Monash U is awarded $17m from Spring Street’s development fund

The  money is for capex and “research capabilities” including in drug research and microscopy.

They are the fourth round of grants to Monash U from the Victorian Government’s Higher Education State Investment Fund bringing its share to $72m.

The ten* universities in the state have all shared in the $350m fund, which emphasises tech, and (way less) community services.

It was created during the uncertainty of the early pandemic to support universities.

In the overall research funding scheme of things it’s not an especially big deal – Monash U, for example, receives around $200m in federal government research block grants alone. Monash U is also part of a medicine manufacturing project that picked up $23m in federal funding, which did not generate much attention when announced on Monday. This is what the feds are supposed to fund, while state government investment is a stand-out, praised by VCs.

As La Trobe U VC John Dewar said in 2020, he was “deeply grateful to the Victorian government for acknowledging the pivotal role universities play in assisting economic recovery; in educating and re-skilling the workforce and in conducting life-changing research for which we are globally recognised,” (CMM May 20 2020).

* Can’t get to ten? The one you might have missed is the University of Divinity, which has $500 000 for “small scale capital works at its Box Hill campus.