Adelaide University wins $1.3 million grant

Tuesday, 21 March 2000

Adelaide University has won a $1.3 million Federal Government grant to help establish its new Santos School of Petroleum Engineering in collaboration with the Centre for Oil and Gas Engineering (COGE) at the University of Western Australia.

The funding - part of the Science Lectureships Initiative - was announced today by the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs, the Hon David Kemp.

Adelaide University Vice-Chancellor Professor Mary O'Kane said the funding was further recognition of the unique opportunity to build an internationally significant new school at the forefront of petroleum research, teaching and industry training.

"The Santos School of Petroleum Engineering is being supported by the largest industry sponsorship in the history of tertiary education in Australia - $25 million over 10 years," Professor O'Kane said. "This further funding will strengthen the collaborative relationship between the School and the COGE. It will be used to develop a unique joint teaching program with the COGE."

Professor O'Kane said the Federal Government was also contributing $1 million to establish a second professorial chair at the School, to be known as the Reg Sprigg Chair.

The design process for the new School building has started and the School will offer a 4-year BE(Petroleum) degree from next year. It is expected to become the pre-eminent research and teaching School in Petroleum Engineering in the Asia-Pacific region.

In addition to the collaboration with the COGE, the Santos School of Petroleum Engineering is also developing a joint teaching program with the Colorado School of Mines in the United States. Under this program, students from each institution will be able to spend six months at the other. This feature will provide students with an invaluable international perspective and will be a unique feature of the degree at Adelaide.

The $1.3 million funding is the second grant received by Adelaide University under the Science Lectureship Initiative, confirming the University's reputation as a leader in science research and education. Last week, the University's Department of Psychology, in association with the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, won a grant of more than $350,000 to enhance teaching and research into how people can interact more successfully with technology.

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