Since 1945, three-quarters of all global economic growth has been driven by technological advances. Since 1990, 90% of that advance has been rooted in fundamental science, , president of Arizona State University.
Corporate leaders in the United States understood this decades ago when they urged Congress to back 鈥樷�� for research 鈥� because this type of investment creates openings for breakthrough applications.
Think of the building blocks of our modern economy 鈥� wifi, smartphones, advanced cancer therapies, drought-tolerant crops and satellite navigation. These began as basic research, often with no obvious immediate application. Then they became the platforms for whole new industries.
But in Australia, we still treat research funding as a discretionary extra, subject to the ebb and flow of political expediency and annual budgets. Despite , reviews and , our investment in knowledge creation and its application has nose-dived.
Today, the 精东视频 released a landmark report that systematically measures our science capability against future needs for the first time.
The findings are blunt. We have gaps 鈥� in workforce, infrastructure and coordination 鈥� that will cripple our ability to secure a bright future for the next generation, unless we act now.
The new report maps Australia鈥檚 scientific capability and shortfalls across three major areas.
Over the next decade, Australia is facing a demographic change with an ageing population, a decreasing fertility rate, and increasing growth in urban and regional cities.
The second national challenge is technological transformation. In most areas of life, we鈥檙e experiencing rapid technological changes. This includes advances in artificial intelligence (AI) that are already .
The third challenge is climate change, decarbonisation and environment. It鈥檚 imperative for Australia to transition to and become resilient against the impacts of climate change.
What do we need to have in place for Australia to meet these challenges by 2035? Two key factors are science literacy and education, and national resilience. In a world of fractured geopolitics and technological competition, the countries that will thrive are those that can generate and apply knowledge for their own needs, in their own context.
The report has found eight key science areas that will be most in demand by 2035: agricultural science, AI, biotechnology, climate science, data science, epidemiology, geoscience and materials science.
For each of these, the report contains a full dashboard that shows gaps in capabilities 鈥� from education to workforce needs, research and development spending, publications and more.
Since 2008, Australia鈥檚 spending on research and development as a proportion of gross domestic product has fallen so far behind the OECD average, it would take an extra A$28 billion a year just to reach parity.
In his , then Prime Minister Bob Hawke issued a warning: being the lucky country was not enough, we had to become a clever country, too.
Today, 35 years on, Hawke鈥檚 vision of the clever country remains just that 鈥� a vision. Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull tried to rekindle the impetus in 2015 with 鈥樷��. However, this year Treasurer Jim Chalmers 鈥渘ot dynamic or innovative enough鈥�.
The vast majority of global climate and earth system models have been developed in the northern hemisphere, and we need more work to as well as the Southern Ocean.
Our AI capacity is hostage to developments offshore. We import more than we invent in biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and clean energy.
These are not merely academic concerns 鈥� they are constraints on our sovereignty, resilience and competitiveness.
But scientific capability is not something you can simply conjure up on a whim. You need a 鈥榬eservoir of talent鈥�, infrastructure and knowledge that takes decades to build.
Developing a climate scientist, a quantum physicist, or a vaccine researcher takes long-term investment in education, facilities and research programs. Abandoning or under-funding these pipelines for even a few years creates gaps. Knowledge can鈥檛 just flow when the tap is turned on if the reservoir is dry.
Today鈥檚 report shows the current pipeline and study choices of students don鈥檛 match the needs of Australia鈥檚 future workforce.
For example, in 2023 only 25.2% of students with a Year 12 qualification studied mathematics to at least intermediate level. Yet it鈥檚 a fundamental science discipline for AI.
Similarly, our economy relies heavily on resources and critical minerals, yet Australia isn鈥檛 training enough geoscientists.
It鈥檚 time for a whole-of-government science strategy, embedded in economic, education, defence and industry policy. The government should use the evidence in this report to address capability gaps and direct resources strategically to better position Australia for the next ten years and beyond.
Thirty-five years after Hawke鈥檚 challenge, it鈥檚 never been clearer: if we don鈥檛 act now, our luck will run out.
This piece by Professor Chennupati Jagadish, President of the 精东视频, was first published in .
© 2025 精东视频
