Kylie Brass posted on April 14, 2009 19:32
Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, has announced Australian Government funding of $1 million to support international research engagement for the humanities, arts and social sciences.
The funding will be offered through the International Science Linkages (ISL) programme which aims to facilitate and support research cooperation between Australian researchers and leading counterparts from overseas. The idea is to forge new strategic research relationships with counterparts abroad, and to strengthen existing alliances; and to promote Australian access to leading edge research groups and facilities abroad.
The Humanities and Arts component of the ISL programme will provide targeted support for scholarly activities within the humanities and creative arts, using the networks and expertise of the Australian Academy of the Humanities (AAH). The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is administering a similar programme for the social sciences. These new schemes augment existing activities of the two scientific academies.
The Minister has been clear that the ‘S’ in ISL is now to be interpreted in the broadest, Latinate sense: humanities and arts scholarship will be supported in their own right, and need not include any component from the physical or natural sciences, although interdisciplinary collaborations are always welcome.
Throughout 2009, The AAH will be seeking input from Australian humanities and arts scholars to help shape a funding programme for activities in academic year 2010. The sorts of activities currently funded under the ISL programme include exchanges, fellowships, workshops, and international conferences.
We are interested in finding out more about past, current and potential collaborative research between Australian humanities and arts scholars and colleagues abroad, with a view to identifying the specific funded activities that would best support collaborations within the humanities and arts.
After analysing responses from the academic humanities and arts community, the Academy will fund supporting activities through a suite of international collaborative grant programmes. The application and selection round will take place during the second half of 2009, for activities taking place in calendar year 2010.
More information on the ISL programme is available on the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research’s website.