Innovative Research Universities Australia

Innovative Research Universities

Data
Established	2003
Members	7
Continent	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Country	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Chair	Professor Sandra Harding, James Cook University James Cook University James Cook University is a public university based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The university has two Australian campuses, located in Townsville and Cairns respectively, and an international campus in Singapore. JCU is the second oldest university in Queensland—proclaimed in 1970—and the...
Director	Lenore Cooper
Other Names	IRU

Innovative Research Universities (IRU), formerly Innovative Research Universities Australia, is a network of seven comprehensive universities committed to conducting research of national and international standing.

The network advises the government on higher education, research and innovation policy; shares knowledge, experiences and insights to achieve best practice in teaching, research and operations; and creates opportunities for students and other stakeholders through collaboration and partnership.

The universities in the IRU also share many characteristics with members of the 1994 Group

1994 Group

The 1994 Group is a coalition of 19 top "smaller research-intensive universities" in the United Kingdom founded in 1994 to defend their interests following the creation of the Russell Group by larger research-intensive universities earlier that year...

in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

Members

Member Universities
University	Location	Founded	Homepage
Charles Darwin University Charles Darwin University Charles Darwin University is an Australian public university with about 20,000 students in 2007.The University offers a wide range of Higher Education degrees and Vocational Education and Training courses with flexible study options, including part-time, external and online.CDU has campuses in the...	Darwin Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities... , NT Northern Territory The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...	2004	Website
Flinders University Flinders University Flinders University, , is a public university in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of navigator Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the South Australian coastline in the early 19th century.The university has established a reputation as a leading research...	Adelaide Adelaide Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million... , SA South Australia South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...	1966	Website
Griffith University Griffith University Griffith University is a public, coeducational, research university located in the southeastern region of the Australian state of Queensland. The university has five satellite campuses located in the Gold Coast, Logan City and in the Brisbane suburbs of Mount Gravatt, Nathan and South Bank. Current...	Brisbane Brisbane Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of... , Gold Coast Gold Coast, Queensland Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous... , QLD Queensland Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...	1971	Website
James Cook University James Cook University James Cook University is a public university based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The university has two Australian campuses, located in Townsville and Cairns respectively, and an international campus in Singapore. JCU is the second oldest university in Queensland—proclaimed in 1970—and the...	Townsville, Cairns, QLD Queensland Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...	1970	Website
La Trobe University La Trobe University La Trobe University is a multi-campus university in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament to become the third oldest university in the state of Victoria. The main campus of La Trobe is located in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora; two other major campuses are...	Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... , VIC Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....	1964	Website
Murdoch University Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university based in Perth, Australia. It began operations as the state's second university in 1973, and accepted its first students in 1975...	Perth Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000.... , WA Western Australia Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...	1973	Website
The University of Newcastle University of Newcastle, Australia The University of Newcastle is an Australian public university that was established in 1965. The University's main and largest campus is located in Callaghan, a suburb of Newcastle in New South Wales...	Newcastle Newcastle, New South Wales The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas... , NSW New South Wales New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...	1965	Website

History

In 2003, a group of universities sharing common origins established a collaborative network for the purpose of enhancing the outcomes of higher education.

Each were established as research-intensive universities during the 1960s and 1970s, a dynamic period characterised by massive expansion in higher education and extensive innovation in educational design and delivery - hence, the network name of 'Innovative Research Universities'.

The founding universities included Flinders University, Griffith University, La Trobe University, Murdoch University and The University of Newcastle.

In 2007, the network was joined by another institution of similar origin and research intensity - James Cook University - established in 1970 to bring university education and research expertise to the communities of northern Queensland.

In 2009, the network welcomed Charles Darwin University, a research university founded on 50 years of post-secondary education tradition in the Northern Territory and IRU's first dual sector institution.

Research

Members of the IRU are all research-intensive institutions with international reputations and world-leading expertise in their specialist fields. Six members are ranked in the world’s top 500 universities by the THE-QS World University Rankings 2009, with some achieving rankings in the top 100-300 in specific subject areas. Central to our shared ethos is an emphasis on conducting high quality cross-disciplinary research recognised for its impact and relevance to the critical challenges and opportunities facing regional, national and international communities. The group collectively attracts A$310 million per annum in research funding from national research agencies, industry and public sector agencies including local and state governments, rising to A$450 million when performance-based government block grants are included. The members are core partners in half of all Australian Co-operative Research Centres (CRCs). The CRC Program links researchers with industry and government, and emphasises research application.

Members

History

Research

See also