Late last month, senior researchers from Australia and Taiwan met to discuss current activities and opportunities for collaboration in semiconductors and supply chain diversification, quantum technology, metamaterials, and net-zero development.
This meeting with the National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan was led by the Director General Mr Chih-cheng Yeh of the Department of International Cooperation and Science Education.
It included delegates from the Department of International Cooperation and Science Education, Office of Science and Technology, Taiwan Science and Technology Office for Net-Zero Technology Emission, the Quantum National Team, the National Applied Research Laboratories, and the Industrial Technology Research Institute.
The meeting was chaired by Professor Jim Williams AO FAA FTSE, and included Associate Professor Matthew Sellars of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computing and Communication Technology; Dr Igor Skryabin of the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions; and Professor Dragomir Neshev of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems.
There was also a discussion on the possibility for renewing an agreement between the two parties.
This year the Academy participated in the Diversity Council of Australia’s (DCA’s) Inclusive Employer Index, which enables participating organisations to measure employee diversity and inclusion experiences in the workplace and compare it to the Australian Workforce benchmark and the DCA member benchmark.
The Academy is pleased to share that it has been assessed as an Inclusive Employer for 2023–24, meaning it exceeded the National Index Benchmark in at least five fof the six following areas: awareness; engagement; inclusive organisational climate; inclusive leadership; inclusive team; and exclusion. More than 75% of Academy employees reported being in an inclusive team, having an inclusive manager and working in an inclusive organisational climate, compared to less than 50% of the Australian workforce.
The 2023–24 Inclusion@Work Index report contains trends and insights from the aggregated data of all participating employers and will be published on the DCA website.
Academy Policy Secretary Professor Ian Chubb AC FAA FTSE has been appointed by the Australian Government as Chair of the Inter-Governmental Policy Reform Group for health and medical research. The group will help with implementation and regulation of the National Clinical Trials Governance Framework, designed to ensure a nationally consistent approach to clinical trials. Read more.
This year’s Royal Society of NSW and Learned Academies Forum focused on recent progress in unravelling the workings of the brain, and opportunities to use our emerging understanding to promote human wellbeing well beyond the 21st century. Watch the recordings online.
Find out more about coming opportunities for scientists:
Keep abreast of the Academy Fellowship in the Fellows update:
Honours and awards to Fellows
Join the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Law for their annual symposium in 2023. This year, three public lectures will be delivered by Dame Julie Maxton DBE, Executive Director of the Royal Society in London.
Dates: Monday 4, Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 December 2023
Time: 5.30pm – 6.45pm AEDT Canberra and Sydney, 5.00pm – 6.15pm Melbourne; followed by refreshments
Where: Canberra, Sydney, and Melbourne
Cost: Free for Fellows of both academies. $10 for students. $20 for general admission
More information and register for the three events
CSIRO Publishing and the Australian Academy of Science invite you to celebrate 75 years of the Australian Journals of Scientific Research and their remarkable achievement of over 150,000 articles published since 1948.
The celebration will mark the long relationship between the Academy and CSIRO, which cooperate to publish the fourteen scholarly journals that champion Australia’s contribution to international research.
Hear from Anna-Maria Arabia, Chief Executive, Australian Academy of Science; Andrew Stammer, Director, CSIRO Publishing; and Professor Bronwyn Fox, Chief Scientist, CSIRO, to recognise the past and look to the future.
Date: Thursday 7 December 2023
Time: 4.00pm – 5.00pm AEDT
Venue: Online livestream
More information and register here
In a world shaped by uncertainty, how do we bring together the untapped superpower of diverse knowledge systems and people?
In our speaker series finale, panellists will envision an education system that values and advances Indigenous knowledges, and supports Indigenous students’ success. How can we equip emerging and future generations with a profound understanding of diverse knowledge systems built over more than 65,000 years? Join us to discuss the essential role of Indigenous Knowledges in Australia’s science future, and how education at all levels can make this future a reality.
This is the sixth event in the series.
Date: Tuesday 12 December
Time: 5.30pm – 7.00pm AEDT
Venue: The Shine Dome and online
Since the Academy’s creation by Royal Charter in 1954, the first donations received by our Founders assisted towards the foundation of the Endowment Fund—allowing the Academy to establish its independence.
With further support from our Fellows, donors and friends, we have been able to develop and implement a breadth of programs and activities that are now sewn into the fabric of Australian science.
Today, we continue to uphold this legacy and donations play an important role in ensuring science informs decisions wherever they are made, the continuation of building capabilities, nurturing early- and mid-career researchers who are shaping the science sector, and contributing to national and international challenges.
To learn more about giving to the Academy visit our website or contact Kate Groves on (02) 6201 9460 or kate.groves@science.org.au
We hope you will consider supporting the Academy and our vision for excellence in science.
The Honorary editor of the Academy newsletter is Professor Yuri Estrin FAA
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
