The Office of the Chief Scientist has released a report, Benchmarking Australian Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), which measures Australia's performance in key areas of science and innovation. It compares us against 11 western European nations, the United States, Britain and Canada, and key Asian neighbours.

The results are not uplifting. While we rank well in some areas, we're far behind in other measures. Why care? Because science and innovation boost our standard of living and contribute to economic growth and jobs.

The issues start in the classroom. In Australia, primary school teachers are required to spend only 1.5 to 2.5 hours on science and technology in their 30 hour school week – well below the OECD average.

 

Imagine trying to teach quadratic equations or Einstein's theory of relativity to senior high school students if you've never studied them yourself.

In Australia more than a third of teachers who teach maths to year 7 to 10 students have not studied mathematics or how to teach it as part of their teacher training. Researchers are now investigating whether kids are disadvantaged by this.

 

A recent Chief Scientist report estimated that 75 per cent of new industries will need employees with science, technology, engineering or mathematics skills and a university qualification is the gateway to those jobs.

So while Australians are attending university at greater numbers than ever, less than a quarter enrol to study science, engineering, manufacturing and construction, which puts us below the US, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and seven western European nations.

Our percentage of PhD students – the country's future research powerhouse – is slightly better. But plans to increase the cost of doctorate degrees will likely diminish any advantage we possess.

 

When compared with many of our major trading competitors, Australia produces a decent share of the world's most influential research.

In science, a researcher is mainly judged by how many others cite the work in their own research. The most highly cited research papers are more likely to lead to breakthroughs in society's challenges or translation of industry products or inventions.

Our share of highly cited researchers ranks us among the best in the world.

 

Australian researchers overwhelming work at universities while a much smaller percentage work in business. This trend partly explains why Australia has one of the worst rates of collaboration between business and researchers in the developed world.

Collaboration between businesses and research organisations more than triples the likelihood of business productivity growth.

 

One way to measure a country's "inventiveness" or innovation is the number of international patents it holds. A patent filed under a Patent Cooperation Treaty gives the holder access to about 180 country's markets, and suggests the invention could be a real winner.

Along with the UK, Australia was the only country assessed whose number of international patents declined over the past decade.

 

The government wants to boost commercial returns from research investment and is considering tying research funding more tightly to intellectual property output.

The Chief Scientist, Ian Chubb, said in countries such as the US, the UK and Germany the introduction of innovation or STEM strategies, the selection of research priorities and "substantial" investment in STEM was "shifting their economy," creating new industries and jobs.

To avoid being left behind, Professor Chubb said Australia needed a strong STEM education backbone and a strong research base, some of which could be used to innovate and produce goods and services at a scale Australia hadn't attempted before.

"I want us to be a world leader in particular things, and be a respected and influential nation to make the world a better place," he said.