Chapter 4
Education and Research
4.1
The Australian government's Department of Education and Training (DET)
and the Mexican government's Secretariat for Public Education (SEP) first
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in education and
training in 2003. The MoU provided a framework for cooperative activities and
was renewed in 2008 and again in 2015.[1]
The MoU enables development of future collaboration and facilitates the
exchange of teaching materials, accreditation systems, education policies and
occupational standards.[2]
4.2
In 2005 and 2011 Australia hosted delegations of senior officials from
Mexico to discuss education policies including early childhood, schooling,
teacher quality, vocational education, and quality assurance arrangements. The
2011 visit concluded with a postgraduate study scholarship agreement between the
SEP and Macquarie University.[3]
4.3
Following the appointment of a DET Education and Science Counsellor in
Latin America in 2014 and the signing of the new MoU in 2015, DET is working
with the SEP to establish a joint education committee to undertake a range of
work to 2018:
Consistent with the bilateral discussions which have taken
place during the past year to identify topics of mutual interest, the joint
work is expected to include qualifications framework and recognition
arrangements; teacher training (including English) and evaluation; equity,
access and participation; education quality and funding (schools, VET and
higher education); federal-state education roles and responsibilities; research
systems, policies, quality and impacts; and sharing experiences about policy
implementation practices.[4]
Multilateral engagement
4.4
The Australian government works with Mexico in the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum to support cross-border education cooperation. DET
also works with Mexico through the Pacific Alliance on qualification frameworks
and recognition arrangements. In September 2015, DET hosted a workshop which
provided a holistic view on Australian qualification recognition, national
frameworks, government policy and legislation from creation to implementation.[5]
4.5
The workshop provided an opportunity for participants to understand the
roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders during meetings with Australia's
quality assurance agencies, institutions, professional bodies and
non-government assessing authorities.[6]
Mexican student mobility
4.6
As at July 2015 there were approximately 1 000 Mexican students enrolled
at Australian higher education institutions with the majority studying commerce
and management.[7]
In 2012, over 27 000 Mexican tertiary students studied overseas with 50 per
cent choosing to study in the United States. Other popular destinations include
Spain, France, Germany and the UK. Australia is the eighth most popular
destination, with only two per cent of Mexico's international tertiary students.[8]
4.7
Mexico is Australia's fourth largest source of international students
from Latin America after Brazil, Colombia and Chile. In 2014, there were 2 117
Mexican students enrolled in Australia in the following categories:
-
27 per cent in English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas
Students;
-
27 per cent in Higher Education; and
-
24.5 per cent in Vocational Education and Training (VET).[9]
4.8
The number of enrolments is almost 90 per cent higher than it was 10
years ago and 21 per cent higher than in 2013.[10]
Education Intelligence[11]
has projected that Mexico will have one of the most mobile tertiary age
populations aged between 18 and 22 in the world by 2024.[12]
Scope for increased collaboration in the education sector
4.9
Australia's education and research engagement with Mexico has grown over
the past ten years but is still relatively small, both in relation to Australia's
global engagement and Australia's share of Mexico's international engagement.[13]
4.10
Various opportunities exist for Australian providers not only in student
mobility but VET and English language training as well. Given Mexico's
commitment to improving its level of education and the strong reputation
Australian institutions have in this field, there is considerable scope for
Australia's education sector to benefit from the investment that the Mexican
government plans to make in this sector.[14]
4.11
Mexico's education sector grew faster than Latin America overall during
2014, with an increase of more than 25 per cent in commencements.[15]
In terms of international student flows, Mexico represents a significant
emerging market. Mexico also initiated an ambitious education reform agenda
under the Pacto por Mexico, which was agreed between Mexico's three main
political parties in December 2012. The reforms were aimed at increasing
participation and improving the quality of education. The agenda covers areas
such as teacher quality, evaluation and assessment practices; school
infrastructure; curriculum; and duration of compulsory education.[16]
4.12
However, Mexico presents greater challenges than most other Latin
American markets given the student preference to be educated in Mexico, its
proximity to competitors like the United States and Canada, and the absence of
significant Australian scholarship programs for students.[17]
4.13
Universities Australia data indicates that in 2014 there were 101 active
agreements between 37 Mexican institutions and 22 Australian universities.[18]
This represents little more than one per cent of the almost 8 000 active
agreements that Australian universities had in place in that year. The
Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) noted in their submission:
There is potential to increase the number of Mexicans
studying in Australia and opportunities to capitalise on niche transnational
education training, research and consultancy services. A highly educated and
skilled workforce is required to achieve Mexico's economic development
objectives and existing skills gaps need to be addressed.[19]
4.14
Submitters also highlighted that some of Mexico's lead institutions are insisting
that students study overseas. For example, Tec de Monterrey[20]
has a goal that 90 per cent of its graduating students will have studied
overseas.[21]
The rise of Mexico's middle-class, which now numbers in excess of 70 million,
has also raised the prospect for an increasing number of students to study
overseas.
