Researcher Development Schemes

Researcher Development Schemes are funded and administered through the University. Most of the programs aim to seed new initiatives and partnerships, others are targeted to specific cohorts of researchers.

Accepting and managing your funding

Grant Schedule Overview

Grants, Fellowships, and Awards

  • Early Career Researcher Grants

    To support early career researchers in undertaking high quality projects and pilots, developing track records and competing for external funding.

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  • Research Impetus Grants

    The University of Melbourne’s Research Impetus Grants scheme (pilot round open for application in 2024) aims to help early-career and mid-career researchers who have experienced significant career disruption/s regain their research momentum.

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  • McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowships Scheme

    To attract outstanding recent doctoral graduates in areas of research priority for the university and its faculties, and in particular to recruit new researchers who have the potential to build and lead cross-disciplinary collaborative research activities inside and across faculties.

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  • Puzey Postdoctoral Fellowship

    The Puzey Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Melbourne is available to outstanding Australian postdoctoral researchers working in the fields of medicine, science and engineering. It is awarded annually for a term of three-years and offers fellows project funding, mentoring and other supports for early career development.

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  • Melbourne Research Fellowships (Career Interruptions) Program

    The objective of the Melbourne Research Fellowships (Career Interruptions) Program is to enable eligible researchers who are University of Melbourne staff and who do not have a continuing research position whose careers have been severely interrupted, delayed or otherwise constrained by circumstances such as acute or chronic illness, child bearing, child rearing or primary responsibility for the sustained care of a dependent family member to enhance or re-establish their academic research careers.

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  • Mary Lugton Postdoctoral Fellowships

    The Mary Lugton Fund provides postdoctoral fellowships for early career researchers at the University of Melbourne in the fields of art conservation, medicine, science, botany, engineering or history.

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  • Joyce Lambert Antarctic Research Fund

    The Joyce Lambert Antarctic Research Fund is calling for applications for seed-funding for University of Melbourne early-mid career researchers to undertake internationally or nationally collaborative Antarctic research.

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  • Woodward Medal

    Each year one Medal is awarded in Science and Technology and another in Humanities and Social Sciences to staff members for recently-published research considered to have made the most significant contribution to knowledge in these fields.

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  • Marles Medal

    The Marles Medal recognises excellence in research impact, which may include an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health and wellbeing, the environment or quality of life beyond academia.

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  • Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowships (record of scheme)

    To attract outstanding recent doctoral graduates in areas of research priority for the university and its faculties, and in particular to recruit new researchers who have the potential to build and lead cross-disciplinary collaborative research activities inside and across faculties.

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International Research Collaboration - Seed Funds

  • Australia–Germany Joint Research Cooperation Scheme (UA–DAAD)

    The scheme is a joint initiative of Universities Australia and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The scheme supports exchanges for researchers to spend time at partner institutions in Germany and for collaborating German researchers to spend time at UoM. Proposals must include an early career researcher.

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  • Victoria-Germany Bilateral Academic Exchange Program (VESKI-DAAD)

    The Victoria-Germany Bilateral Academic Exchange Program supports well-planned collaborative research projects with German cooperation partners with up to three months of funding, including a travel allowance.

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  • International Grants Accelerator Program

    To support the pursuit of international research funding by providing both an accelerator program aimed at educating researchers on the international grant funding landscape and seed funding to support the development of applications.

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  • Hebrew University of Jerusalem – University of Melbourne Joint Research Workshops Grant Program

    This bilateral program offers funding of up to $AUD 20,000 for UoM and HUJ collaborators to convene a research workshop in Melbourne or Jerusalem.

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  • Dyason Fellowships

    Dyason Fellowships support University staff to undertake (or host) a short-term international visit that fosters significant and lasting research collaborations with leading international researchers, their academic networks and consortia.

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  • Bonn-Melbourne Research Excellence Fund

    The Bonn-Melbourne Research Excellence Fund fosters international collaborative research projects between academics at the University of Melbourne and the University of Bonn.

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  • Hokkaido University - University of Melbourne Joint Research Workshops

    Hokkaido University (HU) and the University of Melbourne (UoM) seek to grow their collaboration through the Hokkaido – Melbourne Joint Research Workshops Fund.

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  • Manchester-Melbourne-Toronto Research Fund

    The University of Manchester, the University of Melbourne, and the University of Toronto are contributing matching funds to support collaborative bilateral and trilateral research initiatives through a joint call for proposals.

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  • Osaka University - University of Melbourne Joint Research Workshops

    Osaka University (OU) and the University of Melbourne (UoM) seek to grow their collaboration through the Osaka – Melbourne Joint Research Workshops Fund.

