Canberra is the innovation and education capital of Australia.

The tertiary education, training and research sector is one of our strengths.

The sector:

• accounts for around 8% of the economy
• contributes $3.3 billion in value add
• supports 20,000 jobs
• trains about 64,000 tertiary students

Our 5 university campuses are all ranked among the best in the world. Along with the Canberra Institute of Technology, they have strong employer satisfaction and graduate outcomes. One in 6 people here work or study at a tertiary education or research institution.

This sector drives new knowledge creation for the Canberra economy. International education links underpin around one-third of this creation. The sector is responsible for Canberra’s largest export at $1 billion in 2019.

As a proportion of the ACT economy, the innovation and higher education sector is around 3 times the national average. It’s well above our population and GDP shares.

Canberra’s universities

We’re home to Australia’s highest-ranked university. The Australian National University is also consistently rated as one of the top universities in the world. It has multi-disciplinary expertise.

The University of Canberra is one of the most highly rated young universities in Australia. It’s one of the fastest rising in the world.

UNSW Canberra recently announced a new $1 billion campus in Canberra. This will see us host our second prestigious university that’s part of the ‘Group of Eight‘. These ‘Group of 8’ universities are Australia’s leading research-intensive universities.

Other universities with campuses in Canberra include:

• Australian Catholic University
• Charles Sturt University

Technical and Vocational Education

Trusted public TAFE provider, Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT), provides vocational education. CIT students will soon benefit from a new $250 million state-of-the-art campus in the Woden Town Centre. Construction is due to start in 2022.

There are also many specialised Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) here.

A centre of excellence for research and development

Our strengths in education also contribute to our performance in innovation and entrepreneurship. A recent report from the Commonwealth Government’s Chief Economist found that Canberra was Australia’s highest performing area on measures of innovation and entrepreneurship. This included:

• business spending on research and development
• patent and trademark applications
• business entries

Canberra’s education and research institutions also attract more than 10% of Australia’s national funding for research and development. Together, Canberra’s tertiary education and research partners lead Australia in the development of several key capability areas. These include:

• agricultural and environmental sciences
• ICT and government services
• defence
• cyber security
• space and spatial science
• renewable energy technologies

To sustain a high research output and to support innovation, commercialisation and postgraduate student placements, industry collaborates with research institutes. These include:

• CSIRO and Data61
• Geoscience Australia
• Australian Institute of Sport
• Australian Renewable Energy Agency
• agricultural research bodies

A nationally recognised community of innovation

Funded by the ACT Government, the Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN) supports and promotes an innovation community. This brings together:

• world-class researchers
• entrepreneurs and start-ups
• innovation companies of all sizes
• accelerator programs
• investors
• venture capitalists

CBRIN also provides mentoring, funding and co-working spaces. It makes good use of other ACT Government programs. These include investment attraction programs and international engagement strategies.