Quantum science benefits from visa scheme

One institution already benefiting from the work of The Global Business and Talent Attraction Taskforce is the Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology at UNSW. 

Robyn Williams of ABC radio’s The Science Show interviewed Professor Michelle Simmons, Director of the Centre and former Australian of the Year, some of her talented staff and Peter Verwer, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Global Business and Talent Attraction to find out what’s happening.

Professor Simmons was confident the Taskforce is making a significant difference: “It's a time when the field is exponentially increasing in quantum computation, and so being able to bring people here now is absolutely critical and it has been fantastic…. once you start getting really good people coming, more and more come. So it's a definite magnet that keeps pulling people here.”

Robyn also spoke with Peter Verwer, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Global Business and Talent Attraction. When asked about the program, he explained: “The idea is to harvest the world for its brightest minds, its talent, its enterprisers and entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs can be cultural and research and academic entrepreneurs as well as business moguls.

“The current program is for 15,000 talented individuals a year, that's the ceiling. We don't need to meet that as a target. The test is whether they are talented or not, and there are three big areas that we are looking at. The first is health and life sciences, then advanced manufacturing with all of its components, including space and defence and agriculture and renewable economy, and then financial services including fintech of course.

“This is ... a fantastic example of us harvesting the world for brilliant minds, young minds, mixing them with fantastic world-class Australians, and creating a honeypot that will attract the rest of the world, and we intend to do that across the economy.

“There is a hierarchy of global talent, and we aim not just for the superstars but for everybody who creates an ecosystem. This is what Australia is doing now that it didn't do in the past. It has a very clear idea of creating an ecosystem which is not only going to attract individuals at all stages of their career, but keep them.” 

Listen to the interview. A transcript is also available on the page. 

_{From left to right in the attached photo: Peter Verwer AO, Special Envoy to Global Business and Talent Attraction Taskforce, Professor Michelle Simmons, Professor John Martinis, Edyta Natalia Osika, Ludwik Mieczyslaw Kranz, Saiful Haque Misha, Christian Andre Lehner, Yu-Ling Hsueh}