The ACS is assisting with funding and expertise for a Government supported study to formulate a research strategy for Information Technology in Australia.
ACS President, Tom Worthington, a member of the project steering committee, has criticised both Australian IT researchers and business people for failing to get together to work on useful new IT products.
"Our researchers need to start asking the community what would be useful fields to work on. Our business people need to start looking at what the researchers are doing and what might be commercialised," he said.
"While visiting ACS branches I have talked to government policy makers, politicians, business people and academics. I am struck by the fact that these people live and work close by each other but do not bother to share their expertise."
Mr Worthington has called on researchers and business leaders to come forward with proposals on how to improve IT's contribution to the Australian economy.
"Otherwise the community could ask why it should continue to fund IT R&D; through government research grants and tax breaks."
Details of the Discipline Research Strategy for Information Technology and how to make a submission are available on the World Wide Web at: http://www.acs.org.au/president/1996/drsit/
Members of the Australian Computer Society can contribute to the ACS Submission via e-mail to: info@acslink.net.au or join the on-line discussion in the ACS newsgroup: aus.org.acs
Mr Worthington will meet with the Working Party of the Discipline Research Strategy for Australian IT on 18 October 1996.
An electronic copy of this media release is located at: http://www.acs.org.au/president/1996/drsit/mr960927.htm