4.15
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) also provides a new platform to
increase education engagement with Mexico. DET's submission explained:
Australian universities and vocational education providers
seeking to establish or expand a campus or institution will benefit from
commitments offered by Mexico that will lock in existing market openness and
guarantee that future liberalisation will be captured as a TPP commitment.
Mexico has also guaranteed access for Australian
international schools. In addition, independent Australian education
professionals seeking contracts to work at education institutions in Mexico
will have guaranteed access with streamlined visa arrangements and longer
periods of stay, and Australian education service providers will be able to bid for
government procurement contracts in Mexico.[22]
4.16
With Mexico's forecast growth, a young population (average age 27),
expanding middle class and a substantial student population (35 million – the
second-largest student population in Latin America), the country presents
significant opportunities for international education providers.[23]
Joint recognition of degree
programs
4.17
A number of submissions expressed support for increasing the number of
jointly accredited undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs between
Australia and Mexico.[24]
Associate Professor Cesar Ortega-Sanchez recommended evaluating Mexican university
programs for mutual recognition potential. He argued:
The best Mexican universities are ranked as high as the best
Australian universities or higher. I have been a university academic in both
countries and know that the best Mexican students are as good as the best
Australian students. I am not suggesting recognising every single degree from
every single university, but it would make very good sense to create a
commission to evaluate Mexican universities and then recommend a set of rules
to guide the mutual recognition of qualifications. This program could be linked
with immigration plans to attract Mexican professionals who could make great
contributions to the Australian economy and society. Currently it is virtually
impossible to immigrate to Australia and find a job based on Mexican
qualifications.[25]
Committee view
4.18
The committee believes there is considerable scope to expand Australia's
future education and research engagement with Mexico. Mexico's expected growth
prospects, large student population and growing middle class offers Australian
education providers a wealth of potential opportunities. The committee supports
an increase in joint initiatives between Australia and Mexico and encourages
Australian universities to review their programs for potential joint
recognition with their Mexican counterparts.
Recommendation 5
4.19
The committee recommends that the Australian government work together
with Australian universities to review the accreditation of existing Mexican
qualifications and achieve mutual recognition of qualifications by 2020.
Language barriers
4.20
An impediment to Australia's expansion in the Mexican education sector
is the language barrier. There is both a lack of Spanish skills from the
Australian training workforce and English skills from Mexican students.[26]
English is widely accepted as the primary international language and it is
increasingly defined as a basic skill required of every student in every
education system.[27]
4.21
Although English skills are considered essential in an increasingly
competitive labour market, English language competency remains low in Mexico.
