The State Government has laid out a set of “stretch” targets, aimed at boosting international student numbers in South Australia by 20 per cent over three years.

They include working with universities to establish accommodation offer guarantees for international students, increasing industry-funded research and encouraging collaboration between universities and industry.

Premier Jay Weatherill told InDaily the government aimed to encourage a $300 million increase in cumulative industry funding for public research by by 2017.

“The cumulative funding to public research would go from 270 million, which is the present number… to 570 million in 2017,” said Weatherill.

“That’s a stretch target … but that’s what our objective is.

“We’d like to encourage research in the sectors which have the greatest prospects for the growth of the economy… which are mining and energy, resources, including the renewables (sector), food and wine and health industries.”

Weatherill said his government would collaborate with universities to establish accommodation guarantees for international students.

“It may well be that we are involved in the provision of public land … grants, it may be that we use financial guarantees or underwritings to allow these things to occur,” he said.

“The actual initiatives will emerge.

“What we’re doing is publishing the policy framework strategy. How we achieve this strategy is why we’re going out to public consultation.”

The government also aims to increase the number of university students studying science, technology, engineering and maths subjects by around 2,000 students per year by 2017.

“This will expand our state’s knowledge base, supporting the next generation of high-end skilled jobs,” said Weatherill.

“We wanted to choose targets that were bold and had some stretch associated with them and were about the objective of transforming the economy.”

The “knowledge state” strategy is the latest in a series of economic priority statements released by Weatherill.