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The Adelaide University has today unveiled a bold new five-year research strategy that positions defence and national security as a core research priority, alongside four other nation-critical domains.
Backed by over $700 million in annual research investment and funding support backed by $500 million per annum of combined external research revenue and a $200 million dedicated research fund from the South Australian government, the strategy reinforces the university’s ambition to be a leading contributor to Australia’s strategic resilience and innovation capability.
A newly formed institution, a merger of the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia, aims to become the most connected university in the country, with a sharp focus on translational research across government, industry and community sectors. Its research and innovation activities are expected to inject $4.7 billion annually into the national economy.
A cornerstone of the strategy is the university’s Defence and National Security Signature Research Theme (SRT), which will build sovereign research capacity in areas such as cyber security, autonomous systems, advanced sensors and defence-related AI. The program will support Australia’s broader strategic objectives, including those under AUKUS Pillar II and the National Defence Strategy.
“Through this strategy, Adelaide University will power for-purpose research to drive national capability, support jobs growth and enhance Australia’s global standing,” said Professor Anton Middelberg FTSE, deputy vice-chancellor (research and innovation). “We are thinking deeply about the nation’s most pressing challenges – and security, resilience and defence are central among them.”
Supporting this vision is the $60 million Australian Defence Technologies Academy (ADTA) operated by the University of Adelaide and headquartered at Lot Fourteen, South Australia’s premier innovation precinct.
The ADTA will host a defence-focused PhD cohort, offering project-based scholarships linked directly to government and industry needs.
The broader strategy is underpinned by:
- Five SSRTs: Defence and national security; sustainable green transition; food, agriculture and wine; personal and societal health; and creative and cultural.
- A $200 million research fund from the South Australian government.
- An additional $50 million accelerator fund to rapidly support high-potential projects aligned with national priorities.
The establishment of ReAL (Research-engaged Action Laboratories) Innovation, a network of physical and virtual spaces will bring researchers, industry and the community together to drive co-designed research outcomes.
Adelaide University also leads nationally in Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) activity, with more than $60 million in CRC income from 2019–23 outperforming every other Australian university.
The institution recently secured more than $20 million in federal funding under the latest national grant programs to accelerate economic and sovereign capability outcomes.
In parallel, the university has launched its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Strategy, which will embed First Nations knowledge and perspectives into national research efforts, including in defence-relevant fields such as environmental security, data sovereignty and land-based systems.
As Australia faces rising geostrategic pressures and the need for a technologically advanced and resilient industrial base, Adelaide University is placing itself at the heart of the nation’s future capability not only in defence but in securing a more prosperous and secure Australia.
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