Study areas and eligibility criteria for Early Career Researcher Development and Industry Fellowships

Priority study areas for fellowships

Applications for fellowships must directly contribute to the Centre’s core research themes:

• communities and workforces of the future
• sustainable, safe and healthy natural landscapes
• resilient built environments
• resilient communities
• situational awareness
• operational response and innovation
• evidence-informed policy, strategy and foresight
• learning from disasters

Applications must also directly contribute to an anticipated career development outcome that will support the Centre’s activities, which can include:

• building national and international research and/or industry linkages
• translating international research findings into an Australian context
• research-based work placements with relevant government or industry organisations
• sector-relevant approaches to improving the translation of research outcomes into practice
• new and more effective approaches to education and training for the sector/industry.

Detailed eligibility criteria

Fellowships are intended to support career development. They are not intended to support the completion of PhD studies or the completion of existing projects funded by the Centre or other funding agencies.

Applicants must meet the following criteria to be eligible to apply for Natural Hazards Early Career Researcher Development or Industry Fellowship:

1. Applicants must be:
   1. an Australian citizen, permanent resident of Australia or an international student enrolled in an Australian university (with legally certified evidence provided on request), who can demonstrate an active participation in a research-related role in the 18 months prior to submitting the application. Applications will be considered from individuals who have taken parental leave or similar career breaks in the 18 months prior to submitting their application 
2. Applicants must be:
   1. For Early Career Researcher Development Fellowships, either:
      1. currently employed as a researcher (at an Australian research institute or university) in a field closely linked to the Centre’s published research themes and research priorities, and have graduated from a research higher degree no more than five years prior to application (five years excludes periods of parental leave, other family caring duties or ill health) 
      2. currently enrolled as a PhD student at an Australian university, undertaking research relevant to the Centre’s published research themes and research priorities, and have satisfactorily completed at least two full-time years (or equivalent) towards their PhD. 
   2. For Early Career Researcher Industry Fellowships: currently employed in industry, where the employer is a participant of the Centre, and the applicant’s current role is actively involved in research or research translation in a field closely linked to the Centre’s published research themes and research priorities.
3. There is no age limit, but applicants must be at an early stage in their research career (maximum five years since PhD graduation, excluding periods of parental leave, other family caring duties or ill health). 
4. Applicants must submit a completed application form (see more information below), proposing a fellowship study that is no longer than four months. 

The Centre encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, culturally and linguistically diverse people, people with disability, LGBTIQ+ people, and people with family and caring responsibilities.