Research News & Funding Opportunities

  1. Congratulations to Dr Leanne Higham – Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence 2025
  2. International Education Innovation Fund – ASEAN Research Collaboration Project – 11 August
  3. Postdoctoral Fellowships for Research in Japan – Open
  4. Research Development Unit – Upcoming sessions
  5. Research Conference – Wednesday 29 October

1. Congratulations to Dr Leanne Higham – Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence 2025

Congratulations to Leanne for being awarded the Chancellor’s Prize as one of seven awards foe excellence in the PhD thesis passed in 2024.

Thesis title: Slow Violence and Nonviolence: Violence, Affect, and Everyday Schooling

Supervisors: Dr Monica Mulcahy and Professor Jane Kenway

Dr Leanne Higham’s thesis retheorises the concept of violence in education settings, demonstrating through empirical instances how this violence is distributed and indirect; it goes beyond the interpersonal and builds over time. Examiners described Leanne’s thesis as a ‘truly excellent piece of doctoral scholarship’ and recognise this thesis for breaking new conceptual ground in a compelling and thorough manner.

2. International Education Innovation Fund – ASEAN Research Collaboration Project

The RMIT Asia Hub is pleased to announce that applications are open for Round 2 of the ASEAN Research Collaboration Project, commencing between 6 October 2025 to 19 December 2025. 

This program aims to support the careers of Early Career Researchers (ECRs). ECRs are researchers who have completed their PhD degree or equivalent within eight years of applying to participate. It will deliver ECR placements for ASEAN member states in Australian research institutions in shared priority areas. Through this initiative, selected recipients will receive up to AU$20,000 each to complete a one to three-month research placement at an Australian research institution. 

Recipients will have the opportunity to expand their professional networks and have access to leading academics, facilities, and equipment in Australia to develop their own research interests and competencies. This opportunity will build long term commercially oriented research partnerships between ASEAN members and Australia.

Financial benefits

Up to AU$20,000 per internship (up to 3-month duration).

Internship recipients 

 All internship recipients will receive any benefits in Australian Dollars: 

  • Establishment allowance: $3,500 (paid once to cover for travel, visa and insurance costs)
  • Monthly stipend: $4,000 (paid up to the maximum program duration on a pro-rata basis)
  • Monthly family allowance: $1,500* (paid up to the maximum program duration on a pro-rata basis)
    • *if applicable for recipients who are travelling with a dependent family member/s
    • A person is considered dependent if they are wholly or substantially reliant on the recipient for financial, psychological or physical support. Dependants must travel with the internship recipient for the entire duration of their program

Host organisations

Host organisations are eligible for a $1,000 subsidy per intern to cover potential research consumables such as laboratory equipment, subscriptions, service level agreement (SLA) fees for desks/IT access and field works costs for the ECRs interning with the organisations. This amount will be transferred upon receipt of agreed KPIs and milestones.  

Requirements

To be eligible for internship funding, applicants must: 

  • Be a citizen and/or permanent resident of an ASEAN member state or Timor Leste
  • Not be an Australian citizen and/or permanent resident
  • Have completed a PhD degree or equivalent within the eight years prior to applying to participate in this project (i.e., PhD was conferred from July 2017 onwards)
  • Be available to commence their proposed program in Australia after 6 October 2025 and complete the internship by 19 December 2025
  • Provide a research proposal which falls under one of the eligible research focus areas
  • Provide all relevant supporting documentation in English
  • Obtain a placement offer from an approved host Australian research organisation (list provided in the IEIF – ASEAN Research Collaboration Project 2025 Guidelines (PDF 688 KB))
  • Meet the eligibility requirements to apply for and hold the relevant visa issued by the Department of Home Affairs

Eligible Countries

  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Cambodia
  • Indonesia
  • Laos
  • Malaysia
  • Myanmar
  • The Philippines
  • Singapore
  • Thailand
  • Timor Leste 
  • Viet Nam

Key Dates

DatesDetails 
7 July 2025 Applications open at 10:00AM (AEST). Applicants are required to complete online PDF forms and submit supporting documents via email 
11 August 2025 Applications close at midnight (23:59 AEST) 
August 2025 Applicants shortlisted and assessed 
29 August 2025 Successful and unsuccessful applicants are notified 
1–4 September 2025 Successful recipients complete and return detailed project outline with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), milestones and copies of passport 
From 6 October 2025 Recipients commence internship program (Internships must be completed by 19 December 2025) 

 For enquiries, please contact  ieif.asean@rmit.edu.au

3. Postdoctoral Fellowships for Research in Japan

The program provides an opportunity to conduct collaborative research for young overseas researchers under the guidance of their hosts in universities and other research institutions in Japan.

