UTAS and the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) have a long and successful history of collaboration in the field of Antarctic and marine science and innovation.

The two institutions have recently signed a new Collaboration Deed which formalises their current and future scientific interactions, including joint appointments, the new AAD-UTAS PhD Program in Quantitative Antarctic Science (QAS) and the inaugural international project office of the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS).

The QAS PhD program will see students work on quantitative projects of direct relevance to the Australian Antarctic Science strategy.

AAD Chief Scientist, John Gunn and Pro Vice-Chancellor of Research Professor Paddy Nixon, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) signed the document recently.

“The Collaboration Deed provides an overarching framework for strengthening our relationship with AAD and fostering even more cooperative research and education endeavours,” said Prof Mike Coffin, Executive Director of the UTAS Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS).

“The Southern Ocean and the Antarctic are IMAS’s primary foci, and it is vital that we build upon our already solid foundation with AAD to understand Antarctic environments and how they are changing.”

The Director of the Australian Antarctic Division, Dr Tony Fleming, has welcomed the partnership.

“AAD looks forward to growing its collaborative links with the University of Tasmania through joint appointments, a new Quantitative Antarctic Science PhD program and major projects,” Dr Tony Fleming said.

UTAS led the six-month development of the document on behalf of the Australian university community.

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