Case Study 8: Internationalisation in Research - The Australian National University

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The Australian National University (ANU) located in Canberra, the national capital, was founded by the Australian Government in 1946 as Australia's only completely research-oriented university, without undergraduate facilities, to undertake 'postgraduate research and study, both generally and in relation to subjects of national importance to Australia'. On the initiative of such people Dr H.C. Coombs and Professor R.C. Mills, the original concept was for a national research institute but it was constituted as a university because of the legal status required to award the PhD degree.

In 1960 the University merged with Canberra University College, and began offering both undergraduate and graduate education. In 1992, the University and the Institute of Art amalgamated, widening the University's education to encompass creative arts and music. It comprises eight research schools, six teaching and research faculties, a graduate school, over a dozen other academic schools or centres, 4800 academic and general staff and 10 350 students, including more than 1000 international students.

Research at the University is the special focus of the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) which is highly regarded internationally for its achievements in basic and applied research and attracts gifted researchers to work in its schools and centres as staff and visiting fellows.

In 1996 the University is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary.

The Australian National University was selected for a Case Study on the internationalisation of research primarily because of its unique position in the Australian higher education sector having been founded ‘as Australia's only completely research-oriented university’. Not surprisingly, ANU figured prominently in a recent NBEET commissioned review International Links in Higher Education Research, a significant finding being that ‘The Australian National University .....accounted for about 20 per cent of all Australian academic international collaborations .....’. In addition, the Report of the 1995 Quality Review placed the Australian National University in the first Group for the three research components: Assessment of research management process, Assessment of research outcomes and Assessment of research improvement.

One of the eight Schools in IAS, the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, is the focus for this Case Study with two examples drawn from the Division of Economics of the School: the Indonesia Project, (in the Department of Economics) and the Economics for Development program of the National Centre for Development Studies.

Indonesia Project

The Indonesia Project is a major international centre of research and graduate training on the economy of Indonesia. Established in 1965 in the Division of Economics of the Australian National University's Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, the Project monitors and analyses recent economic developments in Indonesia; informs Australian governments, business, and the wider community about recent developments in Indonesia, and future prospects; stimulates research on the Indonesian economy. The Project is well known and respected in Indonesia and in other places where Indonesia attracts serious scholarly and official interest. The Project obtains its core funding from the ANU; since 1980 the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has provided an annual grant to the Project.

The aims of the Project are:

• to monitor and analyse recent economic developments in Indonesia;

• to publish the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies (BIES), which reports on work done throughout the world on Indonesia’s economy;

• to stimulate research on the Indonesian economy;

• to provide support for Indonesian academic colleagues in their research and teaching;

• to increase awareness of Indonesia in the broader Australian community; and

• to supervise graduate students who show a special interest in the Indonesian economy.

Strategy - the Indonesia Project

The history of the Indonesia Project shows that the initiative for it resided with two people: Sir John Crawford (Director of the Research School of Pacific Studies, as it then was) and Professor Heinz Arndt, who was appointed in 1963 as Professor of Economics in the School. Crawford’s reputation for commitment to the social and economic development of the Asia Pacific region was already well founded and was inspirational for Arndt’s emerging interest in the economics of development. The concept of Australia having a key role in the Asia Pacific region, so publicly espoused in the 1990’s by Australia’s political leaders, was high on the agenda of both Crawford and Arndt; in fact it was expressed by Crawford in 1936 when writing about Australia’s trade relations with the Far East:

This survey revealed several conditions which were favourable to the view, frequently voiced, that here we have a market of considerable potential importance to Australia. A large population, close proximity to our shores, production and

trade very largely complimentary to our own, an ‘open door’ tariff policy with little danger of recent changes in this policy affecting us; all are factors which might well encourage a rosy view.

(Crawford 1936, p. 237)

and it was further evidenced by Australia’s high profile in the formulation of the Colombo Plan in 1950.

The centre-piece of the Project is the publication the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies (BIES), which has an international reputation and, most importantly, is recognised and respected by the Indonesian bureaucracy. This publication, together with the graduate training program, the scholar exchange program and the annual seminar Indonesia Update introduced in 1983, constitutes a major contribution to the Indonesian/Australian academic relationship.

As a model strategy which other universities might follow, it is unlikely that others could match the success in the field of economics in Indonesia. However, the principles of the strategy could well be followed by other universities to develop similar niche specialisations directed to other countries in other disciplines. The essential features are:

• a leader who is highly qualified and well credentialled;

• a high level of commitment to the project by those charged with the responsibility for its development;

• a thorough familiarity with the language and culture of the target country and sensitivity to the way advice and critical comment should be delivered; and

• a willingness to provide seed funding and possibly core funding for the project.

Planning and Evaluation - the Indonesia Project

On his retirement as head of the Project in 1981, Heinz Arndt wrote:

Over a period of fifteen years eight PhD students of the department - seven Australians and one New Zealander - specialised on Indonesia, learned the language, undertook lengthy and often laborious fieldwork, produced major studies and went on to professional careers ......[related to] Indonesian economic developments. They now constitute a significant proportion, perhaps one-half, of all non-Indonesian academic economists in the world who can claim to be specialists on Indonesia.

