Academy for Collaborative Research Infrastructure

NCRIS Investment for National Research Infrastructure Talent

Fri, 29 May 2026 03:00:00 +0000

ACRI welcomes a new investment of $5 million through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) specifically for the benefit of Australia’s research infrastructure workforce. ACRI looks forward to partnering with the lead organisation, Microscopy Australia, and the Technician Commitment in delivering a well overdue targeted program of support for our research infrastructure talent.This national initiative will support implementation of the Technician Commitment in A...

QUT Joins ACRI

Tue, 26 May 2026 04:00:00 +0000

ACRI is delighted to have QUT become an Institutional Sponsor for more than 40 of its talented research infrastructure staff.QUT is a pioneer in recognising its research infrastructure workforce having adopted a dedicated Research Infrastructure Specialist stream and leveraging an inclusive academic career framework to facilitate multiple cases of successful research infrastructure staff promotions. “Having been part of the journey, I can’t help being proud of QUT’s national leade...

Microscopy Australia strengthens commitment as an ACRI Institutional Sponsor

Sun, 24 May 2026 23:00:00 +0000

Microscopy Australia is proud to continue its support of the Academy for Collaborative Research Infrastructure (ACRI) as an institutional sponsor, building on its role as a foundation contributor in 2024.“A highly skilled and recognised workforce is essential to the success of Australia’s research infrastructure. Microscopy Australia is proud to support ACRI and contribute to building stronger career pathways, capability and connections across the sector,” – Dr Lisa Yen, Microscopy Au...

Technician Commitment and ACRI Join Forces

Sun, 17 May 2026 23:00:00 +0000

ACRI is proud to have the Technician Commitment join as a member.By joining as a member, the Technician Commitment will ensure that technical professionals working in the research infrastructure community are fairly represented in the professional development opportunities.ACRI, in turn, has formally pledged its support for the Technician Commitment, reinforcing its commitment to addressing workforce challenges facing technical professionals who are critical to research and teaching activitie...

Gold Sponsor - University of Melbourne

Fri, 15 May 2026 03:00:00 +0000

A huge thank you to our Gold Sponsor, University of Melbourne, for their generous support of the ACRI Inaugural Annual Conference 2026!

The University of Melbourne's commitment to research excellence and collaboration makes events like ours possible, bringing together Australia's National Research Infrastructure Workforce to build skills, networks, and the future of our sector.

We're proud to have them with us at Melbourne Connect on June 23–24.

Register here.

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Research infrastructure staff should be on the same terms as academics

Wed, 13 May 2026 22:00:00 +0000

Dr Pat Metharom, Chair of the Technician Commitment Task Force at the Australasian Cytometry Society and ACRI Executive Director calls on meaningful reform in Enterprise Bargaining Agreements for equitable pay conditions and advancement opportunities for the research infrastructure workforce, The opinion piece is published today at Times Higher Education. ...

Phenomics Australia Joins ACRI

Wed, 06 May 2026 03:11:00 +0000

Phenomics Australia is pleased to announce that it has joined the Academy for Collaborative Research Infrastructure (ACRI) as an institutional member to support the research infrastructure workforce.

As part of this commitment, many of Phenomics Australia’s research infrastructure staff are now ACRI members. We look forward to collaborating with ACRI to advance its career development initiatives.

"NCRIS represents the pinnacle of our national coordinated foundation to drive rese

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International insights on technical workforce sparks global community initiative

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Global Insights: Technical Professionals in Higher Education and Research brings together perspectives from institutions across the global Universitas 21 network, building a more coherent international picture of technical roles, career pathways and strategic workforce development.Published on 31 March by the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy (UK ITSS) in collaboration with Universitas 21, the report aims to establish a stronger evidence base and lay the foundati...

La Trobe University Joins ACRI

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 23:00:00 +0000

ACRI welcomes La Trobe University as an institutional sponsor of its talented research infrastructure specialists.ACRI thanks Dr Christopher Adda, Director of Research Infrastructure, for his leadership in advancing mutual goals of professional development tailored to the needs of research platform staff, advocate for stronger career pathways, and foster a national community for knowledge sharing and peer support.By becoming a member of ACRI, La Trobe University strengthens its comm...

An update on the NRI Workforce Strategy - Video Available

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Online Thursday, 4 December, 10am - 11am AWSTIn addition to setting context, the session covered the NRI Workforce Strategy and its proposed program of implementation, including a local version of the UK Technicians Commitment and other deliverables via the Academy for Collaborative Research Infrastructure.Moreover, the session outlined the workforce elements of the recently released NRI Issues Paper and the developing NCRIS Roadmap.Speakers: Emeritus Prof Joe Shapter, Member, ...

ACRI Responds to NRI Roadmap Issues Paper

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

On behalf of its members and the broader research infrastructure community, ACRI has responded to the survey questions that are relevant to the NRI workforce./images/ACRI-Response...

TIA joins ACRI

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 23:30:00 +0000

ACRI welcomes Therapeutic Innovation Australia (TIA) as an institutional sponsoring member.TIA supports ACRI's aims to provide professional development tailored to the needs of facility staff, advocate for stronger career pathways, and foster a national community for knowledge sharing and peer support.Adjunct Professor Sach Jayasinghe, ACRI’s Executive Director, introduced the Academy at the recent 2025 TIA Forum. With close to 200 members already, ACRI is positioning itself as a collective ...

Research infrastructure is not an indirect cost of national research

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 06:00:00 +0000

Media Statement Research infrastructure is not an indirect cost of national research The Academy for Collaborative Research Infrastructure (ACRI) has a mission to accelerate research excellence and societal impact through championing the contributions and supporting the development of the national research infrastructure workforce. To that end, ACRI looks to be the voice of the research infrastructure workforce with advocacy reflected in national policy and systems embedded changes...

