Australia-China Science and Research Fund

Group Missions

Group missions are visits by Australian groups to China or Chinese groups to Australia to achieve specific purposes related to research and research-driven innovation. Group missions include at least two personnel from one or more organisations.

Group mission activities may include:

Early and mid-career researcher exchange programs with Chinese partner/s
Research-related workshops and symposia with Chinese partner/s
Research-related visits and secondments of Australian researchers to China (including cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional missions)
Research-industry missions to China

The Australian Government will contribute a maximum of AUD$45,000 funding for each group mission. Australian Government funding will be applied primarily for Australian out-bound missions.

Following government to government consultations between Australia and China in August 2011, two established activities - an annual exchange program for young researchers and an annual academies symposium - will also be supported through this component of the Fund.

Group mission applications

Applications for the 2012-13 Group Mission funding round opened on 3 July 2012 and closed on 14 September 2012.

Group Mission applications which have been received are being assessed.

Group missions supported in the 2011-12 funding round

Australian Eligible Research Organisation	Lead Chinese partner	Other partners	Project title	Funding (GST excl.)
NICTA	Peking University	Chinese Academy of Sciences (Institute of Software)	Effectively and efficiently building trustworthy systems	$43,700
The University of Sydney	Tsinghua University	-	Collaboration with Tsinghua University on electrostatic levitation and exploration of related industry opportunities	$38,400
The University of Sydney	Tsinghua University	-	Development of a collaborative relationship between the University of Sydney and Tsinghua University in the field of quantum science to enhance Australia's research and industrial partnerships	$37,000
University of Western Sydney	Peking University	Shanghai Mental Health Center	Partnership with Peking University Institute of Mental Health and Shanghai Mental Health Center on mitigating the mental health consequences of environmental disasters	$45,000
Macquarie University	Beijing Language and Culture University	University of Western Sydney, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Institute of Psychology), No. 2 Hospital of Baoding, Special Educational School of Haidian District Beijing, Special Education College of Beijing Union University, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University Beijing	Development of strategic links between Macquarie University, Beijing Language and Culture University and other project partners on language acquisition and childhood language disorders	$13,455
The University of Western Australia	Dalian University of Technology	Hohai University	Strengthening collaboration with Dalian University of Technology and Hohai University on geotechnical challenges in oil and gas extraction from shallow to deep waters and exploration of related industry opportunities	$37,800
The University of Western Australia	Sun Yat-sen University	-	Strengthening collaboration with Sun Yat-sen University on novel chemical drug development against H. pylori infection	$29,500
University of Western Sydney	Institute for Medicinal Plant Development	NSW Department of Trade and Investment	Strengthening Australia-China cooperation in research on plants for use in traditional Chinese medicine	$20,000
Macquarie University	Fudan University	University of New South Wales, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Donghua University, Vanda Group, Centrin Data System, University of California Santa Barbara	Building strong university-industry partnerships between Australia and China in service and cloud computing and business process management	$23,900
University of the Sunshine Coast	China Eucalypt Research Centre	Queensland Department of Employment Economic Development and Innovation, CSIRO, Guangxi Forest Research Institute	Collaboration with the China Eucalypt Research Centre on disease resistance screening to protect trees from eucalyptus rust and other pathogens	$28,010
University of South Australia	Renmin University of China	China Glory Society	Collaboration with Renmin University to advance rural Australia and China community enterprise development through connected infrastructure systems	$44,400
Southern Cross University	Beijing University of Technology	Chinese Ministry of Health, Zhongtian Health Information Institute Beijing, Hutao Information Technology Co, Haidian Hospital Beijing, Wuqing Chinese Medicine Hospital Tianjin	Collaboration with Beijing University of Technology in e-health research	$45,000
University of the Sunshine Coast	Beijing Genomics Institute	University of Melbourne, University of Queensland	Collaboration with the Beijing Genomics Institute to strengthen genomics research capacity	$45,000
University of Newcastle	Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences	Nanjing Agricultural University, CSIRO Plant Industry, University of Adelaide	Collaboration to strengthen the research capabilities of the Australia-China Research Centre for Crop Improvement	$40,000
Southern Cross University	Tianjin University of Sport	Chinese Academy of Sciences (Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography)	Collaboration with Tianjin University of Sport and partners to promote animal welfare and performance in the race horse industry	$32,120
Queensland University of Technology	Beijing Normal University	-	Enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics [STEM] education through collaborative research partnerships in the Asia Pacific region	$43,383
University of Adelaide	Shandong University	Chinese National Institute for Communicable Diseases Control and Prevention, SA Department of Health, Flinders University, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Royal District Nursing Service Australia	Collaboration with Shandong University and others to build resilience to health impacts due to climate change/extreme heat among the elderly community	$45,000
University of Newcastle	Xiamen University	Lanzhou University	Collaboration with Xiamen University on exploring chemical compounds using computer assisted mathematics, combinatorics and graph theory	$35,000
James Cook University	Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (Chinese Academy of Sciences)	Griffith University, Hunan Agricultural University, ASEM Water Resources Research and Development Center China	Strategic collaboration with the Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and other collaborators on new models for flood forecasting and water management	$45,000
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology	Beijing General Institute of Mining and Metallurgy	-	Collaboration with Beijing General Institute of Mining and Metallurgy on mineral processing technologies	$45,000
Griffith University	Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences (Chinese Academy of Sciences)	Guangdong Institute of Eco-Environment and Soil Science	Collaboration with Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences in the area of biological mechanisms of soil carbon and nitrogen cycling	$42,500
Australian National University	Jiangnan University	-	Collaboration with Jiangnan University to establish a laboratory for research into advanced functional materials	$40,000
Griffith University	Sun Yat-sen University	James Cook University	Collaboration with Sun Yat-sen University in the field of cancer stem cell research	$44,700
Swinburne University of Technology	University of Science and Technology of China	Australian National University, University of South Australia	Collaboration with the University of Science and Technology of China to develop smart interfaces	$44,800
Queensland University of Technology	Beijing Jiaotong University	China Software Industry Association	Collaboration with Beijing Jiaotong University to build Australia-China research-industry collaboration in service and process innovation	$45,000
University of Technology, Sydney	Peking University	Tsinghua University	Collaboration with Peking University in the field of requirements engineering for IT services	$30,000
Swinburne University of Technology	Tsinghua University	Optical Memory National Engineering Research Center, Anwell Precision Ltd, Monash University, Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd	Collaboration with Tsinghua University and industrial partners to develop green photonics for a sustainable future	$45,000
Edith Cowan University	Tianjin Normal University	RMIT University, La Trobe University, Tianjin Medical University, Nankai University	Collaboration with Tianjin Normal University on research methodologies relating to student exchanges	$25,000
Charles Sturt University	University of Shanghai for Science and Technology	University of Southern Queensland, Fudan University, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Security Institute of Information Engineering)	Bilateral collaboration with the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology in the field of forensic computing	$11,100
Charles Sturt University	Harbin Institute of Technology	Harbin Medical University, University of New England	Collaboration with Harbin Institute of Technology in the field of computer-enhanced surgical systems	$38,000
CSIRO	Chinese Academy of Sciences	China Clean Energy Research Institute, Huaneng Energy, AustCham Beijing, PetroChina Corporation, Nuctech Company Ltd, Shanghai Nanotechnology Promotion Centre, Shanghai Science & Technology Commission, Shanghai Academy of Science & Technology, Shanghai Synchrotron, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Satellite Surveying and Mapping Application Centre, State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China Agricultural University	CSIRO science, innovation and trade group mission to the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other Chinese research and industry organisations	$45,000
CSIRO	Wenzhou Medical College	-	Establishment of long term collaboration in ophthalmic biomaterials with Wenzhou Medical College to develop drug delivery methods and tissue-engineered constructs to treat ocular disease	$27,500
University of Southern Queensland	Nanjing University	-	Collaboration with Nanjing University on research partnerships in climate science, agricultural systems and sustainable water resources	$45,000
University of Southern Queensland	Zhejiang University	-	Collaboration with Zhejiang University on future materials and composites	$40,000