It ranked 39 out of 63 countries globally and sixth out of fourteen countries
in Latin America according to the Education First survey in 2014.[28] The Mexican
Government is aiming to teach English to all students from five to 15 years of
age which will require a further 80 000 teachers.[29]
4.22
Mexico's expanding middle class is also seeking to improve workforce
skills and employment opportunities through English language competency, which
could be converted into commercial opportunities for Australia. As the ANZMEX
Chamber of Commerce stated:
Australia could do more by offering English
scholarships to the IST Mexican community
and offering Spanish
Language training opportunities to the IST teaching and research workforce in Australia. There
are also opportunities to better utilise
the current Spanish-speaking workforce in Australia (3,600 Mexicans and more than 10,000 Latino Americans plus people born in Australia
and/or other countries with Spanish Language skills).[30]
4.23
The DET noted its plans for future English language training in Latin
America:
In light of discussions that the department has had with
Mexico and other Latin American countries about English language teacher
training and English language teaching, the department is planning to hold a
roundtable in early 2016 to develop a plan for working together with Mexico and
the other interested Latin American countries.[31]
Potential for extending scholarship programs to Mexico
4.24
Australia supports Mexican students studying in Australia through
scholarships, fellowships and mobility grants which are administered by DET. Education
grants and scholarships help improve business connections and raise awareness
of each country's market potential.[32]
4.25
Between 2007 and 2015, 41 Mexicans accepted an Endeavour Scholarship or
a Fellowship to undertake study, research or professional development in
Australia.[33]
Since 2008, approximately 350 Australian higher education students received an
Endeavour Mobility Grant to participate in a project in Mexico and 13 students
from Mexico received a grant to study in Australia as part of a semester
exchange program.[34]
4.26
The University of Sydney noted that one of the benefits of transnational
scholarship programs is an increase in the number of graduates who enter the
workforce in their home countries and provide future government, business and
industry links to Australia.[35]
4.27
Existing agreements between the SEP and Australian authorities, such as
the Educational Cooperation Agreement signed with Macquarie University
in Sydney and the Cross Institutional Education Cooperation Agreement
signed with Victoria University, enable scholarship programs to be established
between Mexico and Australia and increase mobility of postgraduate students.[36]
However, Australia could compete more robustly for international student flows.
4.28
Competitor markets are more active in creating Mexico-specific
scholarship programs to support international student flows. The ANZMEX
Business Council noted in their submission:
The Netherlands, for instance, has a 300-strong scholarship
programme for Mexicans to study in its country. The UK runs a wide range of
comprehensive scholarship programs for Mexicans, including the Chevening
Programme which in 2015 awarded 101 postgraduate scholarships. Meanwhile,
Australia has abandoned the AusAid scholarship program across the region.[37]
4.29
A bilateral scholarship program to increase awareness and build
people-to-people linkages could help grow Australia's partnership with Mexico.
The University of Sydney reflected that despite Mexico having excellent
research institutions and shared research interests with Australia, there is no
specific financial support available to develop new partnerships at this
moment.[38]
4.30
Australia could become more competitive in its scholarship partnership
with Mexico by implementing specific programs for the region. Mr Ramirez
explained:
Following the recommendation for reform, the Mexican government
has a very, very strong and interesting scholarship program. They are trying to
bring up the level of professionalism for that industry. A good example in
Mexico is what they did with the French and German governments. Basically the
French and German governments brought in a language program for Mexican
professionals who would be going to France and Germany. There are about 100
scholarships available. As a result of that, the Mexican government has full
scholarships for students to do postgraduate degrees in any university that is
recognised in Germany or France. A similar program could be interesting for
Australia. It would bring more students here but also it would show that there
is this idea of connecting with Mexico.[39]
4.31
The ANZMEX Business Council agreed:
[Australia]'s share of the market is, at least from
observation, in decline. This is not to undermine the tireless efforts of
individual universities, education agents, Austrade and the Australian Embassy,
but simply a reflection of the increased resources applied by other markets
such as the UK (again, it rates Mexico as a top 10 priority market for
international education), Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the US.
