Monash Research Internship Program

Monash University has developed the Monash Research Internship Program to incentivise industry engagement through PhD Research Internships. PhD Research Internships offer you the opportunity to apply your research skills by working on short-term research projects in industry settings.

What is a ‘Research Internship’?

A ‘research internship’ is defined as a position with a research end-user, where a student has undertaken research and development (R&D) related to their higher degree by research (HDR).

A ‘research end-user’ is defined as an individual, community, or organisation external to academia that will directly use or directly benefit from the output, outcome, or results of the research. e.g. businesses, governments, non-governmental organisations, communities and community organisations. Specific exclusions include - Medical Research Institutes (affiliates, controlled entities or subsidiaries of a higher education provider).

A Research Internship must be related to the student’s research doctorate area of research. The Australian Council for Graduate Research recommends we consider ‘related to a student’s research doctorate area of research’ in broad terms, as follows: (a) the research internship must be related to your area of research; (b) use the research skills/experience gained during your PhD; and (c) the industry research skill/experience will benefit your research or research area.

A Research Internship will also ideally meet the following criteria:

• be undertaken by a Research Doctorate student;
• be a minimum of three calendar months in duration; and
• include 60 full-time equivalent days of engagement with a research end-user; and
• must be agreed in written form by the University, student and the research end-user, within 18 months FTE of the PhD student’s course commencement (e.g. Letter of Intent or signed written agreement).

A research internship can be either paid or unpaid, and R&D activities can be performed on-site with the end-user, on-campus, and online.

Completion of a 60-day Research Internship which meets all of the above criteria will constitute 60 hours of Professional Development training. This will be managed through the Professional Development portal (myDevelopment).

How to source and secure a Research Internship?

The preferred and easiest way to source and secure a Research Internship is directly through the Faculty of Law. The Faculty of Law has a proud tradition of engaging directly with industry through our Clinical Legal Education program. For over 45 years, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students have had opportunities to undertake clinical placements in community legal centres and placements with external partner organisations.

We are delighted that the Clinical Legal Education program can now be extended to Monash Law Doctoral candidates, providing you with an invaluable opportunity to strengthen your research project and establish ways of engaging with research end-users early in your research career, as well as boosting your employability.

You may be able to organise a Research Internship with an organisation that already partners with the Clinical Legal Education program, or the Experiential Education Team can provide the necessary infrastructure if you ‘self-source’ your Research Internship.

Please visit the Clinical Legal Education program website to see which organisations already partner with the Faculty of Law, and/or email Melissa Fletcher (Melissa.Fletcher@monash.edu) to discuss opportunities.

The Monash Graduate Research Office has also secured two ‘external’ internship service providers. Monash Talent is the preferred internships service provider, and APR Intern is an additional provider. Both providers secure Research Internships that are advertised to graduate research students (simply apply), and can support students that have ‘self-sourced’ their own Research Internship.

If you think an internship might be for you, use the following checklist to start planning how this might fit into your research program:

Monash Research Internship Program checklist

1. Gather information

• Review the information for students provided by MGRO
• Advise your supervisors to review the information for supervisors provided by MGRO­
• *Remember: Ideally your Research Internship is secured within the first 18 months FTE of your course commencement

2. Eligibility

• Check your eligibility
• Discuss with your supervisor

3. Faculty partners

• Consider a Research Internship with an existing Law industry partners within the Clinical Legal Education Program
• Discuss new “self-sourced” potential industry partners with the Experiential Education Team
• Contact the Faculty Research Office to secure your Law internship (law-graduate-research@monash.edu)

4. Other partners

• If your Research Internship is not suitable to be run through an existing Law industry partner within the Clinical Legal Education Program, refer to Monash Talent and/or APR.Intern (Step 2 on ‘How to apply’)
• Advise the Faculty Research Office when you secure a Research Internship

5. Apply

• Submit your application to commence your research internship (Step 3 on ‘How to Apply’)
• Organise your documentation, including the signed agreement (or Letter of Intent where an agreement cannot be signed within 18 months FTE of candidature)*, and ethics approval if needed
• Submit an application.

6. Outcome

• Wait for MGRO to confirm that your internship has been approved and processed - Outcome of application and internship commencement (Step 4)

7. Start

• Commence the 12 hours of Professional Development training run by the Experiential Education Team (see ‘Navigating your PhD Research Internship’) prior to placement **
• Commence your Research Internship

8. During

• Complete the 12 hours of Professional Development training run by the Experiential Education Team (see ‘Navigating your PhD Research Internship’)**
• See Step 5: Post-Internship [link to MGRO website]

• Confirm your return to Monash
• Recognition of completion ***

* Undertaking an internship with a Faculty of Law industry partner

If you are undertaking an internship with a Faculty of Law industry partner, there may be additional documentation to complete. Contact the Law Research Office for more information.

** Navigating your PhD Research Internship

All students undertaking a Research Internship must complete the Law Faculty-specific orientation and seminar series, and reflective learning exercise, run by the Faculty’s Experiential Learning Team. Before commencing your Research Internship, students must complete the ‘Orientation to Legal Clinics and Placements’ seminar. The two online seminars (Law, Lawyers and Society; and Reflective Practice) and the two Leap into Leadership Programs (Time Management and Prioritisation; and Connecting Across Cultures) should ideally be completed before you commence your Research Internship, and no later than 10 days into your Research Internship. The Reflective Practice exercise will be completed across the course of your Research Internship. Collectively, and once fully completed, the seminars and reflective learning exercise will be worth 12 hours of Professional Development training under the ‘Navigating your PhD Research Internship’ unit. The ‘Navigating your PhD Research Internship’ unit will be run through a dedicated Moodle website for graduate research students, and recording of the Professional Development training hours will be managed through the Professional Development portal.

*** Recognition of completion

In addition to the 12 hours of Professional Development training for completing the ‘Navigating your PhD Research Internship’ unit, completion of a 60-day Research Internship which meets all of the above criteria will constitute 60 hours of Professional Development training. This will be managed through the Professional Development portal (myDevelopment).

The existing suite of Professional Development training offered through myDevelopment to PhD students already contains internship-related training, which PhD interns can also complete for recognition toward their Professional Development training hours

FAQs

Questions? Refer to the FAQs on the MGRO website to find out more.

Student information session

The Pro Vice Chancellor (Research Training) and MGRO launched the research internships program to students at an information session on October 11 2022. Catch up on the recording and access the slide deck.

Contact:

Email: law-graduate-research@monash.edu or mgro-industry@monash.edu