The Australian Government's Innovation Report

Taking a closer look at stem cells
A photo exhibition featuring stem cells in their various
forms toured Australia in late 2005 and early 2006 to
help raise awareness and to inform the community about
research in this field.
The exhibition displayed the best entries to a photography
competition that was open to scientists nationally and
was sponsored by the Australian Stem Cell Centre. The
exhibition travelled to major centres around Australia,
finishing at Parliament House in Canberra.
The exhibition highlighted the extraordinary work
underway in Australia to unlock the potential of stem cell
science and regenerative medicine.
Neuronal Nebula by Aaron Robinson. Photo credit: ASCC.
Each photograph was accompanied by a short explanation
to inform people about key aspects of the image and its
relevance to science and potentially to health care, such as
the Neuronal Nebula by Aaron Robinson. This celestiallike
image showed the development of stem cells along
the ectodermal pathway.
World Class Centres of Excellence – ICT: National ICT Australia
The National Information and Communications Technology Australia (NICTA) Centre of Excellence was
established in October 2002 as the information and communications technology cornerstone of Backing Australia’s
Ability. With a strong international research focus, its mission is to build a global R&D presence for Australia.
Australian Government funding of $129.5 million was allocated for NICTA’s first five years of operation to
2005-06. An additional $251 million was provided to cover funding over five years to 30 June 2011 to:
• develop first-class Information and Communications Technology (ICT) research capabilities in existing
and emerging fields;
• increase the availability of high quality ICT research skills by providing post graduate training and attracting
ICT researchers from overseas;
• exploit the commercial potential of research outputs; and
• become a catalyst for the development of networks and clusters in ICT industry activity.
NICTA completed its third full year of operation in December 2005 having grown to 364 staff, of which 196
were researchers, with a further 77 research support staff (engineers, programmers and assistants). Some 88
researchers are seconded from various tertiary institutions with the main contributors being the University of
New South Wales, the Australian National University and the University of Melbourne. At 31 December 2005,
NICTA was undertaking 50 projects across 16 programmes and was providing support and training to 209
PhD research students. During the year, 153 international researchers visited NICTA while NICTA staff made
161 research visits to international institutions.
During its early days, NICTA’s three research laboratories were established in Kensington and the Australian
Technology Park (both in Sydney) and Canberra. In 2004, NICTA signed agreements with the Victorian and
Queensland governments and four major universities to establish research nodes in Melbourne and Brisbane,
which are now in operation. NICTA will continue to grow its staffing and research programmes through
2006-07 across its five laboratories until it reaches its full scale of operations in 2007.
76 Backing Australia’s Ability