Merger will create institution of “higher standing”, say vice-chancellors
A merger between the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia is set to go ahead following the announcement of a formal agreement.
In a joint statement on 2 July, the universities said they would aim to open the new institution, to be called Adelaide University, by the beginning of 2026.
The two universities entered into talks after the 2022 state election, when Peter Malinauskas’s government came to power after promising an inquiry into a merger of the state’s three public universities.
In their statement, the universities said the agreed plan was still “conditional on the provision of significant financial support by the state government”.
The South Australian government has committed A$444.5 million to the plan, including A$114.5m to buy land currently owned by the University of South Australia. The sites include the Magill campus, which will be phased out.
University of Adelaide vice-chancellor Peter Høj and University of South Australia vice-chancellor David Lloyd said in the statement that the new institution would be of “higher standing” than anything they could achieve separately.
It will “retain the programme areas, partnerships and regional facilities currently offered by both universities”, the statement said. The universities have committed to “no compulsory redundancies or retrenchments” for at least the first 18 months of the new university’s operation.
Other details of the new Adelaide University’s operation are expected to be guided by a “joint vision statement” released in March this year.
Disquiet about the merger plan continues to be aired, with a Change.org petition against it still gathering signatures.
The plan will depend on state legislation that is yet to be revealed. It does not affect the operation of Flinders University, the other South Australian university.
Research implications
The new university will be a member of Australia’s Group of Eight research-intensive universities, a position currently held only by the University of Adelaide, the joint statement said.
The South Australian government claims that a feasibility assessment showed that by 2034, a merged university would “generate an additional A$100m in research revenue every year”.
The state’s initial contribution to the plan includes “a new A$200m research fund to support Adelaide University’s research initiatives”. This is to be a “perpetual fund”, suggesting that the amount of funding that will flow annually will be far lower.
A draft report from the South Australian Productivity Commission, released in March, said that collaboration between universities and businesses was a weak point in the state’s use of research. Only 1 per cent of businesses had active collaborations with the state’s universities, the commission found.
“Each of South Australia’s universities has areas of world-class research strength”, the report noted. However, the state’s innovation policy was “spread too thin” and hard to navigate for researchers seeking support.
The commission’s final report has gone to the government and is expected to be made public in August.