Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC),was an Australian

Cooperative Research Centre Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) are an Australian Federal Government program involved in Australian scientific research. The CRC programme is administered by the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science and Resources, which provides fund ...

, headquartered in

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately south-southeast of the centre of the list of Australian capital cities, state capital, Brisbane. It is ...

, established by the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centers Program to establish a competitive and dynamic

sustainable tourism Sustainable tourism is a concept that covers the complete tourism experience, including concern for Impacts of tourism, economic, social, and environmental issues as well as attention to improving tourists' experiences and addressing the needs o ...

industry in Australia. It ceased to operate on 30 June 2010. STCRC is a not-for-profit company owned by its industry, government and university partners. STCRC stands as the world’s largest travel and tourism research center.

History

STCRC was established under the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

s Program to underpin the development of a dynamic, internationally competitive, and sustainable tourism industry. Since its inception the STCRC has supported over 170 PhD scholars through a suite of scholarships and the provision of a Career Development Program. STCRC currently supports over 90 postgraduate students. All are of exceptional academic standard. Most hold a first class

honours degree Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, ...

and many have also received university awards for excellence. All supplementary scholarship holders also hold an APA or university-equivalent scholarship.

Organisational Aims

The STCRC's aimed to develop and manage intellectual property (IP). They claimed to deliver innovation to business, community, and government enhancing environmental, economic and social sustainability of the tourism industry. STCRC's self-proclaimed goal was to develop Australia's long-term tourism research capacities through a postgraduate research education programme.

Commercialisation Unit

The Commercialisation of STCRC research, sustainability oriented technologies and certification programs is done through EC3 Global (now called EarthCheck) which is wholly owned by the STCRC. EarthCheck provides an array of programs and services for companies, communities and other interest groups to set and achieve sustainability targets. With origins leading back to 1987, EarthCheck's research encompasses 250 tourism and

environmental sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

leaders in 16 universities. EarthCheck's influence has grown to encompass hundreds of projects, creating a strong market presence in over 50 countries.

University Partners

There are currently 16 Australian universities who are partners with the STCRC, these are listed below. *

Charles Darwin University Charles Darwin University (CDU) is an Australian public university with two campuses in Darwin and six satellite campuses in metropolitan and regional areas of the Northern Territory. It was established in 2003 after the merger of Northern Ter ...

: Charles Darwin University was formed in 2003, with over 50 years' history delivering tertiary education to the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

. Charles Darwin's Main Campus is located in Darwin, Australia and is named after

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

, the English naturalist. : It was formed in 2003 through a merger between the Northern Territory University, Alice Springs-based Central College, NT Rural College in Katherine and the Menzies School of Health Research. Charles Darwin University is the largest university in the Northern Territory. *

Curtin University of Technology Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, Prime Minister ...

: Curtin University of Technology, formed in 1986, is

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

's largest university, with over 40,000 students presently. Curtin University has a strong emphasis on innovation and technology, the main themes of the university. : Curtin University has an important research and development history, with an annual income from research of around $12 million Australian. *

Edith Cowan University Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a public research university in Western Australia. It is named in honour of the first woman to be elected to an Parliaments of the Australian states and territories, Australian parliament, Edith Cowan, and is, , t ...

: Edith Cowan University is the second largest university in Western Australia and has approximately 23,000 students, of whom over 3,000 originate from countries outside Australia. It was established in 1991, and is the only Australian university named after a woman, Edith Dircksey Cowan. : The university specializes in the service professions, and the teaching of education is a key focus. Joint research and study with other universities and international consultancies remain an important area for the university. *

Griffith University Griffith University is a public university, public research university in South East Queensland on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of Australia. The university was founded in 1971, but was not officially opened until 1975. Griffith ...

: Griffith University is an Australian public university with five campuses in Queensland between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. As of 2008, there were more than 37,000 enrolled students and 3,500 staff. Griffith stands as one of Queensland's largest universities and holds Queensland's oldest academy. : Griffith has diverse multidisciplinary teaching and research fields, and has students and academic staff from over 120 countries throughout the world. *

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cair ...

: James Cook University is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

based in

Townsville, Queensland The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

, Australia and was proclaimed on 20 April 1970 in Townsville. It is the second oldest university in Queensland. James Cook University is listed as one of the best universities in Queensland and is one of only 17 in Australia that were listed in the

ARWU The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong Universi ...

top 500 academic world universities in 2007. : The main fields of research include marine sciences, biodiversity, sustainable management of tropical ecosystems, tropical health care and tourism. James Cook University receives over $23 million in research funding annually, highlighting the importance of its ongoing research projects. *

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...

