Blueforge Alliance Australia (BFAA) and Flinders University have formalised a milestone agreement to collaborate on maritime research and education programs in support of AUKUS, the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Memorandum of Understanding opens partnership opportunities on the development and delivery of collaborative research, education, and workforce development programs supporting advanced manufacturing related to undersea platforms.
The agreement will enable Flinders researchers to support programs that uplift supply chain capability while exploring workforce development for current and future students.
BlueForge Alliance Australia, an Australian lead not-for-profit, is a strategic enabler for AUKUS, designed to partner across industry, government, and academia to uplift Australia's sovereign submarine and maritime industrial base.
The agreement was signed by Flinders University and BlueForge Alliance Australia during the Indo Pacific 2025 International Maritime Exposition.
"Flinders University is internationally recognised as a leader in advanced manufacturing capability at our innovation campus at Tonsley in Adelaide, South Australia and is already supporting the naval shipbuilding industry through capability uplift, making us a natural academic partner for Blueforge Alliance in Australia," said Flinders Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Raymond Chan.
"This agreement reinforces our long-standing leadership in research and education that supports Australia's current and future defence needs. It builds on our strength in advanced manufacturing at the Flinders' Factory of the Future and innovative education programs, enabling an impactful partnership with Blueforge Alliance and its U.S partners."
The MoU between Flinders and BFAA builds on a separate agreement between BFAA and the South Australian Government to strengthen the AUKUS workforce.
Flinders has an existing partnership with the University of Rhode Island (URI)- a key partner of US submarine builder General Dynamics Electric Boat, where Flinders and URI have partnered to deliver Australia's first nuclear engineering major.
Flinders University is also Australia's only university to partner with a key United States Navy Research Centre, having signed a landmark Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Naval Undersea Warfare Centre (NUWC) Division Newport – another important collaboration that contributes to the advancement of joint Australian and US initiatives.
Flinders also delivers the award-winning Diploma in Digital Technologies, which is producing the emerging generation of highly skilled workers for defence industries, and the introduction of a new degree apprenticeship in mechanical engineering, delivered in partnership with the defence industry and South Australian government.
Building on strong collaboration credentials with the defence industry, this year, Flinders won Academic Institution of the Year in the Defence Connect Australian Defence Industry Awards, as well as Best Future Skills Provider at the 2025 Defence and National Security Workforce Awards.
