Media Releases 2006

7 July 2006

CHAMMP - building China-Australia relations

The Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee (AVCC) and the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) are teaming up again, this time in Sydney for the China-Australia Middle Managers Program (CHAMMP) from 9-16 July 2006.

The year’s CHAMMP program, which follows from the highly successful program in 2005, involves five of Australia’s universities and nine delegates from China.

AVCC President Professor Gerard Sutton said that Australian universities are building very strong links with Chinese universities through a number of initiatives made possible by the three year Agreement on Cooperation in Higher Education signed by the two organisations in September 2005.

“CHAMMP will strengthen links and collaboration between Australian and Chinese universities by facilitating knowledge and skills exchange at middle management level,” Professor Sutton said.

Opportunities to discuss and study research management first-hand are central to CHAMMP 2006. During the Program, participants will have the opportunity to discuss various aspects of research management, including topics such as:

• research funding strategies in Australia and China;
• priority setting by governments and universities, and how they support and supplement each other;
• research application processes;
• accountability and reporting;
• tendering for Australian and international grants;
• commercialisation processes of research outcomes; and
• research centre operations, including cooperative, special and national research centres.

Participants will visit the Australian host universities participating in seminars, touring research offices and centres, and meet with Australian research managers. They will also visit the CSIRO ICT Centre in Sydney.

“Interaction between Australian and Chinese research managers is a key part of CHAMMP and the program promotes genuine engagement through discussion and the two-way exchange of ideas and knowledge,” Professor Sutton said.

This year’s CHAMMP program involves the following universities: The University of New South Wales, The University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney, Macquarie University and the University of Wollongong.

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