(Arndt 1985, p. 59)

The Indonesia Project continued to flourish during the next fifteen years and today the majority of specialists on Indonesian economics world-wide have been trained or have worked within the Project. In 1995 research activities produced nearly thirty publications, with five PhD theses and eight texts or monographs in preparation. The Project hosted a dozen international scholars, organised Indonesia Update 1995 and numerous seminars and conferences, and supported the fortnightly meetings of the Indonesia Study Group.

Benefits - the Indonesia Project

The benefits of the strategy which led to the development and growth of the Indonesia Project are numerous and wide-ranging:

• for the School and its staff and students it offers the best possible environment for the study of Indonesian economics and related disciplines;

• for the University it enhances its reputation both nationally and internationally;

• for Australia it is recognised as a source of comprehensive expertise and advice about its closest neighbour; and

• for Indonesia it has become an important source of training, expert advice and scholarly exchange.

Economics of Development

The National Centre for Development Studies (NCDS) provides a national focus for the study of development issues, reflecting Australia’s substantial trade and cultural links with its immediate region. The geographic focus is East Asia and the South Pacific but this expands to other developing regions as student interest and staff expertise allow.

Since 1984 the Centre has established itself as the largest school in Australia for graduate training in the Economics of Development, in environmental management and in development administration. Students come from some 40 countries and in 1994 there were the equivalent of 234 full-time students studying for the degrees of PhD, Master and Graduate Diploma. Of these 42 are writing PhD dissertations.

The economic transition in Vietnam is being studied by Vietnamese doctoral students whose research and policy inputs are valued highly in workshops in Vietnam and Canberra. The Vietnam Update Conferences organised within the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies bring scholars and senior bureaucrats to Australia, creating invaluable links for the future.

Strategy - Economics of Development

Graduate studies in the Economics of Development offered within NCDS consists of three successive segments, the Graduate Diploma, the Masters degree and the PhD. The special needs of international students are recognised through the running by NCDS of a Preparatory Course, designed to prepare students for graduate studies and a Bridging Program to strengthen skills in economics, mathematics or English.

In 1991 four Vietnamese students began studies in the Economics of Development Program. Thereafter, demand for the course by Vietnamese students increased dramatically, and in 1995 NCDS sought and obtained funding from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and from AusAID to support a three year project to run a series of six workshops on the Vietnamese economy, three to be held in Vietnam and three in Canberra. The first AusAID/NCDS Vietnam Economic Research Workshop was held in Hanoi in May 1995, the second in Canberra in December 1995 (in conjunction with the annual Vietnam Update) and the third in Ho Chi Minh City in July 1996. The Project will culminate with an international conference in 1998.

The workshops provide a forum for the NCDS scholars working on the Vietnamese economy to make presentations on their research for appraisal and comment by a range of Vietnamese and other international experts both academic and non-academic. Aspects of the Vietnamese economy covered in the workshops include Vietnam’s trade policy stance and its impact on foreign investment and industrial policies in Vietnam; agricultural development; macroeconomic stabilisation policies during transition; and the impact of economic reforms on school-age children and on women in the workforce.

Planning and Evaluation - Economics of Development

The strategy for the internationalisation of research and research training illustrated by this Case Study is an example of 'bottom up' development. The interest stimulated by the enrolment of a small group of Vietnamese students has led to a major research interest in the Vietnamese economy, and NCDS is now a focal point for a wide range of experts with prime interests in the social and economic development of Vietnam.

In 1996 enrolments of Vietnamese students in the Economics of Development Program comprise six in the Graduate Bridging course, seven in the Graduate Diploma, three Masters students and ten PhD students, a total of 26. The students come from key economic institutions in Vietnam, including the Central Institute for Economic Management, the National Economics University and the Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City. The availability of scholarships for PhD studies is now becoming a limiting factor on the number of students who can be accepted for enrolment. Further growth in the number of students and their range of specialism could present a challenge in the availability of suitable supervisors, a challenge which could be met, however, as more researchers enter the field, stimulated by the success of the NCDS Vietnam project.

As part of the evaluation process a Report is submitted to AusAID after each Workshop and selected papers from the Workshops are submitted for publication in journals and in books.

Benefits - Economics of Development

The Benefits of the strategy are impressive:

• appropriate postgraduate training for Vietnamese students at all levels to PhD;

• direct assistance to Vietnam’s development through graduates of the Program;

• stimulation of research on Vietnam in NCDS;

• a forum for international scholars and experts with interests in Vietnam;

• an important contribution to Australia’s aid to Vietnam; and

• enhancement of the reputation of NCDS, ANU and Australia generally.

The strategy could serve as a general model for other universities with an interest in postgraduate training and research relevant to the needs of a developing country. The special interest of NCDS in its Economics for Development Program is a natural vehicle and there may well be similar programs in other fields such as Agriculture, Demography, Health, which a university could apply in a similar way.