A new mentoring that aims to give PhD students a better understanding of the commercial and industrial world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has been launched in Victoria with an industry pilot focused on biotechnology and sponsored by AusBiotech.
The Victorian pilot launched last week by the Victorian Premier, the Hon Daniel Andrews and Vice Chancellor of Monash University, Dr Alan Finkel, will initially include La Trobe, Monash, RMIT University and The University of Melbourne and involve 50 students matched to 50 mentors.
The Industry Mentoring Network In STEM (IMNIS) is an initiative of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE), with pilots initially in Victoria and West Australia
IMNIS has been designed to be scalable across Australian universities and all STEM-based industry sectors, is capable of involving large numbers of PhD students and is able to capture the goodwill of significant numbers of industry professionals who wish to give back to the STEM community.
The program is focused on scientists at a most critical stage of their studies is about preparing them for a career. The ATSE Steering Committee includes:
- Dr Margaret Hartley, CEO ATSE
- Dr Anna Lavelle, CEO AusBiotech Ltd
- Mr Peter Laver, ATSE senior advisor
- Dr Peter Lilly, Director EZONE, UWA
- Prof Judy Raper, DVC University Wollongong
- Prof Calum Drummond, DVC RMIT
In addition, the team responsible for the overall development of the tools and systems to run IMNIS and the evaluation of the outcomes from the two pilot programs consists of:
- Dr Tony Radford
- Ms Ronnie Wood
- Mr John Kirby AM
- Dr Paul Wood
With Australia ranked nearly last among OECD nations in collaboration between industry and public researchers, and only 30% of our PhD students going into Industry or Government compared to over 70% in most industrialised countries, Australia is seeking to raise its level of industry-university collaboration.
The long-term objectives of the program seek to provide students with a better understanding of the opportunities outside of the academic environment, enhance networks and narrow the cultural gap between industry and universities and prepare a new generation of industry-ready PhD graduates.