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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.

View our current student scholarships.

CSIRO’s Industry PhD program is being delivered as part of the Australian Government initiative to better translate university research into commercialisation outcomes.

This infographic outlines the key stakeholders for the Industry PhD Program. The first section on the top left says Industry Partner Market Knowledge. The second section on the top right says University Deep Research and Training Expertise. The third section on the base says CSIRO National Footprint and Applied Research Focus. 

Industry PhD Project description

Key benefits

  • Provide PhD students with opportunities to develop translational research skills, establish professional networks and increase future career prospects.
  • Develop new or strengthen existing relationships between research organisations and industry.
  • Deliver industry research solutions and specialised knowledge to solve challenges and create new products.
  • Enhance innovation and commercialisation through research organisation and industry knowledge transfer.
  • Support research projects which are aligned to Government priorities to help strengthen Australia’s economic growth and productivity.
  • Provide universities with a deeper understanding of industry requirements, priorities, and culture.

My project is linked with eco mag a smaller sharing company that's looking to produce magnesium salts from seawater.

I know this fantastic new material but they need to find new applications to use them in so I'm investigating using them in things like gas masks or in the field of catalysis trying to leverage the the knowledge we have here at UNSW.

The uniqueness of the program is given Timothy a much more valuable experience than a more traditional PhD because the program involves supervisors from academia CSIRO and Industry and combined it'll give the student of a candidate a much more rewarding and broader experience

It's really exciting to be able to know that your research can actually be translated into the real world and have a really good chance to do that.

Science these days requires both the technical aspects of your research as well as the business minded people in the room to be able to translate that into a real commercial thing and the I PhD offers a process that can actually facilitate that that you wouldn't usually get in a typical phd program.

What we provide to Tim is actually a reality check on what his works about for the university to correlate some much more with what businesses one now so for Tim and the University and CSIRO they're more attuned with what is required now.

So as part of the I PhD I got to attend a launch camp facilitated by the CSIRO. So launch count gives you a great opportunity to view your project from a different perspective and further align it with more commercial outcomes while also maintaining the scientific basis of what you're doing.

I actually participate in that with all of my super welding team and their expertise and their assistance throughout the process was invaluable. 

If you're very satisfied to see this student getting ready for the job market after their graduation and is ready for tacking tackling the real-world problem.

It's been very exciting to be able to see that potentially my research can be translated into a commercial setting to formulate new products for eco mag I think that's a big motivator for me a PhD is very you know you have to have a lot of self motivation throughout the process to have something like that to lean on throughout the processes is great.

For Tim the results for him will be that he'll have something that is practical something that is going to be used in society and hopefully for for greater good. 

It's exciting to know that my research at the end of the program could be helping real people in the real world tackle a real issue that we're facing and also with the prospect of you know furthering my skills and helping my career along the way. 

I think in terms of short-term aim of course this will link him directly to a job working with us hopefully in the future and we really like to for him to do so and who knows in the future he might be the future CEO here you know working in operating.

 
Hear from participants in one of our projects about their experience in the program.

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