While it is obvious that Australia has a compelling offer, it simply isn't
competing from a marketing perspective.[40]
4.32
Various opportunities also exist for Australian providers in VET and
English language training. Notably, Mexico's National Council of Science and
Technology (CONACYT) has expanded its energy scholarships program to address a
critical skill shortages in the energy sector, presenting opportunities for
Australian education institutions with expertise in energy, mining and
renewables.[41]
The Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR) explained:
Mexico's increased training needs to improve productivity and
skills are expected to provide new opportunities for Australia's vocational and
training education (VET) sector. A technical skills gap exists in Mexico,
particularly in the oil and gas sectors, presenting significant opportunities
for Australian VET providers. Australia's industry led, competency based
approach to VET is highly applicable to these kinds of challenges and there is
a strong appetite from Mexican institutions to develop relationships with interested
providers.[42]
4.33
The ANZMEX Business Council also highlighted the potential for Australia
in Mexico's oil and gas sector, noting that Australia could play a role in
providing trade and technical colleges with specialised qualifications in
collaboration with Mexican institutions.[43]
Committee view
4.34
The committee understands there are significant commercial opportunities
for Australia in Mexico's VET sector. The committee encourages Australia to
draw on its extensive oil, gas and energy experience and play a larger role in
providing Mexico's sectors with specialised VET qualifications. The committee
supports government-funded initiatives to promote and establish the Australian
VET sector services in Mexico during this opportune time.
Recommendation 6
4.35
The committee recommends that the Australian government allocate
additional funding for initiatives to promote Australian VET services in Mexico.
Improve connections with CONACYT
4.36
The National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) is a Mexican institution
which provides international scholarships and research grants for Mexican
academics and students. CONACYT has developed bilateral scholarship
arrangements with a number of countries including the USA, Canada and Europe.[44]
Submitters argued that greater Australian engagement with CONACYT could result in
a higher number of scholarship students being sent to Australia. Professor
Carlin of the University of Sydney highlighted the potential opportunity:
...Mexico, as you know, has the Mexican National Commission for
Science and Technology—CONACYT—which provides generous scholarship support. Our
understanding is that they have got some 6,300 or so funded students throughout
the world at the moment—half of those are PhD scholarships and the rest are Masters.
I draw that to your attention because Australia's share of that is about 2½ per
cent. We have about 150 of those. The US has about 1,500; the UK is not
dissimilar. The Netherlands has 260 and Canada has 311. We have a huge
opportunity there, and that is something that government can facilitate through
the negotiation of an arrangement with CONACYT. That will help us enormously.[45]
4.37
During its public hearing, the committee heard that although the
University of Sydney has approximately 10 000 international students fewer than
50 were from Mexico.[46]
The University's submission noted:
Australia is currently not benefiting from the program as
much as it could. Very few Mexican students use CONACYT scholarships to travel
to Australia and organisational relationships are largely ad hoc...
Australian government officials could develop stronger
linkages with key decision makers and engage with their counterparts in Mexico
to send a greater number of its CONACYT scholarship students to Australia. An increased number of returning graduates from
scholarship programs would expand Australia's networks in Mexico and encourage
partnerships.[47]
4.38
According to Universities Australia's submission, the Australian
government has been engaging with CONACYT to enable Mexican scholarship
recipients to study at Australian universities. While CONACYT has signed
agreements with a number of individual universities, Universities Australia is
in consultations facilitated by government on an overarching MOU to enable
future Mexican scholarship recipients to study at any Australian university of
their choice.[48]
Scope to extend the New Colombo Plan to include
Mexico
4.39
The New Colombo Plan is an initiative of the Australian government which
aims to lift knowledge of the Indo Pacific in Australia by supporting
Australian undergraduates to study and undertake internships in the region. The
New Colombo Plan involves a scholarships program for study of up to one year, internships
or mentorships and a flexible mobility grants program.[49]
4.40
The scholarships program allows students to undertake study in a host
country for which they receive full credit at their Australian university. Mobility
grants are awarded to Australian universities to support students to study and
undertake work-based experiences in a host country. They are aimed at
supporting long term study, internships and language acquisition.[50]
4.41
Submitters proposed that the Australian government consider extending the
New Colombo Plan to include Latin America and Mexico in particular.[51]
During the public hearing, Professor Carlin also noted that:
... [New Colombo scholarships] are concentrated in Asia, as you
know, and they have been enormously successful. And in terms of getting more of
our students out as ambassadors, and forging those relationships, we believe
that the extension of a program like that into the Latin American zone could be
very beneficial.[52]
Committee View
4.42
The committee agrees with submitters that Australia must compete more
vigorously for international student flows from Latin America and in particular
Mexico. As the Mexican government awards its scholarships to countries with a
similar level of interest, Australia and its higher education providers would
benefit from extending the New Colombo Plan to include Mexico or Latin America
as this would likely see an increase in returned scholarships. The committee
believes extending the New Colombo Plan to include Mexico as a host country
would encourage greater student flows between Australia and Mexico and be a
worthwhile expansion of the initiative.
