Victoria University supports a range of industry experiences for graduate researchers, including industry placements.

The Doctoral Internship Program (DIP) allows students to engage with industry, apply transferable skills gained as part of their research studies, and develop professional competencies. It is an opportunity to develop professional networks and strengthen future career opportunities.

Planned as part of the doctoral degree, placements are generally 60 days in duration with industry, government or non-government organisations.

Doctoral Internship Program: An introduction from Professor Andy Hill - Transcript

Doctoral students

All you need to know incl. how to apply

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External partners

How hosting a doctoral intern can help your organisation

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Doctoral supervisors

Everything you need to assist your students in their applications

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Doctoral students

Steps in applying for an Internship

  1. Check your eligibility for completing an internship.
  2. Submit your EOI form.
  3. Attend an information workshop.
  4. Start planning for your internship with your supervisors and develop an internship plan.
  5. Fill out an internship plan form.
  6. Work with your supervisor and internships team to finalise the agreement with the external partner.

To participate in the Doctoral Internship program, students must:

  • be enrolled in a Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Philosophy (Integrated) on a full-time or part-time basis
  • have the internship organised within their first 18 months of enrolment*
  • complete confirmation of candidature before the internship begins
  • have the permission of their supervisors to undertake an internship
  • be making satisfactory progress in their PhD
  • have approval before commencing from the University and placement provider
  • be able to accommodate the placement within the normal candidature time limit, as it is part of your candidature.

*For doctoral students past 18 months who wish to do an internship please contact [email protected]

Online information workshops will be run throughout the academic year please keep an eye out for upcoming dates.

The next workshop will take place on Wednesday 22 March 2023, 10.30–11.00am.

Find out more about the changes to the Doctoral Internship Program and how to register your interest in undertaking an internship. Dr Lesley Birch, Manager, Researcher Professional Development will explain the key changes to the program and what you need to do to get started.

Register

Please note this session is relevant to doctoral students who are within the limits of timely completion.

Lyndon Krause, posing in an indoor tennis court complex

“As a direct result of my internship I am now employed full-time by Tennis Australia and head up the innovative Tennis Lab. Through applications of the skills I developed during my PhD we continue to challenge the status quo and change the way athletes and consumers select their tennis equipment.”

Dr Lyndon Krause, Doctoral intern, Tennis Australia

Doctoral Internship Program: The benefits for Doctoral Students - Transcript
Doctoral Internship Program: The benefits for Doctoral Students (Lyndon Krause) - Transcript
Doctoral Internship Program: The benefits for Doctoral Students (Bich Tien Ma) - Transcript

External partners

Are you a business, not-for-profit or community organisation  external to academia, that might directly benefit  from hosting a doctoral research student?

Do you have a project requiring creative problem solving  or higher order thinking skills?

Higher-Degree Research students possess high order thinking skills, and technical capabilities with a researcher mindset to solve complex problems and help generate new knowledge.

Hosting a Victoria University doctoral intern is an excellent way to implement a three-month research and development project that provides your organization with a focused research expert to collaborate with on your particular project. Our students cover a wide range of academic disciplines including:

  • Arts and Humanities 
  • Engineering and Science
  • Health and Biomedicine  
  • Law and Justice
  • Sport and Exercise  
  • Business
  • Computers and IT  
  • Education

Eligibility & guidelines

  • Have to be a research end user
  • Student work needs to align with student's area of research

 

Expressions of interest form

Doctoral Internship Program: The benefits for industry (Ruwangi Fernando) - Transcript

"We needed an out of box thinker to develop and manage these programs but as a non-profit organization we faced challenges to hire the required talent. 

STEM Sisters tapped into the expertise and creativity of our doctoral intern to complete our project."

Dr Ruwangi Fernando, Co-Founder Stem Sisters and iStem Co. , Industry Partner

Doctoral Supervisors

Steps for a supervisor when their student is applying for an Internship

  1. Discuss the internship with your student
  2. Ask your student to submit an EOI
  3. Researcher Professional Development contacts you to discuss details.
  4. Engage with external partner
  5. Finalise internship plan

  • To be eligible to participate in the Doctoral Internship program, your student must be enrolled in a Doctor of philosophy or Doctor of philosophy integrated on a full time or part time basis
  • your student must have the internship organised within their first 18 months of enrolment*
  • the internship cannot be commenced until your student has completed confirmation of candidature
  • your student must have your permission to undertake an internship
  • your student must be making satisfactory progress in their PhD.
  • placements are subject to University approval, and obviously that of the placement provider
  • a placement is part of your student's candidature so you need to be able to accommodate it within the normal candidature time limit.

*For doctoral students past 18 months who wish to do an internship please contact [email protected]

Online information workshops will be run throughout the academic year please keep an eye out for upcoming dates

The next information session is on Wednesday 22 March 2023, 11.30am–12pm.

Find out more about how Doctoral Internships can support your doctoral students and help you to build connections with your external research partners. Dr Lesley Birch, Manager, Researcher Professional Development will explain the key changes to the program and how we can work together to provide more internship opportunities to our doctoral students.

Register

Doctoral Internship Program: An overview from Professor Camilla Brockett - Transcript

"Given the importance of transparent and evidence-based decision making, a doctoral student internship can be an elegant and effective way to examine the impact of a particular program, intervention or technology or perhaps to assess the development of a new strategy or framework."

Associate Professor Camilla Brockett, Doctoral Supervisor