The University of Melbourne (Melbourne) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) continue to develop their strategic partnership through the SJTU – Melbourne International Research Training Group (IRTG) offering opportunities of research collaboration and engagement through joint research training since 2020.

In 2024, Melbourne and SJTU are calling for joint PhD proposals from all research areas to establish up to 10 joint graduate research projects, co-designed by pairs of Primary Investigators (PIs), expanding the SJTU – Melbourne IRTG.  Each of these supervisory teams will receive seed funding and access funding to support a joint PhD candidate, including tuition fee waivers, a full living allowance, health insurance and relocation support.

Joint PhD candidates are enrolled at both institutions under joint supervision, with one Principal supervisor from Melbourne and one from SJTU; providing opportunities for PIs to expand their collaborative activities. The work will be judged according to the academic standards of both institutions. Upon successful completion, each candidate will be eligible to receive a PhD, recognised by two testamurs, one from Melbourne and one from SJTU. Both testamurs will state the joint nature of the award and the name of the partner institution. 

All candidates must meet the minimum eligibility requirements to successfully enrol in the relevant PhD course at both Universities.

The joint PhD candidates recruited to the successful projects will join the SJTU – Melbourne IRTG, gaining:

• Access to expertise, resources and world-class training at Melbourne and SJTU, spending at least 12 months of their candidature at each institution;
• Complimentary skills from their respective hosts that will increase the impact of their research; and
• A global perspective via involvement in the SJTU - Melbourne research network.

These awards will also include seed funding for the PIs to provide initial support for development of high-quality research projects with other members of the research group in areas of mutual strength and shared interest. Funding is available at both institutions for PIs to undertake short-term visits to initiate, deepen and extend collaborative research links and enable investigators to make future joint external funding proposals that will support the next phase of their project.  

The supervisory team must comprise of at least two Principal Investigators (PIs), one who must be employed by SJTU and one who must be employed by Melbourne. The PIs must have the capacity to be the principal supervisor for a jointly enrolled PhD candidate.  

The University of Melbourne 

Melbourne academics must be registered to supervise as per the Supervisor Eligibility and Registration Policy. Principal supervisors should be employed at Melbourne beyond the envisaged submission date of their PhD candidate (2029). If their employment contract does not extend beyond the submission date, then alternative arrangements must be in place, by either having:

a) A named co-supervisor employed at Melbourne beyond the envisaged submission date of their PhD candidate (2029); or

b) A letter of support from the respective Head of Department/Head of School detailing the arrangements in place to ensure continuity of supervision.

For more information, including forms for supervisor registration, please consult the information for supervisors on the Graduate Research Hub.

Honorary employees whose primary academic affiliation is the University of Melbourne are eligible to lead an application as a PI if they are a registered Principal Supervisor at Melbourne, and either:

a) Their primary employer has entered into a written agreement for this call, using the provided approval form to fund the Melbourne cash component ($10,000 AUD) of the collaborative activity; or

b) They participate at their own expense if they are otherwise unaffiliated (for example, they hold an emeritus position).

Melbourne academics must not have outstanding Progress Reports or Final Reports from any other University of Melbourne Researcher Development Scheme.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

SJTU academics must be eligible for supervising Ph.D. candidates and follow the university and relevant school/college’s policy of graduate student recruitment. For more information, please consult the Graduate School.

Additional notes for all applicants

Additional colleagues (including other partners in Australia, China or internationally) are not eligible to apply as PIs or principal supervisors, although they can participate in co-supervision of joint PhD candidates. However, involvement of shared external partners that benefit the project, for example through translation support or providing internship opportunities, is encouraged. 

PIs must be able to demonstrate existing research relationships and must provide evidence of such collaborative relationships as part of their proposal.

Adherence to respective equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policies are a core feature of this program to ensure that all participants can do their best work, thrive, and succeed. Applicant teams should consider how they can take meaningful steps in their future collaborations to foster an environment that values, supports, and respects a diverse range of views, knowledge, and experiences. Applicants should consider EDI as it applies to gender, Indigenous peoples, disabilities, career stages and sectors.

Applications that do not satisfy these criteria will not be eligible.

(iii) Funding summary:

An overall summary of funding per project is below.

*The lump sum provided by Melbourne is pooled and allocated to the Academic Lead of the joint PhD program. The Academic Lead is responsible for the funds for the uses described.

**Please note that ineligible costs include: directly incurred staff (e.g. Research Assistants), replacement research/teaching costs, directly allocated costs including applicants’ time, indirect costs/estates costs, publication costs, equipment, consumable costs, additional scholarships, conference attendance, tuition fees, and honoraria.

Before preparing a proposal, please note the following about the structure of the program:

• Up to 10 applications will be successful as part of this call. Projects should be co-designed by the participating PIs.
• Each project must identify Melbourne or SJTU as the Home Institution.
• PIs should ensure that they have the capacity to take on a new PhD candidate in line with their institution’s policies and meet the eligibility requirements to participate in the scheme.
• Joint PhD projects should be designed to be completed in 3 years, with potential for the PhD candidate to extend their maximum candidature to 4 years.
• Candidates recruited for the successful projects will be required to commence their PhD degree in 2025.

