An immediate $150 million capital funding boost announced in today’s Federal budget for The Australian National University has been welcomed by ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Chubb.
The funding - $90 million granted for a Chemical Sciences Hub under the Education Infrastructure Fund and $60 million under the Health and Hospitals Fund - will build national capacity in science and medical research.
Professor Chubb said that construction was ready to begin immediately on both projects, creating some 5000 jobs for the local economy over the life of the construction.
“ANU is an international leader in research and teaching of chemistry and this funding will help us cement the place of ANU as a world-class teaching, learning, research and research training university in the enabling Sciences and transform Australia’s basic Science capability,” Professor Chubb said.
“The funding will enable us to build two new Chemistry buildings, a new Science teaching building, and a combined Sciences workshop, doubling student capacity in Chemistry, increasing the number of work-ready Science graduates, and channelling high-quality Science education to students across Australia’s tertiary and secondary sectors.
“In addition to jobs created during the construction phases, the new hub would create some 15 additional high-tech positions, including several apprenticeships and see another 30 permanent academic and professional positions created,” he said.
Professor Chubb said that Stage 3 of The John Curtin School of Medical Research redevelopment, would honour Sir John Eccles at the site where he did his Nobel Prize-winning work.
Professor Chubb understands that Australia’s participation in the Giant Magellan Telescope project, of which ANU is a founding member, is still under active consideration
