Connect with UniSA's PhD candidates
At UniSA, we provide oppportunities for prospective and existing partners to engage with our PhD candidates.
By connecting with our PhD candidates, you can help to provide valuable learning opportunities, solve challenges in research and enhance our graduates' employability.
Why connect with our PhD candidates?
Research expertise
UniSA PhD programs deliver highly skilled researchers who become experts in their chosen field.
Enterprising futures
Our graduates are job-ready, equipped with knowledge and ready to contribute to your organisation.
Skills in practice
Provide an opportunity for experiential learning, enabling PhD candidates to build their skills in the workplace and beyond.
Careers in focus
Support a PhD candidate's professional development goals and career ambitions.
Ways to connect
Co-design a research project
Has your organisation identified a particular problem that requires investigation through research? Engage with us to co-design a bespoke project-based research degree that will deliver real outcomes to your business or industry more broadly.
- Structured involvement – A co-designed research project requires a shared commitment from your organisation and UniSA to ensure a mutually beneficial outcome.
- Moderate time commitment – Nominate an expert from within your organisation to be part of a supervisory team and provide the student with local insight and end-user expertise
- Overall duration of up to four years for a full-time PhD candidate – there may be different time requirements at key stages of the PhD, and depending on the research degree.
Mentoring
Mentoring offers opportunities for PhD candidates to gain awareness and insights directly from you about your workplace, industry, values and purpose. This can be undertaken directly between the mentor and candidate or through a formal mentoring scheme.
- Flexible involvement – the frequency and schedule can be negotiated by the mentor and the candidate.
- Low to moderate time commitment – no more than one session every two months.
- Overall duration anywhere between 1-3 years – this can be determined as the relationship progresses.
Industry placement or internship
A placement is a way for a PhD candidate to understand and work with an organisation on a problem. An internship involves the candidate spending time within your organisation, usually undertaking a research project of interest to all parties. The research project may or may not be directly linked with the candidate’s thesis topic.
- Structured involvement – there will be an agreed-upon project scope and objectives.
- Moderate time commitment – a placement can be set up for autonomous work, or integrated with your organisation as desired.
- Short term duration – approximately six weeks to six months maximum.
The Australian Government facilitates rebate-based internship opportunities for PhD candidates via the APR Intern Scheme, to which you can apply directly.
Join a supervisory panel
A supervisory panel guides a PhD candidate through their research degree, making sure their project is academically sound and industry relevant. As an end-user advisor on a supervisory panel, you will support the academic supervisory panel with project co-creation (idea development, in-kind and/or funding contributions, etc.), mentoring the candidate, career development support, and/or providing resources, exposure and experiences related to your industry.
- Flexible involvement – you may wish to contribute to multiple aspects of the project, or take a specific role as an end-user advisor.
- Moderate time commitment – this can be negotiated with other members of the supervisory panel and the candidate early in the project.
- Overall duration of up to four years for a full-time PhD candidate – there may be different time requirements at key stages of the PhD, and depending on the research degree.
Find out more
For additional information or to learn about the requirements of working with our research students please contact us.