Recommendation 7
4.43
The committee recommends that the Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade consider whether there is scope to extend the New Colombo Plan to include
Mexico as a destination country.
Educational infrastructure challenges
Insufficient panel physicians
4.44
Panel physicians are approved by the Department of Immigration and
Border Protection (DIBP) to perform medical examinations on all international
student applicants.[53]
There are only three panel physician service locations for all of Mexico, one
each in the cities of Mexico City, Guadalajara and Ciudad Juarez, with between
one and six physicians in each location.[54]
Submitters noted that this creates a bottleneck for processing international
student visas, which in turn restricts student mobility and decreases Australia's
appeal as an education destination.
4.45
The ANZMEX Business Council explained in their submission:
This lack of soft infrastructure puts Australia at a distinct
disadvantage to its competitors, sometimes adding as much as $1000 to the cost
of some students studying in Australia due to their need to pay for flights,
accommodation and incidental costs so that they can attend an appointment at
the location of the panel doctor. During peak application periods, prospective
students can wait as long as three weeks to have an appointment confirmed, and
another month before actually being able to visit the doctor. When you consider
that the student visa cannot be processed until the doctor's report is
submitted, the entire process can stretch to three months.[55]
Committee view
4.46
It is the committee's view that placing additional physicians in the
three current service locations (Mexico City, Guadalajara and Ciudad Juarez) as
well as providing additional service locations in key feeder cities, such as Monterrey,
would alleviate delays in student visa applications and contribute to
increasing student flows between Australia and Mexico.
Recommendation 8
4.47
The committee recommends that the Department of Immigration and Border
Protection appoint additional panel physicians in key Mexican cities to reduce
delays to international student medical examinations.
Prolonged student visa application
times
4.48
A further challenge in developing Australia as an education destination
for Mexican students is that the current visa process for prospective students,
which was described by submitters as cumbersome and protracted. Australia has a
number of visas available to international students, dependent on the expected
type of study, including:
-
Independent ELICOS (Subclass 570);
-
Schools (Subclass 571);
-
Vocational Education and Training (Subclass 572);
-
Higher Education (Subclass 573);
-
Postgraduate Research (Subclass 574);
-
Non-award (Subclass 575); and
-
Foreign Affairs or Defence (Subclass 576).[56]
4.49
DIBP considers each student visa application on its individual merits. Each
applicant's visa requirements are determined using assessment levels to ensure fairness
and consistency. There are three assessment levels in the student visa program
which align student visa requirements to the immigration risk posed by
applicants from a particular country studying in a particular education sector.[57]
4.50
Assessment Level 1 represents the lowest immigration risk and Assessment
Level 3 the highest. The higher the assessment level, the greater the evidence
an applicant is required to demonstrate to support their claims for the grant
of a student visa.[58]
As at November 2015, all visa subclasses for Mexican passport holders were
listed as Assessment Level 1.[59]
4.51
For eligible students, the DIBP also offers a streamlined visa
processing arrangement where visa applicants are subject to lower evidentiary
requirements, similar to Assessment Level 1, irrespective of the passport they
hold. Students must meet certain requirements to be eligible for streamlined
processing and hold a Confirmation of Enrolment with a participating education
provider.[60]
4.52
Submitters suggested a number of improvements could be made to Australia's
student visa process. The ANZMEX Business Council explained:
Currently Mexicans are not eligible to apply for eVisas or
the EST visa – we would argue that if Australia is serious about welcoming
Mexican business people, tourists and students we should use avenues which are
already in place for other strategic partners of Australia. In addition we
would urge that the Department of Immigration be sufficiently resourced to
reduce the time taken to process visas for Mexicans to visit Australia from the
current 4–6 week time frame to a more realistic 2-week time frame. We believe
that having inspectors who are fluent in Spanish, and are specifically
responsible for liaising with the Australian Embassy immigration team in Mexico
