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John Stocker Postgraduate Scholarships 2014
Overview
The 2014SIEF Scholarships Program includes funding for up to four John Stocker Postgraduate Scholarships (top-up),or two full Scholarships, commencing in 2014over a three year period. The Program recognises the value of candidates with industry experience and has the desired outcomes of encouraging return to study and promoting industry collaboration.The Program encourages potential international collaboration.
In 2014, projects are encouraged with strong industry involvement through a mechanism such as a ‘cadetship’ and/or the recipient scholar having1-2 years work experience in the relevant industry. The intent is to provide an additional financial incentive to high calibre candidates with industry experience and/or involvement to undertake a PhD in their field of experience. As such, Supervisors should submit an application in which a candidate student has already been identified. The SIEF John Stocker Postgraduate Scholarships will also act as a mechanism for international collaboration and,as such, the intent is to provide some flexibility to allowthe funds to be expended on activities that support co-location of the scholar.
The process of awarding scholarships will begin with a call for proposals. The proposal, which must be submitted via the University Research Office (or equivalent), will identify the eligible Candidate, the proposed project, University supervisor and any other collaborating partners (preferably including industry partners). Proposals will be assessed by a panel of experts drawn from universities, publicly funded research agencies and industry representatives.
Further information regarding the terms and conditions of the John Stocker Postgraduate Scholarships, including eligibility and funding documentation, can be found at
Process and Timeline - 2014*
By 30 August 2013 / Round OpensIf successful, a grant for three years for each successful proposal may be awarded as a contribution towards the student’s stipend or wage, and operating costs. Up to $10,000 may be used for operating costs.The scholarship requires a minimum$8,000pa collaborator co-contribution.
Scholarships available may include top-up scholarships ($7,000Student stipend and $10,000 operating) where the student also is in receipt of an APA or equivalent; or full scholarships ($32,000 pa). A combination of full and top-up scholarships maybe offered; the ratio of full to top-up scholarships will depend on the quality of the applications each year and the available funds.
31 October 2013
(5pm AEDT) / Round closes
Proposals, which include the written support of all Collaborating Organisations, to have been submitted. Proposals, prepared by the Supervisor(s) in conjunction with the Student candidate, must be submitted electronically by the Lead Organisation’s Research Office or equivalent by email to . SIEF will only consider applications that have been listed on the SIEF spreadsheet as submitted to SIEF by The Research Office. It is the responsibility of the Research Office to provide SIEF with the completed spreadsheet that lists each application for which their organisation is the Lead.
November -December 2013 / Proposals will be assessed by expert assessment panels and proponents of successful proposals will be notified via the Lead Research Office. An outcomes spreadsheet listing the results for proposals submitted by your organisation will be provided to the Research Office or equivalent. Formal notification letters for successful and unsuccessful proposals will be provided to the Research Office for distribution to the proponents.
Funding Agreement forwarded to each successful Lead Organisation. Note that the Funding Agreement must be executed on behalf of the Lead Organisation and each of the Collaborating Organisations.
60 days from letter of offer / Funding Agreement to be signed by all Collaborators and sent to the SIEF Manager for approval and execution by the SIEF Trustee.
Milestone 1 reports completed and invoices sent to SIEF Manager.
No later than 30 June 2014 / Commencement of Student.
*The dates and procedures set out in this table are indicative only and are subject to change.
Funding
Top-up PhD Scholarships are valued at $7,000 per annum top-up to the Student plus minimum $10,000 per annum for operating costs for 3 years.
Full PhD Scholarships are valued at $32,000 per annum stipend to the Student plus minimum $10,000 per annum for operating costs for 3 years.
The scholarship requires a minimum $8,000pa collaborator co-contribution which can be made up of cash, in-kind or a combination.
