Elevating to new industry heights - CQUniversity

24 March 2024

Cows at CQUniversity's Belmont Station

By Isis Symes

CQUniversity has announced a new round of scholarships that are specifically designed to support industry.

Known as the Elevate Program, the research higher degree (RHD) scholarships aim to provide development and research opportunities for industry and for emerging leaders in specialised fields.

CQUniversity co-invests with industry to support a dedicated masters or PhD student to work on a specific business challenge or policy issue, with students able to work from an industry site, from one of CQUniversity's many campus locations Australia wide, or split between locations.

Applications for 2024 scholarships are now open and Dean of the School of Graduate Research Professor Susan Kinner is urging organisations to apply.

"The Elevate scholarships are a unique way for organisations within different industries to develop their workforce, fill niche skills gaps, respond to business problems and identify new business opportunities," Prof. Kinnear explained.

"We designed the Elevate program as a way for organisations to advance their operations by investing in expertise. Since its inception in 2020, we have co-funded 70 projects with a range of industry and community partners."

One such partner is livestock feed additive developer and manufacturer Bioproton, who has supported one student through CQUniversity's Elevate program, with a second scholar set to commence in 2024.

R&D Manager Dr Wendy Chen said Bioproton was proud to partner with CQUniversity.

"The Elevate program has been instrumental in supporting our innovation initiatives at Bioproton," Dr Chen said.

"Partnering with CQUniversity has granted us access to cutting-edge research capabilities and driven minds, enriching our R&D endeavors. Through this industry-university collaboration, we've not only tackled complex challenges in livestock feed additives but also uncovered new possibilities for growth and sustainability within our industry, thereby enhancing our competitive edge in the market."

Dr Chen said Bioproton was proud of the progress they'd made with the current scholar and eagerly anticipated the fresh perspectives that the upcoming scholar will bring in 2024.

"This partnership truly exemplifies our commitment to continuous improvement and industry leadership. We are excited to continue our partnership with CQUniversity and look forward to the valuable contributions of our upcoming scholar in 2024."

Prof. Kinnear said businesses and partners were offered the opportunity to access specialised knowledge, facilities and support of a world-class research university to help grow a pipeline of talent, solve technical challenges, work on product development and find solutions to current and emerging challenges.

"Not only is this an innovative way to grow required expertise, but it is also a way for businesses to gain a student who is fully committed to a specific project for two or three years with the added reassurance of an expert supervisory team who have specialist research skills backing them."

All Elevate students have access to CQUniversity's research infrastructure such as labs, equipment and specialised software and technologies, which can also prove beneficial to the industry partner.

"CQUniversity works alongside our partners throughout the entire process to support them and their student/s. Interim deliverables can also be designed into the project so that our partners can benefit from the research results sooner rather than later."

As part of the program, CQUniversity co-funds the delivery of a scholarship to each student that provides them with a living allowance (stipend) of $40,000 per year.

Approximately 12 Elevate scholarships are available in 2024.

Expressions of Interest must be submitted to [email protected] by 5pm AEST on Friday 12 April.