Candidates will undertake co-designed research projects with an industry focus.
UNSW is a national leader in research-industry collaborations, with more than 200 industry-engaged research candidates involved in projects that intersect with companies, federal, state or local government, NGOs and community groups.
As part of this focus, UNSW has engaged in the Australian government’s National Industry PhD Program(NIPhD), which has been designed to boost university-industry collaborations.
The government is investing in developing research talent that can pivot between academia and industry. The NIPhD subsidises employers to support staff embarking on an industry-engaged PhD. For Rob Batchelor, a PhD candidate from UNSW Science and mid-career professional in health technologies, this presented a unique opportunity.
“I started my PhD through the NIPhD program because it will be a win-win-win for UNSW, my employer Nutromics and government. My thesis is closely aligned with Nutromics’s research and development goals for our wearable sensor patch. I think this program is beneficial for government as well, as it will upskill scientists like me and strengthen industry-university collaborations,” said Mr Batchelor.
In addition to being actively engaged with businesses and government, many of the researchers are partnering with hospitals, NGOs and community organisations, both domestically and internationally.
"We are excited to kick off the first NIPHD industry-researcher project at the UNSW Business School and hope it will be the first of many. Our project on ethical insurance pricing offers a unique opportunity to establish collaboration with our industry partner, cultivate industry talent through our PhD program in risk and actuarial studies, and tackle an important insurance issue with significant social impact,” said Dr Fei Huang, Academic Lead on a project from the School of Risk and Actuarial Studies.
Looking to the future
UNSW will continue to develop strong industry-engaged PhD programs that make a significant impact across society. The NIPhD is one of a few emerging industry engagement schemes that are shining a light on what has always been a strong area for UNSW.
If you’d like to find out more, contact Simon Kalucy, Senior Program Manager for Industry at the Graduate Research School.
Outcomes of the NIPHD
2023 NIPHD awardees
Who: Robert Batchelor, UNSW Science
Topic: Development and characterisation of DNA aptamers immobilised on gold electrode surfaces for utility in wearable electrochemical biosensors
Company: Nutromics
Who: Jeanne Altamarino, UNSW Engineering
Topic: The development of rapid and sensitive methods for the detection of pathogens in water
Company: Biopoint
Who: Yifan Wang, UNSW Engineering
Topic: Analyzing network traffic using AI and machine learning to enhance online gaming and metaverse experience
Company: Canopus
2024 NIPHD awardees
Who: Victoria Blake, UNSW Medicine & Health
Topic: Clinical concept extraction using natural language processing.
Company: Eastern Heart Clinic
Who: Rong Cong, UNSW Engineering
Topic: Automated software-hardware integration for safety-critical maintenance in radiology
Company: Imaxeon
Who: Laura Zhao, UNSW Business
Topic: This project aims to develop personalised risk management strategies and affordable insurance solutions for Australian travellers
Company: This company chose not to be named
Who: Isabella Garay, UNSW Engineering
Topic: Using ‘atoms to aeroplanes’ simulation techniques developed by Boeing and UNSW over the last decade, accelerating the material development process
Company: Boeing
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