Significant strengths
The University of Adelaide has a major impact on educational, social, political and economic life in South Australia and beyond.
Innovative and forward-looking, Adelaide has research and teaching strengths in biological sciences, physical sciences, health sciences, engineering, information technology and telecommunications, wine and food, environmental sciences and social sciences.
The university is committed to producing graduates recognised worldwide for their creativity, knowledge and skills. It offers a broad range of courses and outstanding opportunities for research in an environment that encourages and values personal interaction with teaching staff.
There are four campuses: North Terrace, Waite, Roseworthy (north of Adelaide) and the Adelaide University Research Park (Thebarton campus). The university also manages the landmark National Wine Centre of Australia, which is a short walk from North Terrace.
There are five faculties: engineering, computer and mathematical sciences; health sciences; humanities and social sciences; the professions; and sciences.
Pioneers and leaders
The University of Adelaide has more than 19,600 students, including over 4,800 international students. With around 2,400 staff, it is one of South Australia’s most important employers.
Among the university’s graduates and staff are leaders in science, medicine, engineering, law and the social sciences. It numbers 101 Rhodes Scholars and three Nobel Laureates among its graduates – the most of any university in Australia. These Nobel Prize winners include Lord Howard Florey, who pioneered the application and manufacture of penicillin; physicist Sir Lawrence Bragg, for his work on X-ray crystallography; and Dr Robin Warren for his joint discovery of the role of bacteria in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease. Another two University of Adelaide former staff members – Sir William Bragg, an early Professor of Mathematics, and novelist JM Coetzee – are also Nobel Prize winners.
The University of Adelaide was also one of the first campuses in the world to open its doors to women, some 50 years before Cambridge and Oxford.
Distinguished international alumni include the former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam, and the Chief Minister of Sarawak, YAB Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Haji Dr Abdul Taib Mahmud.
Innovation through partnerships
Known internationally for its research and research training, the University of Adelaide contributes more than $120 million a year to South Australian research and development activity. Its research earnings are consistently the highest per capita of any university in Australia.
The university participates in 14 cooperative research centres, and since 2005 Roseworthy campus has been home to the $81.5 million CRC for an Internationally Competitive Pork Industry. The university leads an NHMRC program attracting more than $10 million for research into a healthy start to life, and also hosts the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics which is developing molecular breeding technologies for the grain industries.
The Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD) has been created to study evolution and environmental change through time, using preserved genetic records in human, animal, plant and sedimentary material. In 2007, the University also established the Research Institute for Climate Change and Sustainability. NHMRC Australia Fellow, Professor James Paton, is also leading the creation of the Centre for Infectious Diseases at the University of Adelaide.
In 2008 the University will begin construction of the $24.8 million NCRIS-supported ‘Plant Accelerator’ on its Waite Campus. The facility will be the only one of its scale and sophistication in the world.
The establishment of DSTO-sponsored chairs in photonics and microwave radar have facilitated the development of new centres of expertise in these fields, helping to reinforce our strong links with the national defence industry.
The University of Adelaide is open for business with government, industry and other research organisations throughout Australia and internationally. The University’s commercial development company, Adelaide Research & Innovation Pty Ltd (ARI) drives this process.
Successful commercial activities include the establishment of Bresagen Ltd, the first biotech start-up company in South Australia, and Repromed, a specialised fertility service using IVF technology. In agriculture, the University’s plant breeding and biotechnology staff are at the leading edge of world research, with more than 50% of Australian barley plantings dedicated to University varieties. The University is also home to Australia’s leading research group in the area of turbulence, energy and combustion.
International links
The University of Adelaide took its first international students more than 60 years ago. Today, such students come from more than 90 countries and make up about 25 per cent of the university’s student population and 40 per cent of total onshore international enrolments for South Australian universities. International students are enrolled in almost every degree program; the most popular are commerce and business, engineering and information technology, although many applications are also received for medicine, dentistry, psychology, life sciences and social sciences. Many students are sponsored by their home governments, international scholarship organisations or AusAID to study at the University of Adelaide.
The university also offers business, commerce and engineering programs offshore in Singapore and has sizeable alumni chapters in seven countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. The largest number of students are from China and Malaysia, with India increasingly markedly. The University has important research and teaching partnerships and student exchange linkages with leading institutions in Asia, as well as with many institutions in Europe, the United Kingdom and North America.
Website: www.adelaide.edu.au
Organisational Structure: www.adelaide.edu.au/departments/
