Australia’s association to Horizon Europe Pillar 2 from January 2027 marks a significant milestone for research and innovation in this country writes RMIT Distinguished Professor Calum Drummond AO, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation and Vice-President.
It will provide our universities, research organisations and industry partners with access to the world’s largest collaborative research and innovation program, with a proposed €175 billion (A$286 billion) budget underpinning it from 2028-2034. It will also create new opportunities to tackle shared global challenges and create lasting societal, environmental and economic impact.
The enthusiasm surrounding this announcement is warranted, but it’s important to acknowledge that access does not guarantee success.
Horizon Europe is arguably the most competitive, prestigious and wealthiest research funding program in the world. Success is rarely determined by the quality or potential of research ideas. Trusted and established networks, robust research support systems, and a proven ability to deliver complex, multinational projects all play their part, as does the need to align with European priorities.
The institutions best positioned to benefit from access are those that have invested time and effort in preparing for association.
At RMIT, that preparation began 13 years ago with the establishment of RMIT Europe in Barcelona. Since then, RMIT has built a deep network of research and innovation partners across the region, enabling our researchers to contribute to major Horizon Europe projects that address some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
To date, RMIT has by far the strongest Horizon Europe funding track record of any Australian university, reflecting more than a decade of investment in partnerships, expertise and capability.
Having served on the RMIT Europe Board for over a decade, it has become clear to me that funding is often the product of successful collaboration, rather than its catalyst.
Top three critical success factors
1. Collaboration is key – success is not a solo undertaking
One example of this is PREMSTEM, where RMIT contributed to an international consortium exploring how human mesenchymal stem cells could help to repair brain injury in children born pre-term. Bringing together 15 partners across Europe and Australia, the project enabled researchers to combine expertise, infrastructure and resources in ways that would have been difficult for any individual institution or country to achieve.
2. Think global
The RMIT European Doctoral Innovators (REDI) Programme is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND program coordinated by RMIT. Supported by €4.45 million (A$7.28 million) in European funding, REDI connects more than 40 early-career researchers with academic and industry partners across Europe and Australia, creating lasting international networks that continue to generate research and innovation outcomes.
3. Build for the long-term
The true value of these projects lies not in the funding they attract, but in the lasting partnerships, skilled researchers and research impact they create. These outcomes help build the trust, networks and reputation needed for future collaboration, and the delivery of societal benefit.
This is why Australia’s association with Horizon Europe is such an important development.
It invites more local institutions to participate in world-leading collaborative research, access international networks, and contribute to solutions for challenges that no country is likely to solve alone.
It would, however, be unwise for Australian institutions to assume that mass success will be easy or immediate.
For RMIT, Australia’s association with Horizon Europe is not the start of a journey. It is an opportunity to add to the foundations deliberately built over more than a decade.
As Australia enters this new chapter in its relationship with Europe, RMIT’s experience demonstrates that global research success is reliant on establishing trust, codeveloping pathways to positive impact, and developing value propositions that meet the needs of partners and the jurisdictions providing the funding support.
The opportunity before us is significant. Australia has secured admission to Horizon Europe, but the challenge now is turning access into deep collectively beneficial partnerships that enable research with impact.