Project reporting templates

Project reports provide an opportunity for grant recipients to highlight project achievements and are an essential part of the monitoring and evaluation process of the Australia China Science and Research Fund.

All successful recipient organisations funded under the ACSRF Group Missions are required to report on the progress and completion of their project and detail the acquittal of grant funds in accordance with their funding agreement. Templates to assist in meeting reporting requirements are listed below.

Certified Statement of Income and Expenditure Template [PDF 15KB] [DOC 54KB]
Project Report Template [PDF 22KB] [DOC 56KB]
Final Report Template [PDF 20KB] [DOC 52KB]

Please refer to the ACSRF Group Missions Program Guidelines for further information.

Submitting Reports

All project reports and financial statements must be submitted electronically to: acsrf@innovation.gov.au.

Australia-China Young Researchers Exchange Program

The Australian and Chinese Governments jointly fund a Young Researchers Exchange Program for early and mid-career researchers. This program builds on the earlier Australia-China Young Scientists Exchange Program which ran from 2006 to 2011. In 2012 the program will support exchanges of up to 16 Chinese participants and up to 16 Australian participants. Australian involvement is supported through the Australia-China Science and Research Fund.

The program aims to facilitate future long term science and research collaboration between Australia and China, by bringing together future science leaders from both countries to foster long term relationships. It also aims to directly assist early and mid-career Australian and Chinese researchers in developing their expertise in international collaboration, by increasing their understanding of the cultures, and particularly the science and research practices and systems, of the two countries.

Further information on the program is available from the Group of Eight website.

9th Annual Australia-China Symposium on healthy ageing

A symposium on Healthy Aging: New approaches from genomics, stem cells and smart technologies was held on 22-24 July 2012 at the Shine Dome in Canberra.
This event was supported by the department through the Australia China Science and Research Fund.

Hosted by the Australian Academy of Sciences and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, the three day event brought leading Australian and Chinese scientists together to discuss problems associated with aging populations.

Topics covered include:

the burden of disease and new strategies
infectious diseases
stem cells and regenerative medicine
genomics and personalised medicine
medical bionics and nanotechnology

The Chinese delegation was led by Professor Chunli Bai, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

A overview of the Symposium and a copy of the program can be found on the Australian Academy of Science website.