Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong urged universities to seek greater research cooperation with partners outside the United States following the Trump administration threat to the sector.
At least seven Australian universities faced a potential reduction in funding after receiving long questionnaires from the United States government asking how their projects aligned themselves with the internal and foreign policy of President Donald Trump. Industry Group Universities Australia said that the change could affect up to $ 600 million ($ 377 million) in research funding.
Wong said that the Australian government encouraged businesses to expand their business markets in response to world disturbances, the education industry was to follow suit.
“We have to recognize that we live in a different world,” she told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “We will continue to plead in favor of the United States that collaborative research benefits the two countries, but I would say by ensuring us to diversify our questions of engagement in all our economic sectors.”
Australia, one of the oldest Washington allies, who also manages a trade deficit with the United States, is preparing for the next series of prices that should be unveiled by the Trump administration within 24 hours. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he will not negotiate On a series of concerns raised by the US trade representative in a report published this week.
Luke Sheehy, chief executive officer of Australia Universities, said last week at the ABC that Monash University and Sydney University were one of people exposed to potential American financing reductions.
“It is really alarming that the closest ally in Australia, someone who finances more than half a billion dollars of research in the Australian system in search of Australian expertise for the benefit of the two countries, puts all this in danger,” he said.
This story was initially presented on Fortune.com
