Back in 2016 the Australian Council of Learned Academies’ review of the research training system  recommended closer links between higher degree researchers and industry, which officialdom has translated into more reporting.

The feds will require a report on the “end-user engagement” of higher degree research, including funding by an end-user, formal training on industry engagement, and “other commercialisation and engagement activities.” Officials are in no rush to receive the data with a staged introduction, but it does seem the government wants something to show critics, and remind universities, that education is industry-friendly.