Better Futures Industry Challenge 2024

Faster ways to respond to emergencies and ultra-sensitive quantum seismometers for earlier detection of earthquakes, were two ideas that emerged from teams of intrepid researchers from five Centres of Excellence who competed in the inaugural Better Futures Innovation Challenge to solve critical industry problems. Industry partners for the deep-tech hackathon had access to researcher skills spanning the fields of physics, …

FLEET alums and members value ‘soft’, transferable skills, and community

It is not just technical and scientific skills that set up FLEET graduates for future career success. Surveying alums and current members reveals the impact of technical and transferable skills gained in the Centre. FLEET is on a mission to develop the next generation of science leaders. In the nearly seven years since FLEET began we have trained over 100 …

FLEET ECR workshop developing transferrable skills (and bowling)

The FLEET Students and ECRs working group organised a workshop at UNSW on the 19th and 20th of October for FLEET early career researchers (ECRs) and students. Over two days, invited speakers shared lessons and experience on diverse skills essential for a researcher’s career development, such as profile building, science communication, mental health, and academic writing. On the first morning, …

New funding to spark collaboration between industry and FLEET students

An exciting partnership between FLEET and APR-intern will fund new route to gain valuable ‘on the floor’ industry experience for FLEET PhD/Masters students, increasing job skills and leveraging Australian scientific expertise in industry, with funding supporting the placement of research students with industry partners. In addition to injecting fresh scientific and problem-solving energy into participating industry workplaces, the program will …

Expanded mentoring program

A new expanded mentoring network vastly increases the experience pool available for ECRs and others in 12 participating ARC Centres providing: structured mentoring with ongoing support and oversight access to a range of resources and peer-mentoring groups large, diverse pool of mentors and mentees for both researchers and professional staff. Allowing members of the participating Centres to access mentors in …

Education and training in 2022

FLEET is developing future Australian science leaders and preparing them for future success FLEET is working to develop Australia’s next generation of science leaders. All FLEET’s students and young researchers receive excellent supervision, are offered world-class training and other opportunities for professional development, and are supported in navigating diverse future career pathways. The Centre currently supports 63 higher degree by …

FLEET represents at Quantum Australia

Written by Matt Gebert, FLEET PhD candidate, Monash University A large contingent of 14 FLEET members and alumni enjoyed the Quantum Australia conference last week, engaging in discussions about the future of quantum technologies with a lot of interest focused in quantum computing, in addition to sensing. I attended as a PhD student approaching the end of my candidacy, and …

Developing research into impact at Idea Factory 2022

“It’s interesting to consider how to hold ourselves accountable to the taxpayers that ultimately fund scientific research.” Early-career researchers from two Centres of Excellence gathered in Queensland this month, learning how to better translate their scientific discoveries to make an impact. The focus of Idea Factory 2022 was expanded to develop a wider understanding of research translation, the translation/commercialisation ecosystem, …

Learning to see yourself in an entrepreneur role: Sunrise Innovation Festival

FLEET PhD candidate Maedehsadat Mousavi’s has reported in following attending the Sunrise innovation festival, building on her experiences at the EQUS-FLEET Idea Factory: “Previously, I would have never considered starting my own company or launching a start-up, but now I can see myself considering this future, and how an entrepreneur can have an impact on the world.” FLEET HDR students …

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Matthias Wurdack off to Lindau Nobel meeting

FLEET’s research fellow Matthias Wurdack has been chosen to represent Australia at the annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting this year. Matthias will be among six early-career Australian scientists attending the 71th Meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany, 26 June – 1 July 2022. The 71th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting will be dedicated to chemistry, expected to be attended by around …

What’s next after graduation? UNSW careers panel

Post-grad job hunting, perfecting the resume, and how to handle pre-interview nerves An expert panel ran through issues of importance to PhD and Masters graduates at UNSW this month, answering the questions at top of mind for ECRs towards the end of study, as they prepare to start looking for graduate positions for the first time. The event was organised …

Idea Factory 2021

The 2021 Idea Factory challenged 36 early career researchers to write more effective grant applications, and learn to effectively communicate the value of their research to varied audiences. The workshop concentrated on developing researchers’ ability to pitch their research – and get funded, primarily: improving grant writing skills and confidence, customising grants for different funding bodies distilling key messages about …

Resources to build professional skills, for PhDs and others

Developing transferable skills is vital for scientists at all career stages, but most particularly for PhDs and early-career researchers, to maximise their options inside and outside of academia. A team from across FLEET started the following list of resources, which are available for scientists to improve their skills… Thanks to Gol Akhgar and Semonti Bhattacharyya (Monash) Matthias Wurdack (ANU) and …

FLEET reps at Science meets Parliament

FLEET had four researchers at STA’s annual Science Meets Parliament, which was fully online in 2021, other than regional gala dinners. Participants heard from a diverse mix of Australia’s top scientists, including Chief Scientist Cathy Foley and Chief Defence Scientist Tanya Monro. FLEET’s four ECR delegates—Eli Estrecho (ANU), Peggy (Qi) Zhang (UNSW), Gary Beane (Monash) and Harley Scammell (UNSW)—were introduced …

Building future science leaders in 2020

FLEET ensures that our young researchers are prepared for future success – wherever their career takes them. The Centre currently supports 64 higher degree by research (HDR) students and 45 postdoctoral researchers with another 21 research affiliates working on FLEET projects and invited to Centre training, workshops and events. FLEET connects its researchers with internal and international networks, for example, …

