An international conference at The University of Queensland has addressed ways to position Australia in the premier science league.
The conference, Science Teaching and Research: Which Way Forward for Australian Universities, was held in Brisbane from 18-19 November and attended by 150 leading international and national science educators and researchers.
Facilitated by ABC broadcaster Dr Norman Swan, the conference followed a working model – participants were encouraged to try to come up with answers to problems, rather than just posing them.
Chief Scientist of Queensland Professor Peter Andrew told delegates that fewer secondary students were taking science subjects – a trend that continued into university.
“Enrolments in the enabling sciences – chemistry, mathematics and physics – have steadily declined, by 23 per cent since 1989, at a time when Australia’s competitiveness demands more,” he said.
According to UQ Faculty Head Professor Mick McManus, this is happening at a time when the Federal Government is working exceedingly hard to implement Backing Australia’s Ability I and II – a blueprint for Australia’s research.
“There’s a ‘flight from science’ – we’re losing the brightest students to disciplines such as law, medicine and business, where rewards, usually monetary, are more immediate,” he said.
“The US is observing similar trends. The Boyer Report of 1998 raised consciousness with respect to these issues, and has provided a template for ongoing discussion and strategies to reverse the trend.
“This report and the actions that have followed have acted as one of the stimuli for the Brisbane conference.”
A blueprint emerged during the workshops, and included:
* Providing undergraduate students the excitement of a research experience
* Reinstating a greater focus on laboratory work to produce industry-ready students
* Getting star researchers to teach undergraduates
* Forming greater links with industry
* Establishing a strategic planning group to implement a new vision for Australian science education.
Leading international experts included:
* Dr Rita Colwell, former Director of the US National Science Foundation
* Dr Shirley Kenny, President of the State University of New York, and lead author of the Boyer Report
* Dr Carol Colbeck, Director of the Center for the Study of Higher Education, Pennsylvania State University
* Dr Don Thornhill, Chair of the Irish Higher Education Authority
* Dr Bahram Bekhradnia, Director of the Higher Education Policies Institute, Oxford, UK
* Professor Lily Kong, Vice-Provost, National University of Singapore.
The strategic planning group will provide a template to inform the public debate, and contribute to and help inform Minister for Education, Science and Training Dr Brendan Nelson’s vision for science education.
For more information, contact Professor McManus (telephone 3379 6945, 3365 1609), Dr Louise Mattick (telephone 0414 989 685) or Debra Hudson (telephone 3369 0407, 0410 483 430).
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