Australia to boost research, innovation sector by 495 mln USD

The Australian government will deliver 522 million Australian dollars(almost 494.91 million U.S. dollars)to boost its research and innovation sector by 1,177 new research projects funded by the Australia Research Council (ARC), Minister for Education Christopher Pyne announced Friday.

According to Pyne, the funding has been announced as part of the ARC's Future Fellowships scheme (commencing 2013) and major grants scheme (commencing 2014).

Pyne said the announcement of more than 1,000 new research projects, many with international collaborations, was a " significant investment".

"If Australia is to continue to produce ground-breaking research outcomes,'eureka' moments and Nobel Laureates, then a strong investment in research is needed," Pyne said in a statement Friday.

And he confirmed that the coalition government is committed to enabling Australian researchers to investigate, explore and discover and to deliver outcomes that benefit the nation.

"In the past, ARC funding has produced award winning research. Only last week Professor Ruth Bishop received the Florey Medal for her 1973 discovery of rotavirus; and Professor Terry Speed received the 2013 Prime Minister's Prize for Science," he added