Student Eligibility
The Student must have gained first class honours or equivalent in a relevant research area prior to the commencement of the scholarship and/or provide evidence of relevant industry experience and, at the date of commencement of the scholarship, be:
- a full-time student;
- enrolled at an eligible Australian Higher Education Institution for a course of research leading to the award of a PhD from an Australian University;
- if the Application specifies a top-up scholarship, awarded an Australian Postgraduate Award or equivalent scholarship;
- available to commence project prior to 30 June 2014.
Note: International students must have obtained a scholarship covering International fees.
Selection Criteria
Quality and Relevance of Student Project
A primary assessment criterion for a Postgraduate Scholarship is the quality and relevance of the project being proposed. The research must offer the highest potential for important scientific achievement and benefits to Australia.
Industry involvement
While not mandatory, preference will be given to projects that can demonstrate clear industry engagement including active participation in the project and supervision of the Student, and/or relevant industry experience of the Student.
Quality of the Student
The quality of the student is also critical to the assessment of a scholarship and prior to commencement the candidate must have gained a degree from a recognised University with normally a first class honours or equivalent.
Recipient scholarswill preferably be able to demonstrate 1-2 years work experience in the relevant industry.
Relevance of University Supervision
The relevance of the Supervisors’ research background and their willingness to supervise the Student should also be made clear. The student must be entering a collegial, supportive environment where they will have the opportunity to gain all the skills necessary (both technical and professional) to become an active member of the scientific community.
Prospects
The project must be of the highest calibre with the possibility of novel and important scientific outcomes address issues of national priority and bring benefit to Australia. Active end-user/industry engagement in the project is encouraged.
Preferentially, research projects in which Postgraduate Students are to be engaged will be collaborative projects between an Australian University and one or more of the following:a) industry partner(s); b) Australian Publicly Funded Research Agency; c)International collaborator(s). The prospect of the project to aid in the establishment and/or continuation of productive international collaborations is highly desirable.
Examples of Publicly-Funded Research Agencies
Australian Astronomical Observatory
Australian Antarctic Division
Australian Institute of Marine Studies
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
Defence Science and Technology Organisation
Geoscience Australia
Conditions of Scholarship
Successful applicants are required to sign the Funding Agreement within the specified timeframe or the Scholarship maynot be funded.
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2014 SIEF John Stocker Postgraduate Scholarships - Overview
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John Stocker Postgraduate Scholarships 2014
Project Proposal Application Form
This form must be completed for each proposal. Each Project Proposal Application Form must be signed by an authorised officer of the Lead Organisation and each Collaborating Organisation, and submitted via the Research Office or equivalent. SIEF will only consider applications that have been listed on the SIEF spreadsheet as submitted to SIEF by The Research Office.
Proposals should adhere to the page limits as indicated at relevant sections (excluding the appendices) and supply only the information requested. A minimum of 10 point font should be used.Please ensure you have read and comply with the Guidelines for more information about what is required in each section. Applications that do not comply with the guidelines will not be accepted.
Please delete the Overview (above) and Guidelines (below) sections before submission
Section A – Details of Project
A.1:Lead Organisation: Name of universityA.2:Who will be the primary supervisorof the Postgraduate Student?(Nominate one person only)
Salutation: / First name: / Last name:
Mailing address:
Email: / Phone:
A.3:Collaborating Organisation(s): organisation/ university
A.4:Who will be the co-supervisor of the Postgraduate Student?
A.4 Project Title:
A.5: Indicate which Field of Research (FOR) the project is relevant to: Please indicate a maximum of two (2) FORs from the list below that best align with your project. FORs are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008.
01MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
02PHYSICAL SCIENCES
03CHEMICAL SCIENCES
04EARTH SCIENCES
05ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
07AGRICULTURAL AND VETERINARY SCIENCES
08INFORMATION AND COMPUTING SCIENCES
09ENGINEERING
10TECHNOLOGY
11MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES
A.6The application is for:
Full scholarship
Top up scholarship
Both
A.7 Project description:No confidential information should be included in this application[2 pages]
A.8What opportunities will the Student have for engagement with the Collaborating Organisations, in particular Industry partners?[1/3 page]
SECTION B –Project Potential
In this section please provide information on the significance of the research area, the supervisor(s) role and fit of the project to ongoing research
B.1How does the proposed Primary Supervisor(s) support the project? [1/3 page]B.2Calibre and recognition of the Primary Supervisor e.g. significant publications, international recognition, originality and potential of the science(Attach information as an appendix - see guidelines for more information):[1/2 page]
B.3How will the project benefit from the Supervisor(s) knowledge and the university involvement? What will be the contribution of the Collaborating Supervisor(s)?
[1/2 page]
B.4Any other relevant information:[1/2 page]
SECTION C – Details of the Student
C.1 Student information:Salutation: / First name: / Last name: / Gender:
C.2 Years of work experience in a relevant industry (if any). Please provide dates (mm/yy).
C.3 Details of type of work experience. (Provide evidence of employment such as a letter from your employer and attach as an appendix):
[1/3 page]
C.4 Details of the Student’s academic record(Academic transcript to be attached as an appendix):
Attach as an appendix
C.5 Details of scholarship awarded or other support to be offered for the duration of the project(see guidelines for more detail):
C.6 Why does the Student wish to undertake postgraduate study?
[1/2 page]
SECTION D – Endorsement of Lead Organisation
Details of cash and/or in-kind contribution year-by-year by the Lead Organisation (minimum $8,000pa) in addition to the SIEF grant.Please indicate how the Operating component of the SIEF funds will beexpended.This will include operating expenses, travel, training and development etc as well as direct cost associated with engagement of the Postgraduate Student, but should not include the in-kind contribution of supervisors or ‘laboratory fees’.
Year / Cash/in-kind annual Contribution from Lead Organisation
1 / $[insert]
2 / $[insert]
3 / $[insert]
Total / $[insert]
Endorsement of the Lead Organisation
[Do not delete these conditions]
NOTE: By signing below, the signatory represents that he/she has authority to do so, this document contains no confidential information and that, if successful, the LeadOrganisation is agreeing to:
(a)provide the cash and/or in-kind contribution specified above, and that this contribution combined with the contributions pledged by the Collaborating Organisations (if any) is sufficient to support the Project if the proposal is successful and that if these pledged contributions are insufficient, the Lead Organisation and the Collaborating Organisation will meet any additional costs and expenses to enable the Project to be carried out; and
(b)The publication of the project title, name of Lead Organisation, names of relevant researchers, and other relevant details of this Project Proposal Application Form, including on the SIEF website;
(c)execute the Funding Agreement within 60 days from letter of offer and
(d)comply with all applicable laws and codes of conduct in carrying out the Project, including those set out on SIEF’s website ().
______
Signature of authorised officer of Lead Organisation
______
Name
______
Position
______
Date
SECTION E – Endorsement of Collaborating Organisation
Duplicate this section for each Collaborating Organisations
Details of cash and/or in-kind contribution year-by-year by the Collaborating Organisation in addition to the SIEF grantThis will include operating expenses, travel, training and development etc as well as direct cost associated with engagement of the Postgraduate Student, but should not include the in-kind contribution of supervisors or ‘laboratory fees’.
Year / Cash/in-kind annual Contribution from Collaborating Organisation
1 / $[insert]
2 / $[insert]
3 / $[insert]
Total / $[insert]
Name(s) of Collaborating Organisation(s):
Name of Supervisor(s):
Endorsement by Collaborating Organisation:
NOTE: By signing below, the signatory represents that he/she has authority to do so, this document contains no confidential information and that, if successful, the CollaboratingOrganisation is agreeing to:
a)provide the cash and/or in-kind contribution specified above, and that this contribution combined with the contributions pledged by the Lead Organisation (if any) is sufficient to support the Project if the proposal is successful and that if these pledged contributions are insufficient, the Lead Organisation and the Collaborating Organisation will meet any additional costs and expenses to enable the Project to be carried out; and
b)the publication of the project title, name of Collaborating Organisation, names of relevant researchers, and other relevant details of this Project Proposal Application Form, including on the SIEF website;
c)execute the Funding Agreement within 60 days from letter of offer; and
d)comply with all applicable laws and codes of conduct in carrying out the Project, including those set out on SIEF’s website ().
