I am delighted to announce the Government’s support for the Santos School of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Adelaide.
The establishment of the School has been made possible by an exceptionally generous
$25 million sponsorship from Santos Ltd, one of Australia’s leading petroleum exploration and production companies. It will also involve a significant partnership with the University of Adelaide, a prominent centre for engineering research and teaching.
In recognition of this important development, the Government will provide $1 million over five years to fund a new professorial Chair, to be known as the Ross Adler Chair in Petroleum Engineering.
This joint venture holds great potential for successful innovation, promoting opportunities for Australia to become a ‘can do’ country, capable of converting Australian endowments and ideas into Australian jobs, rather than jobs overseas.
I am confident that the School will make a strong contribution to the field of petroleum engineering, an area of strategic importance to Australia’s economic development.
I commend Santos for this generous philanthropic gesture. The company’s involvement with the University of Adelaide is a fine example of the social coalition at work, responding to the challenges and opportunities we face as a nation. Santos has made a far-sighted investment in Australia’s knowledge and skills base, and the establishment of the School reflects the interests universities and business share in the pursuit of world-class research and high quality professional training.
The Government is working to encourage greater collaboration between industry and universities. The Government’s Discussion Paper on reform of higher education research, New Knowledge, New Opportunities, which was released in June, proposes to give universities much stronger incentives to develop industry links of this kind.
I congratulate Santos Ltd and the University of Adelaide on this initiative, and wish the School every success.
13 August 1999