Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowships (record of scheme)

Overview

The Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowships scheme was introduced in 2021 as a supportive initiative for early career researchers during the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the subsequent three years, the University annually awarded ten highly competitive fellowships to outstanding University of Melbourne postdoctoral researchers (who had graduated with a PhD from the University of Melbourne) and academic staff. The 2024 awarded cohort will be the last annual intake under this scheme. For 2025 commencements, interested applicants for fellowships should refer to the expanded McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme.

Though the University is no longer awarding new fellowships through the Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowships scheme, it continues to provides career development and concentrated research opportunities for its distinguished fellows, who contribute vitally to the excellence of our research community. Current Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellows, including those commencing their fellowship in 2024, retain their full Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowship and relevant institutional/faculty supports until their completion.

The objectives of the 2024 Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowships scheme were to:

  • attract and retain talented recent doctoral graduates from the University of Melbourne in areas that are a research priority for the University;
  • retain researchers who have the potential to build and lead interdisciplinary collaborative research activities inside and across Faculties; and
  • promote research that aligns with institutional research strategies and research priorities in Faculties.

Funding

Jointly funded by Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) (DVCR) strategic funding and Faculties, each Fellowship is awarded at Academic Level A6 in the University Salary Band plus oncosts and superannuation as per the terms and conditions of employment for University staff set out in the applicable University of Melbourne enterprise agreement. Salary funding for the Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowship is split 2:1 (DVCR: Faculty). DVCR strategic funds also provide an additional single allocation of $25,000 for the Fellow's research project costs over the full term of the Fellowship. The default term of the Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowships is for three years (at 1.0 FTE) of research-focused activity.

Eligibility

Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowships were open to early career researchers who were awarded their PhD in the previous three years before their fellowship application, unless demonstrated interruptions or exceptional circumstances occurred. Applicants must have met the requirements to graduate with a PhD from the University of Melbourne; or, if academic staff at the University, may have graduated with a PhD from another university. Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellows were eligible to one fellowship under this scheme, and were not eligible for award if they had already been awarded a competitively funded research fellowship from any institution since the award of their PhD.

Supporting documents

Documents for 2024:

Please contact res-devschemes@unimelb.edu.au for documents in alternate accessible formats.

Contacts

Academic Contact: Current Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellows have an Academic Contact or mentor in their host Faculty/School, who can provide guidance and referrals. Fellows can also be in touch with their Faculty Research Office.
The Researcher Development Unit provides programs and development opportunities for early career researchers.
For inquiries and variation information, please refer to the scheme guidelines and FAQs (linked above) before submitting inquiries to
res-devschemes@unimelb.edu.au

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