Griffith’s previous Research and Innovation Plan carried the key message: “research and research training of the highest quality is an integral part of the character of all top universities, and Griffith is committed to supporting staff, students and stakeholders in achieving that outcome for the benefit of the communities we serve.”
That commitment to high quality research and societal impact has served Griffith well, delivering on its aspiration for Griffith to fit the profile of a ‘top 300’ research university in all aspects by 2020. Our unwavering commitment to quality also guided Griffith through a decade of rapid growth to become one of Australia’s leading research universities.
Research universities are seldom lacking in ambition and Griffith’s Strategic Plan 2020-2025 sets a lofty target to become a ‘top 200’ Australian research-intensive university by 2025 and to have 10 disciplines ranked in the top 100, including at least two in each academic group. Success for Griffith in 2025 will therefore require a different approach than before. Enhancement of academic quality and impact will become more central to our improvement than growth.
This Plan is designed to support that ambition by supporting our researchers and research trainees to strive for greater heights in academic excellence, innovation and the delivery of impact. We will create an environment where nothing less than first-class research is expected and where people at all career stages can build research careers and thrive equally well as they would anywhere.
Researchers cannot succeed without critical support structures and so commensurate attention is given to strengthening the provision of research infrastructure and platforms and streamlining processes and facilitating career development to enable our emerging and leading researchers to succeed.
Above all else this Plan seeks to position Griffith as a university of influence and impact. For the life of this Plan Griffith will give equal standing and prominence to impact as it does to academic excellence.
But we live in challenging times with technological, societal and financial disruption accelerated by a one-in-100 year pandemic placing universities everywhere under enormous pressure with limited options at their disposal. There is likely to be some re-ordering of the national and global research landscape and this will open opportunities for universities with clarity of vision and a confident sense of purpose that can quickly adapt to the new research landscape. We must be agile and responsive to emerging opportunities.
Combining excellence in research and research training with the delivery of major impact is part of the new reality facing Griffith and this means that we will need to build on foundations of the past to pursue imaginative new directions.
This Plan positions Griffith for the challenges that lie ahead.
Professor Lee Smith
Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research)
Professor Lee Smith
Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) and Head, Gold Coast Campus