Industry Engagement Opportunities
Opportunities to engage with Industry
Industry or Research End User is defined as an individual, community or organisation external to academia that will directly use or directly benefit from the output, outcome or results of the research.
Examples of end users includes:
businesses, governments, non-governmental organisations, communities and community organisations.
Specific exclusions of research end-user are:
- Other higher education providers
- Organisations that are affiliates, controlled entities or subsidiaries (such as Medical Research Institutes) of a higher education provider
- Equivalents (international or domestic) of the above exclusions (Department of Education, Skills and Employment)
Please click here for examples of End user Reporting Codes.
If the primary purpose of the project is to fund a research student stipend through a research contract, particular care must be taken with negotiating terms and conditions. The Research and Innovation Services Contracts team works with the Graduate Research School to arrange agreements where there is a student involved.
I am an industry partner looking to support a HDR research candidate through a scholarship
The purpose of an Industry research scholarship is to provide living allowance support to the candidate during their studies. There are a variety of ways industry can support from full scholarships to top up scholarships. If you are an industry partner further information is explained in this information document on supporting a candidates.
I am an industry partner looking to donate money to support a HDR candidates scholarship
These are called philanthropic scholarships. usually donors are individuals who support HDR scholarships. The Advancement office looks after these opportunities and works in partnership with the the Graduate School to oversee the establishment of new HDR philanthropic scholarships, their advertisement and award. if you wish to donate money to support a HDR candidate, please see more information here.
I am an Advisor wishing to seek industry funding to support a HDR candidate.
As an advisor it is important to understand how to work with the teams at JCU to support a candidate. This industry scholarships information guide for Advisors is a useful information resource, to help you when considering Industry support for a candidate. It is also useful for candidates to understand how these are established.
JCU aspires to be an entrepreneurial university for the tropics. We want to ensure that our Higher Degree by Research candidates are inspired to create solutions and deliver impact in their chosen field. More than 50 per cent of HDR graduates find a career outside academia. We want to ensure that candidates who wish to pursue a pathway to becoming an entrepreneur, including those who wish to commercialise the outcomes of their research, are well prepared by the time they complete their research degree.
As part of our professional development offering at JCU, we are introducing a new pathway to assist in maximising candidates’ research impact through entrepreneurial skills training. This new undertaking will consist of HDR-tailored introductory and advanced sessions, starting with an overview of what is possible, titled Lab to Market, leading through to Entrepreneur Simulator experiences and coursework subjects for those who wish to go further.
JCU draws upon the resources and expertise of Research and Innovation Services to provide the guidance and training you need to turn your research ideas into a fulfilling career. We encourage candidates from all disciplines to think broadly about what non-traditional careers might be possible for a research-degree qualified graduate and how your ideas might one day be turned into products in the marketplace.
HDR candidates can count all training in Entrepreneurship and Commercialisation towards RD/RM7003 Professional Development, and may choose to exclusively focus on these activities in the Flexible Component category.
The purpose of the National Industry PhD Program is to ramp up university and industry collaboration and innovation by facilitating 1,300 Industry PhDs over 10 years. The program commenced in 2023.
Round 4 closed 9 August 2024. Please check back for Round 5 opening dates!
If you wish to apply for this program, please contact grs.staff@jcu.edu.au for access to the online system.
CSIRO's Industry PhD (iPhD) Program
CSIRO's Industry PhD (iPhD) Program brings together an industry partner, a university and Australia’s leading science agency, CSIRO, to co-develop a four-year industry-focused PhD project. It provides PhD students with a unique skill set to focus on impact driven research.
Project ideas may be initiated from the university, industry or CSIRO; however, all projects must be aligned with Government and CSIRO priorities and require an eligible industry partner (Government and not-for-profit are excluded) to supervise the project. iPhD program staff can assist with project scoping, partner communication, and support the submission of the formal EOI paperwork.
Applications are now open for projects to commence late 2023/early 2024, however dates may be negotiated to meet individual project requirements. For further information please refer to the Program Rules and promotional brochure on the CSIRO iPhD website. If you or your researchers are interested in submitting an EOI please contact iPhD@csiro.au
The Program will provide scholarships to domestic students (Australian Citizens and Permanent Residents) only.