______
Signature of authorised officer of Collaborating Organisation
______
Name
______
Position
______
Date
Details of Lead Organisation Contact for Proposal
Contact:Email:
Phone:
Details of Collaborating Organisation Contact for Proposal
Contact:Email:
Phone:
SECTION F – Submission
- Please delete the Overview (above) and Guidelines (below) sections before submission
- All documentation relating to an individual proposal must be assembled into one word or pdf file
- Please name the document as per the following protocol: SIEF 2014– JSPhD – [Lead Supervisor surname] e.g. SIEF2014 – JSPhD-Smith
Proposals should be submitted to , via the Research Office, by5pm AEDT31 October 2013.
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2014 SIEF John Stocker Postgraduate Scholarships - Application
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Guidelines - John Stocker Postgraduate Scholarships
The following comments on issues of special importance to the assessors may be helpful to those preparing proposals.
Item in Proposal FormWho should complete this application? / It is strongly suggested that this application be completed as a combined effort between the Supervisor(s) and the proposed Student. Many of the questions require information on current research activities, and Supervisor background, and therefore should be primarily completed by the Supervisor(s). The Studentshould provide relevant information for Section Cand may also be involved in the drafting of other sections, in particular the Project Description (A.8).
Assessment weightings / The following weightings will be assigned to assessment
Project, research environment and opportunity – 50%
Supervisor – 25%
Candidate Student – 25%
Submission process / The completed Proposal:
- must be submitted via the Lead Supervisor’s Research Office or equivalent
- no proposals will be accepted if submitted directly by the Researcher/Supervisor
- all Collaborating Organisations must certify the proposal prior to submission
- applicants should make themselves aware of their internal Research Office or equivalent deadlines and leave sufficient time for appropriate sign-off by ALL collaborators
- the document should be named as per the following protocol: SIEF 2014 – JSPhD – [Lead Supervisor surname] e.g. SIEF2014-JSPhD-Smith
SECTION A: Project / No confidential information should be included in this application form. All information contained in this document will be considered as publicdomain.
Project Selection: Funding from the SIEF is being made available to engage Postgraduate students in research projects with the highest potential for scientific achievement and benefits to Australia. Preference will be given to research projects that are collaborative projects between an Australian University and one or more of the following:a) industry partner(s); b) international collaborator(s); c) Australian Publicly Funded Research Agency. The prospect of the project to aid in the establishment and/or continuation of productive international collaborations is highly desirable.
To be eligible for consideration, the project must be for scientific research directed to furthering the interests of the Australian community, industry or contributing to the achievement of Australia’s National Research Priorities. Alignment with the research priorities and strategic direction of the collaborating organisationsis also of key importance.
Please note however, that while industry collaboration and engagement is highly encouraged, the project the Student is to work on must not be overly encumbered by intellectual property and/or confidentiality issues. The Student must be provided with the opportunity to develop their communication skills to a wide spectrum of audiences, and not have their project direction significantly changed due solely to commercial considerations.
A1:Although there may be more than one supervisor, please nominate one Primary Supervisor. This person must be a scientist of the LeadOrganisation and will be the person who is directly responsible for the day-to-day supervision, research direction, and (usually) mentoring of the student. The supervisor is crucial in this program and we must be able to determine if the supervisor in an outstanding scientist with strong international profile and who will provide an excellent experience for the student.
A5 - Select a maximum of two (2) Fields of Research (FORs) that best describes the project. This selection will assist in the designation of reviewers for your application. Further details and descriptors of what is included in each FOR can be found on the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) website.