The online application form requests:  

• The details of the PIs/research groups involved, including CVs and links to each PIs website 
• An abstract for the PhD project, which will be used for recruitment if the proposal is successful 
• Whether the PIs have a suitable candidate in mind for the project, and if so, are they  currently completing a Masters or PhD coursework at SJTU. Noting, this does not affect the outcome of the application.
• An overview of the PhD project, providing: 

Outline of the project 

A supervision plan, highlighting why the project requires time to be spent at the partner institution and benefits of doing so 

A GANTT chart showing the division of time to be spent by the candidate at both institutions. 

• A summary of the collaboration value and potential impact, noting: 

The extent of the planned collaboration between the PIs beyond joint supervision 

How the proposal could lead to the development of a larger network of researchers across both institutions 

A plan for leveraging future external funding, if applicable. 

• All Melbourne applicants must attach an endorsement from the respective Head of School/Department and Associate Dean (Graduate Research)* using the approval forms provided on the Researcher Development Schemes website. Melbourne applicants who hold an Honorary position must also complete the Honorary declaration form.

*Please note that ADGR sign-off is not required for MDHS applicants.

• If the application involves a PI from Melbourne's Faculty of Arts: You must also provide a statement addressing how the candidates will meet the Melbourne Faculty of Arts PhD coursework requirements in your application. Please refer to the Faculty’s guidelines for additional information.

It is recommended that applications are written in lay terms for reviewers to better understand the project’s potential impact and its anticipated outcomes.

Melbourne and SJTU will rank the proposals against the selection criteria and agree on the top-ranking projects to award funding. The selection criteria are as follows:

• Collaborator complementarity – What is the evidence of an existing research relationship or added value of a new collaboration? How does the collaboration combine mutual areas of interest and strength?
• Quality of supervision – Do the PIs have a track record of supervising PhD candidates to completion? Do the PIs have experience of co-supervising PhD candidates internationally? How will the PIs work together effectively in jointly supervising their shared PhD candidates? What are the beneficial learning outcomes and experiences for the joint PhD candidates?
• Project design and rationale – How clearly presented and justified is the basis for, and design of, the joint PhD project? What are the anticipated benefits of involving joint PhD researchers in the collaboration? What is the benefit of the candidate spending a minimum of 12 months at each institution?
• Potential impact – What is the level of originality and innovation in the research proposal? To what extent does the research proposal plan to address significant challenges and what is the anticipated benefit to local or international communities?
• Capacity for expanded collaboration – What is the extent of the planned collaboration between the PIs beyond joint supervision? How well does the proposal plan to leverage external funding? To what extent are future collaborations made possible as a result of the proposed activities? How could this project seed the development of a larger network of researchers?

Melbourne recipients will be required to provide regular updates on project progress during the candidature of their joint PhD candidate. These updates will be requested every 6 months by the International Research Training Group (IRTG) Academic Lead. Recipients who fail to participate in regular reporting mechanisms for this IRTG may be found ineligible for participation in future Researcher Development Schemes.

Please note that successful PIs must recruit their candidate by 15 May 2025. If the PIs do not meet this recruitment deadline, the scholarships, seed, and mobility funding will be recalled for use in a future call.

Successful projects will be published on the Melbourne and SJTU websites during the recruitment rounds so that prospective candidates can apply for specific projects.

PIs must submit a single, jointly prepared application via the University of Melbourne’s SmartyGrants Portal

by Wednesday 29 January 2025 12:00 noon CST(Shanghai)/15:00 AEDT (Melbourne). Applications should be written in English and for an audience proficient, but not expert, in the field.

Note: Please also provide the Chinese name of SJTU PI and the project name in Chinese in your application in order to avoid ambiguity and duplication of names.

Evidence of approval from the relevant School/Department, from both institutions, needs to be uploaded as part of the submission.

All Melbourne projects must ensure that the Head of Department/School and Associate Dean (Graduate Research)* endorsement is attached to the application using the approval forms provided on the Researcher Development Schemes website. Melbourne applicants who hold an Honorary position must also complete the Honorary declaration form. *Please note that ADGR sign-off is not required for MDHS applicants.

If the application involves a PI from Melbourne's Faculty of Arts: You must also provide a statement addressing how the candidates will meet the Melbourne Faculty of Arts PhD coursework requirements in your application. Please refer to the Faculty’s guidelines for additional information.

The link to the application form is: https://ricunimelb.smartygrants.com.au/SJTUPhD2024

Submission and Melbourne contact details

The Researcher Development Schemes team

Research, Innovation & Commercialisation

The University of Melbourne

res-devschemes@unimelb.edu.au

WANG Qian

Director of International Affairs Office, Graduate School

Shanghai Jiao Tong University
gs.global@sjtu.edu.cn

wang_qian@sjtu.edu.cn 

For more information on joint seed funding, please consult:

YAN Xiuxing

Project manager, International Affairs Division

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

simonayan@sjtu.edu.cn