CSIRO :The NextGen Graduates Program
The Program will fund nationally competitive scholarships to attract and train the next generation of artificial intelligence (‘AI’) and emerging technologies specialists and build technology capability and skills across a range of fields. The Programs will provide scholarships to domestic students (Australian Citizens and Permanent Residents) only.
It is a cohort-based, industry driven, multi-disciplinary Graduate Training Program. A cohort of students is a group of students, an expected minimum of 10, who enrol at the same time and are working on related projects that tackle a real-world challenge. When enrolling through a cohort program the students are expected to collaborate with each other and to utilise peer to peer learning, expanding on their different backgrounds and experience to provide richer research environment
Essential course work is part of the program and is Open to Masters students right through to PhD
For more information please see CSIRO NextGen website.
More on CSIRO and JCU collaboration can be found here!
Research Placements
Is your PhD connected with Industry in anyway? A research internship or placement is a position with a research end-user where a student undertakes research and development (R&D) activities related to their research degree. It can take the form of an independent 3-6 month research project or be integrated into your PhD through employment or other activities.
Where do I start?
All the information for Candidates and Advisors on research placements is here in this FAQ guide
What forms do I need to fill out?
(1) Independent placement
Before you start :
An agreement also must be signed . Please see JCU GRS if you need a copy of our standard template.
During your placement: A mid internship review to check in on how things are going!
When you finish your placement: A end of internship presentation and short report. A template is provided below for your reference. Please also complete an Internship completion acknowledgement form.
Please contact grs.staff@jcu.edu.au for more information.
A research placement is developed in collaboration between the Candidate, Advisor and you, the Industry Partner. For an in-depth understanding of all things placements please read the Industry Partner FAQ guide and get in touch for further information.
Independent placements at JCU are self sourced. There are a number of places to start looking for an independent placement.
Advisory team
Start by talking to your Advisors. Do they have connections with an Industry partner that you could approach?
APR Intern
APR.Intern is the only national all sector – all discipline internship program placing PhD students into industry.
A not-for-profit program, APR.Intern provides PhD students with the opportunity to apply their research expertise to a short-term 3-6 month project, whilst gaining invaluable experience in an industry setting.
JCU has the ability to engage with unlimited mathematical and science internships with APR Intern.
Check out available positions on the advertised internship position page
JCU Graduate Research School
From time to time we have organisations approach us looking for an intern and we also have great connections with our JCU work placement teams which can assist. Contact grs.staff@jcu.edu.au
CSIRO
Check out available internships from CSIRO
What is the process?
1. Attend a placement information session ( not compulsory but helpful!)
2. Independent Placement /Internship.
Before you start :Discuss with your Advisor and look for potential industry partner. Upload your Project plan and approval form onto InPlace.
Check with the GRS for an agreement template if you need one.
Check out the mid review and end of placement presentation report and template so you know what you need to deliver during your placement.
When you finish your placement: Internship completion acknowledgement form
3. Integrated Internship/ Placement
As per the FAQ guide, an integrated internship could be made up of a number of activities. If you are not sure if you are eligible, take a look here. It is important to let the GRS know about these as we have to report them to the Federal Government.
a .Upload your "internship' onto InPlace and include an agreement or evidence that the internship was agreed in the first 18 months of candidature OR make sure you include in the industry reporting section of your progress report.
b. The GRS will then approve and have a record of your industry engagement activities.
The Graduate Research School has produced a new FAQ guide for HDR Candidates and Advisors on HDR industry placements or “research internships”. We encourage all candidates to engage with industry during their candidature to build critical skills and expertise and create new employment pathways beyond academic roles.
The GRS can provide on request live information sessions to talk through the various sorts of independent internships that may be available and where existing work and/or research arrangements may be framed to incorporate an internship experience for candidates across all disciplines
The sessions will provide:
- Overview of the various sort of Internships
- Benefits of completing an internship
- How to source and organise an internship
- How to report on an internship
Enquiries may be forwarded to grs.staff@jcu.edu.au