Working with an ANU HDR candidate (which covers MPhil and PhD) is an exciting opportunity to develop innovative solutions to complex challenges facing your business. Through their studies at the ANU, HDR candidates build qualities fundamental for innovation: advanced and complex knowledge of a specialised field, the highest level of critical thinking skills and the ability to interpret, apply and transmit that knowledge.
Inviting an HDR candidate to join your organisation is a way to tap into the up-and-coming talent pool of the country’s best and brightest for future recruitment and business growth.
Working with ANU PhD candidates gives your business a research perspective and a unique skillset that can enable increased productivity while they get the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world problems and build experience that will help them navigate their future careers.
Pathways for engaging with ANU HDR candidates
The duration of postgraduate research and the need for independence and self-motivation foster initiative and resilience in HDR candidates, which are necessary capabilities for driving change and solutions-based work in industry environments. Many have prior work experience, further adding to their skills and capabilities.
Ways to engage your business with ANU HDR candidates include:
Project work (research internships)
During their candidature, MPhil and PhD candidates complete a discrete project related to their research field and to the host’s business.
Research internships can be paid or unpaid and must be formalised by either using the internship host's HR process or by using the ANU Internship Agreement forms.
Industry PhDs
There are three levels of engagement that can be tailored to the industry host's needs:
Industry engaged: The PhD project is closely aligned with the R&D needs of the industry partner. PhD candidates receive an ANU stipend and work within the industry partner's organisation for a research internship.
Industry linked: The PhD project has been co-designed with an industry partner. PhD candidates receive an ANU stipend and an industry-sponsored supplementary scholarship.
Industry sponsored: The PhD project is of direct relevance to the R&D needs of the industry partner. The PhD candidate will be employed by the industry partner for the duration of their candidature OR they receive a full stipend scholarship from the industry partner.
ANU – CSIRO iPhD
An ANU PhD candidate collaborates with the industry partner and a CSIRO staff member on a jointly designed project.
The industry partner supports the PhD candidate with a supplementary scholarship.
Co-Supervision
The industry partner is part of the HDR candidate's Supervisory Panel and provides advice and expertise during the HDR project.
The industry partner can extend their engagement to include mentoring of the HDR candidate.
Mentoring
The industry partner is connected with a HDR candidate based on their expertise and skills.
Mentoring can either be a short, one-off engagement ('Have a coffee chat with me') or a series of meetings over a six-month period.
Seminars and networking
We can organise specific events during which the industry partner meets HDR candidates with a specific set of skills and expertise.
These events can either be a one-off or a regular occurrence.
Have questions about what’s involved in hosting an ANU HDR candidate as an intern or contributing to a longer-term project such as an Industry PhD?
Our HDR Industry Engagement team can explore the options with you.
Life as an Industry PhD candidate: Rosie Georgelin
PhD candidate Rosie Georgelin is working with industry partner Samsara Eco to push boundaries in infinite plastic recycling.
Learn More
How Chloe’s PhD partners with industry for plastic solutions
PhD candidate Chloe Gomez is working with industry partner Samsara Eco to push boundaries in infinite plastic recycling.
Learn More