How to select boxes:
- Double click box you wish to tick
- Under the ‘default value’ section select ‘checked’
A.7 Project Description: Background and details of the project, including field of research and how the project aligns with the SIEF priority research areas and/or the information science areas.
Explain how the project is directed to furthering the interests of the Australian community, industry or contributing to the achievement of Australia’s National Research Priorities. What contribution would the project make to the research program of the Lead Organisation and the Collaborating Organisation(s)? If the Project involves international collaboration, describe this interaction and the activities that will be carried out by the Student (eg visit to and/or time spent at Collaborator laboratories).
A.8 Describe what advantage the Student will gain by engagement with the Collaborating Organisations and Supervisors. How will the Student engage with industry, describe the level and type of engagement (eg time spent physically located with the industry partner; active participation of Industry partner in project progress meetings and/or Student at Industry partner meetings)
Assessors are, in general, not experts in all fields of science. Thus it is very important to state the background and details of the project clearly and simply without using acronyms, jargon and complex concepts assessors may not understand. Sufficient detail of the project must be given to make it clear what the student would do and how this relates to the program goals. State clearly the nature and the scope of the project. If a diagram is included, make it self explanatory, clear and relevant.
SECTION B: Supervisor / B2: To assist the assessors in determining the strength of the supervisor, the supervisor may provide evidence by including a full CV and their significant publications (refereed papers only) for the last five years in an appendix in the format below. A description of the supervisor’s international recognition amongst peers and originality and potential of the science should be included.
Refereed journal papers:
Reference / Impact
Factor / Citations
Smith RL, Jones BM, Brown FX (2006) Rabbits, rabbits and more rabbits. Pest Control 35: 1-4 / 3.6 / 28
NB: Type the name of the applicant/group member in bold
B4: Use this section for other relevant information you feel will help the assessors, for example; awards, lifetime citations, editorial appointments;the multidisciplinary nature of the group; the overall group environment the Student will be working in including what additional support network there is available on a day to day basis.
SECTION C: Student Details / C3 & C4Work Experience and Academic Record: The quality of the candidate is critical to the assessment of the application. Thus it is important that their work experience (where applicable) together with their academic record are considered.
C5: Please detail any other scholarship or financial support the student will be receiving during this project. If a Top-up Scholarship is being sought, specify the primary scholarship/funding source. Indicate if this is already secured or pending.International students must hold a scholarship covering International fees, and this should be detailed in this section.
C.6: Indicate why the Student is returning to study and/or wishes to undertake a project with strong industry engagement.
SECTION D & E: Collaborator contributions / A minimum of $8,000pais required as co-contribution (cash, in-kind or a combination) from the combined Lead and Collaborating Organisations.
Top-up Scholarship: $7,000 as stipend to Student; minimum $10,000 for operating expenses.
Full Scholarship: $32,000 as stipend to Student; minimum $10,000 for operating expenses.
Please indicate what level of co-contribution (cash, in-kind or a combination) each of the Collaborators will be making and how the SIEF Scholarship and co-contribution funds will be distributed.Co-contributions must be sufficient to cover all costs and expenses of carrying out the Project not funded by SIEF, and include the costs of equipment, consumables, travel, training and general overheads. If relevant, indicate how the Scholarship funds will be used to support activities associated with international collaboration(s).
Details of the composition of the applicants contribution including cash and/or in-kind. This will include operating expenses, travel, training and development etc as well as direct cost associated with engagement of the Postgraduate Student, but should not include the in-kind contribution of supervisors or ‘laboratory fees’.
There is some flexibility to allow the funds to be expended on activities that support co-location of the scholar.
Grant Conditions: If successful, a Funding Agreement must be executed by the Lead Organisation and the Collaborating Organisations within 60 days from letter of offer
General / The job of the assessors is demanding. Assessors assess on the basis of what is in the proposal. Thus, an incomplete or poorly prepared proposal will be disadvantaged and scored accordingly.
Appendices should only be included where indicated. Substantial additional information included as an appendix will not be considered during assessment
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