The Group of Eight (Go8), Australia’s leading research-intensive universities, with seven of its eight members ranked in the world’s top 100 universities, welcomes a specialised visa program which will attract world leaders in vital fields to make their home, and work far more easily, in Australia.
“This is a much advocated for, important decision from the Morrison Government,” said Vicki Thomson Go8 Chief Executive.
“It is refreshing and rewarding to have our Government recognise, that the economy and the community will benefit greatly from having world experts live with us and assist us. Currently Australia is mostly off-limits for them, because of the severe constraints of the current visa system,” she said.
Ms Thomson said vital discoveries in areas such as machine learning, artificial intelligence and quantum engineering are driving a range of new jobs and new industries that are already shaping economies around the world. “While Australia is home to some of the world’s leading researchers in these fields – many of whom work within a Go8 university – the reality is that our skill base is too small to take full advantage of these opportunities,” she said.
“We need more specialised experts who can help us foster the development of Australian talent, to ensure that we remain and grow our prosperous society, and with a diverse range of career opportunities. The fastest way to do this, is to welcome more of these highly skilled people to Australia.
“This is, quite simply, a win for everyone, and the Go8 looks forward to now continuing to work with Government on this program which will deliver productivity growth.
