said research was a difficult and important area to administer with many groups competing for scarce resources.
She is the Director of The University of Queensland`s Office of Research and Postgraduate Studies, and was appointed the Society`s inaugural Queensland chapter president in 2000. Ms Massey is chair of the Society`s Professional Development Committee and an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management. A member of The University of Queensland`s governing Senate, she is an Arts honours graduate of UQ and holds a Master of Administration degree from Griffith University.
On November 26 she becomes president of the group representing research professionals in universities, hospitals and medical centres, industry, government, CRC`s and independent research institutes.
She said the Society was dedicated to the professional development of research managers and administrators, promoting the profession of research management, and enhancing the research enterprise.
To mark the conference opening, Australian of the Year Professor Emeritus Sir Gustav Nossel will chair a special lecture by Dr Sally Stansfield from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USA - Partnerships for Global Health: Putting Science into Action.
Speakers will also include:
* Dr Robin Batterham, Chief Scientist, Commonwealth of Australia
* Professor Peter Sheehan, Vice-Chancellor, Australian Catholic University
* William F. Schweri, Office of Federal Relations and Sponsored Program Development, University of Kentucky
* Frank Heemskerk, President, European Association of Research Managers and Administrators (EARMA)
* Dr Lorenz Ng, Vice-President, Research Alliances and Business Development, China and Asia Pacific, Eli Lilly & Co.
* Professor Warwick Anderson, Chair, National Health and Medical Research Council Research Committee
* Professor Doug McEachern, Executive Director, Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences, Australian Research Council
* Professor Bob Williamson, Director, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
Further information: www.researchadmin.org.au
Media: Further information, contact Jan Massey telephone 07 3365 3559 or Jan King at UQ Communications 0413 601 248.
