Application inclusions - Areas of focus

The following requirements must be met when preparing your application. Project ideas initiated 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. CSIRO iPhD program staff can assist with project scoping, partner communication, and support the submission of the formal EOI paperwork.

- align with CSIRO and Government priorities
- address an industry problem while complying with the university PhD requirements
- be with an Australian industry partner or an industry partner with an Australian presence
- be limited to domestic students, that is, Australian Permanent Residents, Australian Citizens, and New Zealand Citizens
- be up to four years duration
- include at least 60 workdays of project related activities under the guidance of the industry partner, which is referred to as the Industry Engagement component.
- provide a suitably experienced researcher to supervise the PhD student
- lead student advertising, recruitment, and enrolment processes with support from CSIRO
- provide access to facilities and infrastructure if required for the project
- provide a fee off-set for the student
- monitor and assess the student in accordance with the university’s Higher Degree by Research policies
- pay the student their scholarship from the commencement of their project.

Application Selection Criteria

All submitted EOIs will be assessed against evenly weighted criterion. iPhD staff may consult with CSIRO research leaders for guidance. Applicants may be asked to provide more information and/or discuss their EOI with iPhD program staff. The selection criteria will assess:

Industry experience provided to the student
Project impact
Alignment to Government and CSIRO priorities
Research industry collaboration
Project feasibility and resources

For further information, please refer to our Program Rules PDF (376 KB)

Criterion 1 - Industry experience provided to the student (20%)

The project must provide the student with an experience relevant to undertaking research in or with industry. This may be demonstrated by documenting how the project will:

provide the student with experience in and exposure to the commercialisation and/or translation of research in industry
facilitate education and training opportunities for the student, which focus on developing industry relevant research skills
provide networking opportunities and potential employment prospects in industry for the student.

Criterion 2 - Project Impact (20%)

Demonstrate the key objectives and predicted impact of the project. This may be demonstrated by:

a description of the large-scale problem or opportunity the project is seeking to address evidencing the “need” for the project
identification of what project impact and success will look like, particularly in relation to improving the productivity, competitiveness, and sustainability of Australia’s economy.

Criterion 3 - Alignment to Government and CSIRO Strategic Priorities (20%)

Demonstrate alignment of the project with Government and CSIRO Strategic priorities. This may be demonstrated by showing how the project aligns to:

Government programs such as the National Reconstruction Fund, or Trailblazer Universities Program
Government priorities such as Small to Medium Enterprises and private industry support, regional development, First Nations Australians, Critical Technologies, Australia’s National Science and Research Priorities
CSIRO strategic priorities such as the research being conducted by our Research Units.

Criterion 4 - Research Industry Collaboration (20%)

Projects should increase collaboration by strengthening or creating new working relationships between industry and the research sector. This may be demonstrated by documenting how the project will:

strengthen an existing relationship and support long-term collaboration between the applicants
develop new significant relationships with strong potential for ongoing collaboration
build capacity and capability in industry and research sectors.

Criterion 5 - Project Feasibility and Resources (20%)

Applicants are to provide details on key project activities and the role of the supervisor team in delivering the project. Applicants should also note any additional resources being provided to ensure the successful conduct of the project. This may be demonstrated by documenting:

the role of the supervisors in the project including student supervision and support
available infrastructure and facilities to be used during the Industry Engagement component and how the student will be supported in this time, particularly if the location of the industry partner is different to the location of the rest of their project
viability of project activities and outputs
any additional resource commitment (cash or in-kind) towards the project
any additional funding towards the student scholarship.

Graduate Research