: La Trobe University is a multi-campus university in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. La Trobe is generally considered to be ranked amongst the top ten universities in Australia and in 2005 was ranked in the top 100 universities in the world. : Presently La Trobe University has over 28,000 enrolled students and has become a well established centre for teaching, training, scholarship and research. *

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

: Monash University is a

with campuses located in Australia,

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and South Africa. It is Australia's largest university, with about 55,000 students. : It has a total of eight campuses, and also a centre in

Prato Prato ( ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') in Tuscany, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Prato. The city lies in the northeast of Tuscany, at an elevation of , at the foot of Monte Retaia (the last peak in the Calvana ch ...

, Italy. *

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...

: Murdoch University is located in Perth, Western Australia and has three campuses at Murdoch, Rockingham and Peel. It currently has a student population of over 15,000 students including 3,000 international students. *

Southern Cross University Southern Cross University (SCU) is an Australian public university, with campuses at Lismore and Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, and at Coolangatta, the most southern suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland. In 2019, it was ranke ...

: Southern Cross University (SCU) is based on the Mid North and North coast of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. It is a regional university with more than 14,000 students. It is the country's seventh largest provider of distance education. It also has international students from more than 50 countries. More than 700 students are enrolled on-campus and with on-shore partners in Australia, with a further 1300 enrolled in overseas programs. *

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public university, public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is from Belconnen Town Centre, and from Canberra's Civic, Australian ...

: The University of Canberra is the second largest university in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, the capital of Australia. It was one of nine Australian universities recognized by the Australian government in 2006 for high achievement in learning and teaching. Presently it has over 10,000 students from over 80 countries, and more than 1,000 staff. *

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

: University of New South Wales (UNSW) is one of Australia's largest research institutions. : It is a member of Australia's "

Group of Eight The Group of Eight (G8) was an intergovernmental political forum from 1997 to 2014, formed by incorporating Russia into the G7. The G8 became the G7 again after Russia was expelled in 2014 after the Russian annexation of Crimea. The forum ...

" lobby group, and a founding member of

Universitas 21 Universitas 21 (U21) is an international network of research-intensive universities. Founded in Melbourne, Australia in 1997 with 11 members, it has grown to include twenty-nine member universities in nineteen countries and territories. The uni ...

, an international network of leading research-intensive universities. UNSW ranks third for both total funds allocated and the number of grants from the

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

among Australian universities following

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

and

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

, by securing more than $26 million in Discovery Project grants. It gains the highest number of Linkage Project grants of any university. *

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

: The University of Queensland is Queensland's first university, being founded in 1909. Presently it has over 37,000 enrolled students.The University of Queensland Fast Facts
/ref> It is a founding member of the Group of Eight, an alliance of research-strong "sandstone" universities in Australia. *

University of South Australia The University of South Australia is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along North Terrace are ...

: The University of South Australia is a

in the state of South Australia. It was formed in 1991 with the merger of the

South Australian Institute of Technology The University of South Australia is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along North Terrace are ...

and

Colleges of Advanced Education The College of Advanced Education (CAE) was a class of Australian tertiary education institution that existed from 1967 until the early 1990s. They ranked below universities, but above Colleges of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) which offer ...

. It is a leading expert in technical education and applied research, as well being a founding member of the

Australian Technology Network The Australian Technology Network (ATN) is a network of six Australian universities, with a strong history of innovation, enterprise and working closely with industry. ATN traces its origins back to 1975 as the Directors of Central Institutes ...

. : The university has nearly 32,000 enrolled students as of 2008. *

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

: The University of Tasmania has three campuses in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. A ' sandstone university', it is the fourth-oldest university in Australia. It was founded on 1 January 1890, and is a member of the international

Association of Commonwealth Universities The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) is a charitable organization that was established in 1913, and has over 400 member institutions in over 40 countries across the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth.University of Technology, Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1988, though its origins as a technical institution can be traced back t ...

: The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) is part of the

of universities, and is the third largest university in Sydney in terms of enrolment. Founded in its current form in 1988, it is also the only university with its main campuses within the

Sydney CBD The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or ...

. *

Victoria University Victoria University may refer to: * Victoria University (Australia), a public research university in Melbourne, Australia * Victoria University, Toronto, a constituent college of the federal University of Toronto in Canada * Victoria University of ...

: The Victoria University in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

offers higher education and technical and further education (

TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE () is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known ...

) courses. Presently there are over 45,000 enrolled students, including over 8,500 international students. Founded in 1916, it is one of Australia's older universities.

References

{{Authority control Environment of Australia Sustainable tourism Business organisations based in Australia Tourism organisations in Australia

History

Organisational Aims

Commercialisation Unit

University Partners

See also

References