10 additional post-doctoral fellowships of 18 months duration, funded by the Forrest Research Foundation, to be held at any of Western Australia’s five universities.
The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in reduced opportunities for recent PhD graduates to pursue post-doctoral research. In response to this, the Forrest Research Foundation is investing $3 million in 22 new post-doctoral fellowships of 18 months duration – the Prospect Fellowships – to be held at any of Western Australia’s five universities. 12 Fellowships were awarded in the first round (2020). An additional 10 Fellowships will be awarded in Round 2, for which applications open on 1 February 2021 and close on 14 March 2021.
These Prospect Fellowships will support the Foundation’s larger aim to build a world-class centre of research and innovation in Western Australia, and will focus on supporting research that will:
- increase the reputation of WA as a research hub and attract world class researchers;
- increase the link between both the private and the public sector and education;
- increase collaboration between research organisations and institutions; provide a critical mass for discovery by sharing ideas, data, technology and techniques; accelerate translation of research into outcomes.
Prospect Fellowships are open to Australian and New Zealand citizens and Australian permanent residents who have completed their PhD on or after 1 August 2019. Applicants must have an outstanding academic profile, and must provide evidence (e.g. Dean’s list, university or other prizes, publications and other outputs) that they are among the top 5% of recent PhD graduates in their field.
Applicants may come from any disciplinary background but their proposed research must be focused on one of six areas of Western Australian research comparative advantage and relevance:
- Indian Ocean (to include e.g. marine science and engineering, geo-politics, economics)
- Agriculture, food and nutrition
- Environment and natural resources (to include e.g. extractive industries, ecology, conservation)
- Frontier technologies (to include e.g. space science, AI, bio-engineering, nano-technology)
- Mental and physical health and well-being (to include e.g. medicine, human bio-sciences)
- Arts and culture. Note: Governors have determined that 20% of fellowships will be allocated to the Arts and Culture area, recognising the devastating impact of COVID-19 on this sector. These fellowships will support multi-disciplinary research, which may include creative and performing artists, that explores the impact of arts and culture on, for example: health/mental health; education, community resilience; economic activity.
Prospect Fellowships must be based in research groups with international research reputations, evidence of ongoing cross-institutional partnerships/collaborations, track record of translation of research into policy, practice or industry application, and track record in supporting and promoting career development of early-career researchers. Host research groups will be required to provide a statement of evidence that they meet these required standards as part of the application process. The host research group will also will be required to identify and assign an external mentor, drawn from business/government/voluntary sector, as appropriate, to support both the career development of the Prospect Fellow and research translation
Candidates are required to develop their research proposals in conjunction with their host research group to ensure integration with current research capability and rapid research progress.
The Fellowships will favour candidates who intend to build on existing research infrastructure, skills and projects located in Western Australia, and who can demonstrate the potential impact of their research on the WA community, society or economy.
All Fellows will be part of a Prospect Development Program which will support their skills development and enhance their career opportunities. The program will include a series of training events on: industry engagement, leadership, entrepreneurship, financial and project management, governance, media engagement, policy development.
The slidepack from the information session is available here.