UWA joins ACRI

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 04:00:00 +0000

The University of Western Australia (UWA) has become the first university to join ACRI as a sponsoring institution.This investment by UWA highlights a commitment to advancing Australia’s research and research infrastructure though support of the vital workforce. As a sponsoring institution, UWA is taking a proactive step in supporting ACRI’s mission and advancing its own research ambitions through nurturing of the University's research infrastructure tale...

ARDC Joins ACRI

Fri, 30 May 2025 06:00:00 +0000

The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) has joined the Academy for Collaborative Research Infrastructure (ACRI) as an institutional member.ACRI is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that serves the research infrastructure community in Australia by advocating for clear career progression paths, providing professional development opportunities tailored to the specific needs of the research and innovation workforce, and fostering a community to share knowledge. As an ACRI...

New ACRI Director, Tracy Baylis

Sun, 04 May 2025 22:00:00 +0000

ACRI is privileged to have Tracy Baylis join the organisation as a Director. We welcome the deep and varied experience, within national research infrastructure and beyond, Tracy brings to ACRI in working towards achieving its mission. ...

Peter Mac joins ACRI

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 06:00:00 +0000

ACRI welcomes Peter Mac and acknowledge the advocacy and support of Professors Kaylene Simpson (Head, Victorian Centre for Functional Genomics) and Ricky Johnstone (Executive Director, Cancer Research) for Peter Mac’s Research Technology platforms and the highly skilled RI specialists.

Andrew Gilbert appointed as a Director of ACRI

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 22:00:00 +0000

The highly respected and passionate advocate for research infrastructure, Andrew Gilbert, CEO of Bioplatforms Australia joins the ACRI Board of Directors.

"I've had the pleasure of working with Andrew over many years and ACRI will do doubt benefit from his sage advice and guidance" [Sach Jayasinghe, Executive Director, ACRI]

Bioplatforms Australia becomes a Member

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 03:20:00 +0000

"Long term investment in Australia’s research infrastructure has produced a strong, stable and adaptable system that allows Australian research and industry to undertake fundamental discovery and translate this into solutions against Australia’s greatest challenges and opportunities.At the heart of this investment has been the people – highly skilled research infrastructure specialists that have worked tirelessly to enable research and translation across health and medicine, environment ...

ACRI Director the next CEO of ARC

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 03:00:00 +0000

ACRI is delighted with the appointment of its Director, Professor Ute Roessner, as the next Chief Executive of the Australian Research Council. Given her appointment, Professor Roessner will step down from the ACRI Board of Directors.“On behalf of the ACRI community, hearty congratulation and best wishes to my dear colleague, Ute. The ARC is in excellent hands” [Sach Jayasinghe, Executive Director, ACRI]. ...

Next NCRIS Roadmap

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 23:00:00 +0000

The Commonwealth Department of Education has released the 2026 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap development process outline.

ACRI joins STA

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 03:00:00 +0000

Consistent with ACRI's mission of advocacy for the research infrastructure community, it has joined Science & Technology Australia. STA has been a long-standing and trusted voice that continues to inform public policy in enabling effective science and technology, including critical investment in research infrastructure.“I look forward to working with Ryan (Winn, CEO) and the STA team in further advocating for policy optimisation that presents greater opportunities for the natio...

New ACRI Director

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 02:00:00 +0000

ACRI is thrilled to welcome Dr Sarah Flaim as a new director. Sarah brings over 15 years of experience in the higher education sector, combining expertise in research, operations, clinical trials, and stakeholder engagement. She is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the National Imaging Facility.Prior to joining NIF, Sarah held several specialist research management roles within the higher education sector, spanning all phases of the research project lifecycle. Prior to moving...

HIA - First Institutional Sponsor of ACRI Membership

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 05:00:00 +0000

The NCRIS capability of Heavy Ion Accelerators (HIA) becomes the maiden sponsoring institution of ACRI membership. ACRI applauds the leadership of HIA in supporting its talented workforce.HIA CEO Dr Tom McGoram notes: “ACRI is a unique initiative in Australia and the region. The national research infrastructure is only viable if there is the workforce capable to operate, maintain and uplift the capabilities to meet the current and future demands of scientists and industry. At Heavy Ion...

First Member of ACRI

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 04:00:00 +0000

Delighted to welcome the first member of ACRI - Dr Elena Taran. Elena is an accomplished leader with over 15-year experience in navigating the complexities of research infrastructure facilities at the University of Melbourne, the University of Queensland and the Australian National Fabrication Facility. Elena is leading the Materials Characterisation and Fabrication Platform (MCFP) team with integrity and authenticity creating a sense of shared purpose and commit...

Exciting announcement - the formal launch of ACRI

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 06:00:00 +0000

The Executive Director, Adjunct Professor Sach Jayasinghe, formerly launched ACRI at the CORES 2024 Conference in Brisbane. Fittingly, the launch took place within the conference panel session – “Core Career Paths: How do we make changes that are enduring and embedded in workplace culture. Policy and systems?”.Together with fellow ACRI directors, Professors Ute Roessner and Joe Shapter, Sach thanked the ACRI Working Group, foundation NCRIS contributors and the broade...

Department of Education is now developing an NDRI Investment Plan to deliver upon the Strategy's vision

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 00:03:00 +0000

The article highlights the vital role of 'blended professionals' in Australia's research infrastructure, who combine academic and professional expertise to drive research success. To better support their career progression and contributions, the proposed

Time to Acknowledge the Talent Behind Research Infrastructure: A Call for Action

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 02:00:00 +0000