Become a CSIRO Industry PhD (iPhD) program partner and connect a PhD student with a research project that tackles your business problem. Students are jointly supervised by the industry partner, the student's university, and Australia's national science agency, CSIRO.
Program benefits
- Develop new, or strengthen relationships with universities and CSIRO
- Gain new knowledge and research solutions for challenges facing your company
- Enhance innovation and build company R&D pipelines through university and CSIRO knowledge transfer
- Gain access to university and CSIRO facilities and expertise
- Develop highly skilled and customised talent to assist with future recruitment.
Program Funding and Support
The iPhD program is funded by the Australian Government and the industry partner for up to four years. Funding for each year consists of three components:
- Student Scholarship of $45,000 p.a. comprising of $33,000 p.a. provided by the Government and $12,000 p.a. provided by the industry partner.
- Project Expense and Development package of up to $13,000 p.a. provided by the Government for research operating costs and research skill development.
- Student career and professional development training funding provided by the Government and developed/delivered by CSIRO.
Program requirements
iPhD projects must:
- align with CSIRO and Government priorities
- address an industry problem while complying with the university’s requirements of a PhD program
Industry Partners must:
- be an Australian company or have an Australian presence (with a registered ABN or ACN). Government and not-for-profit organisations are excluded
- commit $12,000 p.a. for up to four years
- allow a suitably experienced staff member to co-supervise the student for up to four years
- provide the student with a three-month Industry Engagement Component
- provide access to facilities and infrastructure, if required for the project
Become an industry partner
If you work in industry and have a project idea and would like to commence the EOI process with CSIRO, please contact us.
Program intake dates
- Expressions of Interest for industry projects: Feb - May 2023
- Project commencement: Feb 2024
Program resources
FAQ: Industry
The program’s three-way partnership calls for the appointment of a university supervisor/s, an industry supervisor, and a CSIRO supervisor. Each supervisor will be responsible for certain aspects of the student’s supervision. However, the Primary Supervisor, allocated from the university, is responsible for monitoring and assessing the PhD student progress in accordance with the university’s PhD academic requirements. A tailored project management and communication plan is created prior to project commencement, detailing supervisor roles, level of commitment and communication methods so the student can access appropriate support.
$13,000 per annum is provided to the supervising organisation where the student is primarily based to cover project operating expenses and development activities. Project expenses may include lab consumables, fieldwork, and other research costs. Travel costs associated with the project and/or approved development activities are also eligible expenses.
The industry engagement component is a requirement of the CSIRO Industry PhD program. It aims to ensure that the needs of industry guide the development, activities, and outcomes of the PhD project. It provides an opportunity for the student to work under the guidance of their industry partner on research and development activities contributing to their PhD project.
Activities should provide students with relevant tools and experience to better contextualise and apply research in an industry setting. Potential activities may include:
- understanding the research needs of the industry partner and/or the broader industry
- undertaking practical research translation activities under the guidance of the industry partner
- testing research assumptions and innovations in an industry setting with end-users.
The industry engagement component must be a minimum of three months in duration and should ideally take place at the industry partner’s premises. However, activities can be undertaken remotely, within reason. A mixture of online and in-person engagement is also acceptable. The industry engagement component should ideally be completed part-time or in short blocks, strategically placed throughout the PhD to encourage ongoing engagement between the industry partner and the student.
iPhD program staff assist with project scoping, partner communication, and support the submission of the formal EOI paperwork. If required, iPhD program staff will make best endeavours to locate eligible partners which have complementary and relevant knowledge and experience.
Contact us
If you are interested in becoming an industry partner, or for more information on the iPhD program, please contact us.