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  • JSPS Open Partnership Joint Research Projects co-funding scheme

    The University of Melbourne (UoM) is committed to growing research collaboration with Japanese institutions through the JSPS– Melbourne Joint Research Projects.

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  • Nagoya University - University of Melbourne Joint Research Workshops

    Nagoya University (NU) and the University of Melbourne (UoM) seek to grow their collaboration through the Nagoya– Melbourne Joint Research Workshops Fund.

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International Research Collaboration - Joint PhD Programs

  • International Research Training Groups (IRTGs)

    International Research Training Groups (IRTGs) are organised, cohort-based programs that foster joint enrolment and supervision of graduate researchers by Melbourne academics and their international peers. This scheme supports the development of new IRTGs with world’s best research organisations where these partners demonstrate the same commitment to high-quality joint research and research training activities.

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  • Hebrew University of Jerusalem – University of Melbourne: Call for Joint PhD Projects

    Collaborator pairs of UoM and HUJI Faculty members are invited to apply to this joint call for joint supervision of 2 PhD candidates per pair.

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  • KU Leuven - Melbourne Call for Joint PhD Projects

    Collaborator pairs of KU Leuven and Melbourne academics are invited to apply to this call for funding support of 2 jointly enrolled and supervised PhD candidates per pair.

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  • Manchester – Melbourne Call for Jointly Awarded/Dual PhD Projects

    Collaborator pairs of Melbourne and Manchester academics are invited to apply to this joint call for joint supervision of 2 PhD candidates per pair.

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  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) - University of Melbourne: Graduate Research Projects Scheme

    The CNRS and the University of Melbourne are calling for joint PhD project proposals from collaborator pairs as part of the Graduate Research Projects Scheme.

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  • University of Melbourne – University of Bonn: Call for joint PhD project proposals

    The University of Bonn and the University of Melbourne are calling for joint PhD project proposals from all faculties and research areas

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  • University of Melbourne – A*STAR Call for collaborative PhD project proposals

    The University of Melbourne and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Singapore are calling for collaborative PhD project proposals from all faculties and research areas.

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  • University of Toronto – University of Melbourne: International Research Training Group - Call for Proposals

    Collaborator pairs of University of Melbourne and University of Toronto academics are invited to apply for funding to support either individual or small clusters of joint PhD candidates.

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Infrastructure Grants

  • ANFF-VIC Technology Fellow Ambassador Program

    As the central facility for the Australian National Fabrication Facility-Victorian Node (ANFF-VIC), the mission of the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN) – Australia’s largest open-access nanofabrication cleanroom – is to facilitate the integration and translation of nanotechnology into the R&D activities that drive Australia’s innovation and manufacturing economies.

    ANFF-VIC is offering the opportunity to apply for a Technology Fellowship through their Ambassador Program.

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  • Melbourne Collaborative Research Infrastructure Program

    The Melbourne Collaborative Research Infrastructure Program (MCRIP) looks to improve the coherence and consolidation of a University-wide approach to research infrastructure provisioning through the support of people embedded in the University’s platform technologies. 13 platforms were funded under MCRIP Stage One funding. MCRIP Stage Two funding aims to support both new and existing eligible platforms. To be considered eligible for support platforms must  fit the criteria of Collaborative Research Infrastructure, which specifically addresses: technical expertise and continuous learning, researcher access to capabilities, quality assurance, information management towards evidence-based decision making, efficiency and avoidance of duplication, long-term operational sustainability and precinct partnerships to maximise opportunities.

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  • Research Infrastructure Investment Fund Collaborative Equipment Grant Scheme

    The University’s Research Infrastructure Investment Fund  Collaborative Equipment Grant Scheme (RIIF CEG) provides funding for the purchase of cutting-edge and the replacement, repairment, or upgrading of ageing research infrastructure of critical mass that cannot feasibly be acquired through National funding schemes. Aligning with principles of the Melbourne Collaborative Research Infrastructure Program (MCRIP), the RIIF CEG scheme aims to support infrastructure purchases of a collaborative nature, i.e., those that represent the needs of multiple research areas and have an impact beyond a single research group.

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Establishment Grants (ARC)

  • Establishment Grants for ARC DECRAs

    Establishment Grants are one-off payments to support ARC DECRAs at the University of Melbourne. To be eligible for central support, matching funding must be provided by the host department/school/faculty on a 1:1 basis. Applications for Establishment Grants should be requested at the ARC DECRA proposal stage.

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  • Establishment Grants for ARC Future Fellows

    Establishment Grants are one-off payments to support ARC Future Fellows at the University of Melbourne. To be eligible for central support, matching funding must be provided by the host department/school/faculty on a 1:1 basis. Applications for Establishment Grants should be requested at the ARC Future Fellowship proposal stage.

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