would be of great assistance in addressing problems.[61]
4.53
Submitters noted that the student visa process can also be compounded by
the delay in panel physician appointments as previously discussed. The ANZMEX
Business Council recommended that DIBP be further resourced so that student
visa applicants are assigned a Spanish speaking inspector as a primary point of
contact.[62]
Committee view
4.54
The committee is aware of the need for improvements to educational
infrastructure and supports the improvement of travel and visa measures for
Mexican students to increase access to Australia as an education destination. Reducing
student visa application times would not only increase Australia's appeal as an
education destination but also improve its competitiveness in the international
student market.
4.55
Allocating additional resources to the Department of Immigration and
Border Protection would go some way to alleviating the bottlenecks described in
submissions.
Recommendation 9
4.56
The committee recommends that the Department of Immigration and Border
Protection review its current student visa provisions to reduce visa
application processing times for Mexican students.
Redundant Foundation Year
requirement
4.57
Foundation Studies are designed as a pre-university year for
international students who wish to obtain Australian qualifications. The
Foundation Year is equivalent to Australia's Year 12 but with a special focus
on English ability and preparation for tertiary studies.[63]
4.58
The ANZMEX Business Council told the committee that Australian
universities currently require all high school graduates from Mexico,
regardless of the quality of the school, to complete a Foundation Year before
beginning undergraduate studies in Australia.[64]
The ANZMEX Business Council noted that there may be scope to improve Australia's
competitiveness in the international student sector by abolishing the
Foundation Year requirement for graduates of key schools in Mexico. The ANZMEX
Business Council reasoned:
Top candidates from top schools simply are not interested to
spend this time and money when they are already at the same or higher level
required and thus go elsewhere. This disincentive, combined with the paucity of
scholarship or funding options for undergraduates means that Australia is
simply not competing in this segment of the market. We would recommend that the
Education Department examine the feasibility of ranking key Mexican secondary
schools in order to facilitate direct entry for qualified students into undergraduate
programs.[65]
Committee view
4.59
It is vital that Australia is competitive in the international student
sector. The committee encourages the Australian government to monitor Australian
university entrance requirements to ensure that they do not unduly discourage
Mexican students from studying in Australia.
Geographical dislocation of
Austrade's educational management
4.60
Australia currently manages its educational activities for Mexico from
its posts in either Brazil or Chile. There are no officers based in Mexico who
are responsible for developing opportunities solely in the Mexican education
sector.[66]
The ANZMEX Business Council argued that appointing an Education Counsellor or
Trade Commissioner to the Mexico City post would accelerate the development of
Australian education opportunities in Mexico as well as provide a less
convoluted path for Australian universities to access recruitment feedback from
the area. They stated:
...recruitment feedback mechanisms to [Australian] universities
are unnecessarily convoluted due to the geographical dislocation of Austrade's
management structures in education. The scale of the opportunity in Mexico provides
strong argument for both an Education Counsellor and an Australian-based Trade
Commissioner for Education to be appointed to the Mexico City post. While the
Trade Commissioner role could focus on supporting Australia to gain a stronger
foothold in the recruitment of international students it could also play a
fundamental role in supporting Australian institutions in developing local
partnerships in order to provide education services locally.[67]
Scope for increased collaboration in research
4.61
The Australian Academy of Science advised the committee that the Mexican
government 'wants to improve its standing in science and is improving funding
for this sector'. The Australian Academy of Science outlined both Mexico and
Australia's research strengths:
Mexico has expertise is a number of areas including
agricultural sciences, aquaculture and fisheries...Mexico also has a modern and
dynamic health and biotechnology industry. Mexico is the second largest
pharmaceutical market in Latin America and a major producer of high-tech
medicine.