Skilling up our people in 2020: research impact and industry engagement

—Who would be interested in my research? Who would benefit from it the most? —How can I pursue high-impact research? —How does research translation work? —If I’ve developed some cool intellectual property, where would I start with industry engagement? —How do I effectively ‘sell’ the value of my research in an award application/grant/job interview? While researchers are typically familiar with …

FLEET mentoring in 2020

FLEET provides mentoring to personnel across all career stages (such as PhD students and early- and mid-career researchers) covering areas such as induction, career advancement and planning, equity and diversity, professional development, entrepreneurship and research leadership skills. Two mentoring models are offered: Individual, goal-oriented mentoring, where members are individually matched to a mentor within FLEET based on their needs, for …

Leading Edge: Women Leading Australia

–by Iolanda Di Bernardo and Hareem Khan WLA’s Leading Edge program is designed to help women in their first leading position to develop their leadership skills, enabling the transition of aspiring and early-career female managers into confident, capable and motivated leaders. Throughout the six-month course participants are presented with topics including elements of a successful team / personal styles interpersonal …

Julie Karel describing search for future memory, for Materials Australia

An online audience of almost 90 tuned in this week to hear FLEET CI Dr Julie Karel describing her search for non-volatile memory technologies and associated materials challenges. The talk was co-hosted by FLEET and Materials Australia. Catch up on the talk here Julie described her own work at Monash Department of Material Science and Engineering developing materials that can …

Skilling researchers up for a post-pandemic career

Around 35 PhDs and other Early Career Researchers from FLEET and partner organisation the MacDiarmid Institute took a chance last week to learn how to take control of their future in these uncertain times, and to gain a better understanding of the job market (both in academia and industry) with a targeted, one-hour workshop from “the thesis whisperer”. A/Prof Inger …

Building future science leaders: FLEET development programs

FLEET ensures that our young researchers are prepared for future success – wherever their career takes them. The Centre currently supports 51 higher degree by research (HDR) students and 43 postdoctoral researchers with another 29 research affiliates working on FLEET projects and invited to Centre training, workshops and events. FLEET connects its researchers with internal and international networks; for example, …

FLEET environmental group

While FLEET’s aim is to reduce the world’s ICT power consumption, we also know that some of the work we do today is having a detrimental effect on tomorrow’s environment. Initiated by FLEET ECRs, the Centre’s Environmental working group is taking a microscope to the environmental impact of FLEET. One early output has been a tool to calculate and compare …

Building future entrepreneurs: Idea Factory 2019

It’s not easy to convince a group of PhD students and early-career researchers to take three days away from their research to complete a training course. Yet this type of training can provide incredibly valuable skills for these researchers in their future careers and endeavours. At Idea Factory 2019, a joint project with FLEET and the ARC Centre of Excellence …

Equity and diversity initiatives at FLEET in 2019

Women are under-represented in science, particularly in physics. In this regard FLEET is no exception. We are taking steps to improve this. Research confirms that diverse teams do better science. We know that by improving our performance with respect to gender equity and diversity, we are not only doing what’s fair, we will also improve the effectiveness of our research …

Hosting research seminars in 2019

FLEET’s live-streamed seminars help share research results across the Centre, keeping members informed on latest FLEET research, and enhancing inter-node collaboration. Early-career researchers presenting the seminars gain valuable presentation experience, and benefit from immediate feedback on their research from diverse Centre members. In 2019, FLEET-wide live-streamed seminars were presented by: Dr Dan Sando (UNSW) Dr Jackson Smith (RMIT) Dr Maciej …

Hosting scientific meetings in 2019

FLEET supported significant international and Australian conferences in 2019, which was bookended by major, FLEET-hosted conferences at the end of 2018 (ICON2D-Mat) and beginning of 2020 (ICSCE). With new partner organisation the MacDiarmid Institute (NZ), FLEET co-organised the Conference on Signature of Topology in Condensed Matter in Italy, working closely with the International Centre for Theoretical Physics. Almost 120 researchers …

Three FLEET ECR Grant recipients

First recipients of FLEET ECR Grants Grants funding research trips to Italy, Singapore, US FLEET’s ECR Grants fund travel for ECRs and PhDs, developing networks and professional and scientific skills, including supporting travel to research facilities to learn new techniques, form new collaborations, or complete training. Of the 1st round’s eight applications, the Education & Training Committee decided to fund three: …

Becoming part of the (equity) solution: Catalysing Gender Equity conference

Three FLEET representatives at this month’s Catalysing Gender Equity 2020 in Adelaide. “For me, the conference highlighted how many great initiatives are already in action, improving gender equity around Australia,” said FLEET Equity Chair Jeff Davis. “However, there is still a lot of work to do and everyone can and needs to help change the culture.” Attending from FLEET were: …

YouRforum 2019: Got PhD, what next?

Jobs in many of the fastest-growing industries require science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skilled professionals. The Young Researchers Forum, aka YouRforum was created by FLEET COO Dr Tich-Lam Nguyen (then at the Monash Centre for Atomically Thin Materials) to provide opportunities for young STEM researchers to network, discuss research ideas and practice their professional skills. The program‘s ‘Got PhD, …

Ultrafast laser spectroscopy workshop getting everyone up to speed

A mini-symposium on ultrafast laser spectroscopy last week brought together the ultrafast laser spectroscopy community in Australia and New Zealand, showcasing local ultrafast laser spectroscopy research and capabilities. Exciton Science and FLEET co-sponsored the Ultrafast Laser Spectroscopy Mini-Symposium at Swinburne, which saw 45 researchers attending from 12 different unis/orgs. At FLEET, ultrafast spectroscopy is used to help understand the microscopic …