The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard and Minister for Innovation, Senator Kim Carr today announced the opening the 2009 round of the Rudd Government's major higher education infrastructure investment fund.
The Education Investment Fund (EIF), announced in the recent Budget, is an $11 billion fund that will fuel strategic investment in Australia's universities, vocational education institutions and major research institutes.
The EIF expands and broadens the Higher Education Endowment Fund (HEEF).
The 2009 funding round will focus on higher education institutions with $304 million available for new research facilities or capital expenditure in Australia's universities. Universities have been gearing up for this funding round expected under the HEEF and now the Rudd Government is following through on this as it transitions from the old fund to the expanded EIF.
Guidelines for this funding round have been developed by an Advisory Board led by Mr Philip Clark AM. Mr Clark has been consulting widely in the higher education sector over the past months to shape this round of funding and he will be advising the Government on the full development of the EIF.
The first EIF funding round, embracing the full scope of university, vocational education and major research activity will be conducted in 2009.
Minister Gillard and Minister Carr encouraged Australian universities to develop innovative projects for consideration in the round.
Higher education institutions are encouraged to submit expressions of interest for project funding, outlining strategic plans for infrastructure improvement to enhance their teaching, learning, research and/or research training capacity.
Expressions of Interest for funding close at 5 pm (AEST) on 14 August 2008. These submissions will be considered, and those short listed will be invited to submit full applications. Successful projects will then be announced in July 2009.