Australia on the other hand has research strengths in areas
such as health and medical research, mining and water management, radio
astronomy, the environment, and others. It has had some substantial economic
successes underpinned by science.[68]
4.62
Submitters noted that Australia and Mexico have research centres in
areas of mutual interest and that it would be advantageous to both countries if
the number of collaborative research activities were increased and existing
research scholarship programs extended.[69]
The University of Sydney explained that:
Expertise at the PBI and world leading research being
undertaken in Australia is of great importance in global food security. This
area of excellence could be further supported and highlighted by increasing the
opportunities for visiting researchers through Australian government
scholarships for the region. This would enhance linkages and help to develop
collaborations...The University's Charles Perkins Centre for Obesity, Diabetes and
Cardiovascular Disease is a unique interdisciplinary centre dedicated to easing
the burden of these chronic diseases and related conditions through innovative
research and teaching. Mexico shares these challenges and there is scope to
enhance linkages in the health area.[70]
4.63
The Australian Academy of Science noted that by strengthening science
and technology links with countries such as Mexico, Australia can contribute
and develop solutions to global challenges, such as energy security, the
preservation of biodiversity, and sufficiency of food.[71]
4.64
Australia has a number of existing research collaborations with Mexico,
such as the University of Sydney's joint research with the Mexican Institute
for Water Technology and with the Mexican International Centre for the
Improvement of Wheat and Maize through its Plant Breeding Institute.[72]
The Australian Academy of Science and the Mexican Academy of Science signed a
MoU in 2015 to foster mutually beneficial scientific exchanges, workshops and
other joint activities.[73]
The Department of Education and Training outlined Mexico and Australia's
collaborative partnership:
Measured by joint publications, Mexico has been Australia's
46th ranked international collaboration partner with 1000 joint
research publications between 2009 and 2014. In 2014, there were 234 joint
publications with the most common fields of research being astronomy and
astrophysics; physics, particles and field; and plant sciences and ecology.
Australia only accounts for approximately 4 per cent of Mexico's international
cooperation, as measured by the number of joint publications.[74]
4.65
Submitters noted that there is little incentive for Australian academics
to publish their work in innovation, science
and technology academic journals written
in languages other than English. The ANZMEX Chamber of Commerce
advised the committee that publishing and recognising Australian academic work
in Latin American journals and vice versa would encourage research collaboration
and further increase the linkages between Australia and Mexico:
It would be desirable to explore with Universities Australia the possibility of acknowledging and counting published
journal papers, written in Spanish
for Mexican and other Latin American
academic journals authored
by Australian researchers in Australian universities' [in] metrics for academic performance and considerations around academic promotion. We could accelerate the rhythm of bilateral IST collaboration if/when
researchers perceive that their collaborative work with Mexico would be acknowledged and recognized Australian wide.[75]
Committee view
4.66
The importance of scientific research and innovation cannot be
overemphasised. The committee agrees that it would be advantageous to both
Australia and Mexico if the number of collaborative research activities were
increased and existing research scholarship programs extended. The committee commends
the Australian Academy of Science and the Mexican Academy of Science for the
MoU to foster mutually beneficial scientific exchanges, workshops and other
joint activities signed this year.
Recommendation 10
4.67
The committee recommends that the Australian government actively
encourage research collaboration between Australia and Mexico and that more
resources be made available to Australian universities and research
institutions to facilitate this collaboration.
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