All fields of the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences are supported.

The duration of the fellowship is 12 to 24 months. The amounts of financial support are as follows. They are subject to change for budgetary reasons.

  • Airfare: A roundtrip air ticket (based on JSPS’s regulations)
  • Maintenance Allowance: ¥362,000 per month
  • Miscellaneous: A settling-in allowance of ¥200,000, overseas travel insurance.

Note 1: For candidates (invited overseas researchers) staying in Japan before the fellowship starting date (and who have a mailing address), the “airfare” for the flight to Japan and the “settling-in allowance” will not be paid.

See the List of Eligible Host Institutes (as of September, 2024)  (PDF/1.3MB)

https://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-fellow/e-ippan/index.html

4. Research Development Unit – Upcoming sessions

Understanding Supervisory Conversations  
  10:00am – 12:00pm Thursday, 17 & 31 July PAR-168-9-910    Effective conversations with your supervisors begin with an understanding of the supervisory relationship itself. This two-part program is designed to help graduate researchers explore the dynamics of PhD supervision, how roles, expectations, and communication styles, shape your experience as a graduate researcher, with a focus on how gaining insight into yourself and your supervisor can lead to more effective conversations. Through guided reflection, practical strategies, and peer discussion, this program will help you develop the awareness and skills needed to foster productive, respectful, and collaborative supervisory relationships.  
More information and to register:https://gateway.research.unimelb.edu.au/researcherdevelopment/rdu-development-programs/effective-conversations  
Personal Effectiveness at Work and Study: How to stay motivated throughout your graduate research  
  10:00am – 11:00am Tuesday, 22 July PAR-168-9-910    A graduate research degree needs sustained energy and drive over a long period of time. So how do you keep going when that energy and drive start to wane? This workshop provides an opportunity to learn some strategies for staying motivated throughout your graduate research. Angela will include practical strategies learned from her own PhD experience, and through mentoring and supervising other PhD candidates. Through interactions with your peers, you can also learn from each other and make some concrete plans for what you can do right now, to stay motivated in the long term.  
More information and to register:https://gateway.research.unimelb.edu.au/researcherdevelopment/rdu-development-programs/personal-effectiveness-for-GRs  
Strategies for Embracing Imperfection  
  1:00pm – 2:00pm Friday, 1, 8, 15, 22 August PAR-168-9-911  This 4 part workshop series is designed to foster self-compassion by reinforcing principles such as accepting that our minds wander, and that our bodies know what to do.   Drawing on theories from contemplative studies to explain why different approaches can be valuable, we will introduce four different approaches. We will begin to explore Beginner’s Mind by starting with practices of the senses, then move to discussion of the Now through embodied practices, before moving into the arena of Groundedness and contemplative meditations, before reaching Mindfulness Meditation in the final session. Readings will be provided in order to supplement the practices, drawing on philosophy, psychology and spirituality.   Led by A/Prof Nicholas Van Dam, this series is intended to introduce key concepts, encourage exploration and inspire further engagement with contemplative practice to support the imperfect journey through postgraduate research.  
More information and to register:https://gateway.research.unimelb.edu.au/researcherdevelopment/rdu-development-programs/embracing-imperfection  

5. Abstract Submission & Conference Registration for the 2025 Faculty of Education Research Conference

The Changing World of Education: Opportunities and Challenges

Date: Wednesday 29th October 2025

Location: Arts West

Conference Registration

Please register to attend the faculty conference by 5pm, Thursday 16th October here:

https://go.unimelb.edu.au/sr4p

Abstracts should be submitted by 5pm, Thursday 14th August here:

https://go.unimelb.edu.au/8r4p

The lead author will be notified of the outcome of their submission in early September.