ResearchMaster is delighted to announce that ResearchMaster Enterprise (RME) RME7.11 has been released. This new version incorporates a range of updates and improvements driven both by our product roadmap and by feedback the RM team has received from our users.

Speaking internationally, Australian universities tend to punch above their weight when it comes to research outputs: they consistently rank highly in OECD per capita outputs, above even other strongly performing systems across Europe and North America.

Despite their aim of offering easy comparison to prospective students, rankings are heavily weighted towards measuring research reputation rather than student experience or teaching quality.

ResearchMaster was the very first corporate organisation to enter into a formal partnership with ACGR, and we’re proud to have been supporting leadership in graduate research ever since.

We at ResearchMaster certainly use technology to help streamline the processes that are at the core of the competitive grants process, like smart costing and pricing tools and automatically filling e-forms. But the role of technology in knowledge work remains contested. Criticisms range from fears that AI will allow lazy shirkers to offload their work onto technology with nobody the wiser, to the evergreen anxiety that we will all soon be replaced by robots.

The recent release of the Australian Universities Accord Final Report has created a mix of consternation and cautious optimism among industry commentators. While the very welcome refrain of ‘more funding!’ echoes through the report like a drum beat, other elements, like the proposed Higher Education Futures Fund, have attracted criticism from universities.

The world moves forward, understanding improves, and research needs become ever more sophisticated. As research administrators and researchers alike have pointed out for years, the needs of the sector evolve as research sophistication increases. Bluntly put, more sophistication demands more funds. But it’s not just the rising costs of facilities, staff and materials, or the…

Peer review has a long history. We look at its past and present, and contemplate its future. Peer review is a cornerstone of academic publishing. It’s supposed to ensure that published research is of a high standard by drawing on the knowledge of multiple experts in a field to make sure that the new information…

Many of us undoubtedly breathed a sigh of relief when the halt on Australia’s national research quality valuations, Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) and the Engagement and Impact (EI), was announced. But there’s a broader awareness that with recommendations arriving from the Australian Universities Accord committee by the end of 2023, this is less…

The upgrade to RME 7 is a big step for the Go8 university. The university’s research systems team have collaborated extensively with ResearchMaster to ensure a smooth roll-out across their systems. The upgraded system offers individual researchers an improved experience in applying for funding and ethics clearance, and better visibility over their own activities. It…

The research landscape in Australia is complex. Funding is labyrinthine, and even industry professionals struggle to stay abreast of every possible rule change, roll-out, new initiative or reporting requirement. In this industry, recent years have seen abrupt or strange changes to funding rules, new demands on research administration, and unexpected changes to expected reporting requirements.…

The award recognises those who have made outstanding contributions to their area of science with a prestigious honour and $250,000 in cash.

A ranking of the top 1000 women in science has been released. Australia hosts 36 of them.

Health and medical research is one area in which Australia excels. We look at three recently published studies focusing on health and medical research in Australia.

For the first time the Student Experience Survey has undertaken to measure perceptions of freedom of expression on campus, but it seems students themselves are broadly more concerned with the quality of their education.

Conditions in traditional academic roles drive researchers to seek alternative ways to conduct research.

The ResearchMaster team is delighted to announce a range of enhancements now available in the ResearchMaster Enterprise (RME) RME7.9.0 release.

The competitive grants landscape is fraught for Australian researchers. We’ve had a look at notes and advice from across the internet—from government information and ARC reports to university information and blogs on the topic.

After a tumultuous few years, independent review of the ARC is welcomed as diverse stakeholders recognise weaknesses in its current processes.

Coverage of Australia’s relatively poor track record for research commercialisation focuses on research sector obstacles, but industry also plays a role.

The link between the management of chronic illness and crops we consume as staple foods is an exciting area of interest for these early career Australian researchers.

Australia is home to some of the best researchers in the world, but rarely do we hear about their work in mainstream news. Here’s three fascinating discoveries from recent years.

Whether university rankings are valuable information or rubbish depends on what ranking, what it measures, and how you use it.

Today we accept university rankings as business as usual, but the practice is newer than you might think. Today we accept higher education rankings as a global phenomenon: institutions know they’re coming, some might “massage” their data, ranking drops are fretted over, ranking rises crowed from the rooftops—and then the familiar pattern repeats for the next cycle.

Universities now enjoy a reputation as vehicles for equality and social mobility. But they certainly didn’t start out that way. So how did they arrive there?

Current funding policy has been characterised as disincentivising the study of HASS disciplines in Australia, but they actually offer a lot to graduates and to society.

The evolution of technology operates in synergy with higher education and research: the more equal our technology to the challenges of cheap and fast communication, the farther our reach and the more we get to learn from each other. 

Academic supervision is a vital underpinning of research institutions, but recognition is not always concomitant with the influence of the role. Keeping on top of training and development is more important than we think.

ERA may be an imperfect framework but as proving value attains more eminence by the day, research evaluation becomes critical to universities’ interests.

The burdens of student support services would appear to position academic staff wellness in opposition to student wellness, but the research suggests they are interdependent

It’s hard to say how much a research project is really going to cost, but there are some inelastic expenses that can be counted on and factored in automatically to improve the accuracy and reliability of your costings.

Australia’s research is one of our great strengths. But the challenges of managing our research are many and complex.

Australia is not typically considered a technology giant. When we think of technology innovation, we probably think about Silicon Valley, modern social media, cryptocurrencies and self-driving cars.

We’ve heard that the government’s efforts to improve research commercialisation seek to create cultural changes in Australian research. That might not be such a bad thing.

The covid-19 pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in health research translation, but it is far from the first time we’ve had problems with medical research and misinformation.

PhD students are no strangers to high-stress, low-support work environments. The pandemic has exacerbated existing pressures.

Australia celebrates a robust history of medical research and development. Here are five lesser-known inventions that have contributed to the global good.

The pandemic has exposed a weakness in our research funding model in Australia. Instead of switching our overreliance from one source of funding to another, we must diversify to promote stability and resilience.

Despite its challenges, the pandemic represents an exciting time for technology in higher education. It has accelerated the uptake of digital media and AI among other new innovations.

Research underpins not just our economic development but also our community development. Australian research achievements should be celebrated, not forgotten, even as we seek answers to critical questions about funding.

The covid-19 pandemic changed research, from how we approach collaborations to how we publish and disseminate new knowledge. Here’s some of what we learnt.

Universities are set up to optimise funding from student enrolments, not to prioritise research commercialisation. Scaling up research commercialisation will require nuanced policy and a cultural shift.

Database Consultants Australia (DCA) is pleased to announce we have been awarded ISO 27001 certification, the international standard that describes best practices for an ISMS (Information Security Management System). This builds on our long-established PCI-DSS certification, expanding the depth and breadth of our security practices.

Bite-sized certifications provide accessible up-skilling to Australian workers and lower risk for employers.

Superficially small, ground-level changes can improve the adaptability of a whole organisation. For universities, cultural change, supporting staff and co-workers, and ensuring high-quality professional communication can make all the difference.

Occupational stress among academic staff is at an all-time high, but technology can help alleviate the burden.

Universities must learn to fully embrace being online, the opportunities afforded by research commercialisation, and administrative flexibility to succeed.

The upgrade from RME5 to RME7 is a significant change and represents a major improvement to the university’s research management administration.

ResearchMaster is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael McCallum as the organisation’s Chief Executive Officer.

The Research Team at Charles Sturt University have successfully implemented a major upgrade to ResearchMaster Enterprise Version 7.6 (RME).

Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Bill 2020  is the latest piece of legislation concerning foreign interference and national security at a federal level. It requires that states, territories, local governments and public universities notify the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of their foreign arrangements, with the aim of ensuring that such arrangements do not adversely affect Australia’s foreign relations and are consistent with Australia’s foreign policy.

The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) has continued the trend of Queensland universities successfully upgrading to ResearchMaster Enterprise Version 7.6 (RME). 

Victoria University (VU) recently upgraded to ResearchMaster Enterprise Version 7.  Hear from the team of both the Research Services and the Graduate Research Office as they share part of their journey

Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) in New Zealand have successfully completed a major upgrade of ResearchMaster, recently going live with ResearchMaster Enterprise version 7 (RME7) across multiple functionality areas.

Nominations for the 2021 ResearchMaster Award for Excellence in Research Management are now open. 

Leading the upgrade of a university enterprise solution can seem like a monumental task when you also have your day job to contend with, how did you find the experience?

The Australian Council of Graduate Research (ACGR) has announced the winners of the 2021 ACGR Awards for Excellence in Graduate Research Education and celebrated some of the inspiring work that is happening in Australian universities.

The Research Services and Graduate Research team at Victoria University have successfully implemented a major upgrade of ResearchMaster Enterprise latest iteration RME7

The ResearchMaster team is pleased to announce a wealth of new functionality and enhancements now available in the ResearchMaster Enterprise (RME) RME7.6 Release

Congratulations to Sharon Athanasios and Lorraine Denny who have been awarded the 2020 ResearchMaster Award for Excellence in Research Management.

The ACU Candidature Services team are celebrating after successfully upgrading to the latest iteration of ResearchMaster’s research administration solution, RME7.

ResearchMaster recently hosted an inaugural HDR Forum online, enabling its community of users to share their knowledge and experience and hear from the solution provider and guest speakers across four different sessions. 

Curtin University has announced ResearchMaster as their chosen supplier to deliver its Research Management Solution

DCA has achieved PCI-DSS certification for the 8th consecutive year. Our accreditation includes Service Provider at the highest level (Level 1) as well as Merchant accreditation.

Amidst the challenges and concerns it is important to continue to recognise and reward the dedication and excellence that is at the foundation of university research and teaching.

Congratulations to Wayne Harris from University of Tasmania! An overwhelming number of high calibre applications were received from a diverse range of postgraduate researchers across Australia and New Zealand.

More Australians are attaining higher degrees than ever before, but diverse pressures are driving them away from traditional university roles and instead toward industry and business.

Increasingly, technology is stepping in to help balance the burden of administration for Australian researchers and the teams that support them. But how do you get the most out of a research management solution?

CQUniversity (CQU) and University of Technology Sydney (UTS) are the latest higher education institutions to benefit from the ResearchMaster Enterprise state of the art technology.

In September, the ResearchMaster team journeyed to Darwin to take part in the annual conference of the Australasian Research Management Society (ARMS). Across the three-day conference, over 500 delegates descended upon the Darwin convention Centre.