Research News & Funding Opportunities

  1. ARC Discovery Projects 2027 EOIs – opens on RMS 3 November
  2. Perpetual’s Impact Philanthropy Application Program (IPAP) – EOI to Advancement 31 October
  3. Commercialisation for Impact Network: End-of-Year Morning Tea – 6 November
  4. Faculty of Education Digital Wellbeing Communities Research Hub Seminar – 20 November
  5. The National Intelligence Post-Doctoral Grants (NIPG) – opens 17 November 2025 & closes 13 February 2026

1. ARC Discovery Projects 2027 EOIs – opens on RMS 3 November

If you are applying for ARC DP27 you must submit a NOI and contact foe-research@unimelb.edu.au

If you wish to receive a RIC review or participate in the ExpERT panel initiative, you must submit a Qualtrics Survey by no later than 10:00 AM, Wednesday 12 November 2025. The link for the Qualtrics Survey will be available in the coming weeks.

Although this deadline is shortly after the scheme opening date, the ARC has confirmed there are no changes from the DP26 EOI round. Therefore, you may draft your application using the DP26 EOI materials, available on our Discovery Projects webpage.

Should you have further questions please reach out via the following means:

2. Perpetual’s Impact Philanthropy Application Program (IPAP) – EOI to Advancement 31 October

Perpetual’s Impact Philanthropy Application Program (IPAP) opens on 27 October with applications closing on 5 December. As UoM is eligible to submit up to three applications, Advancement will coordinate an internal selection process.

If you are interested in putting forward a project for consideration, please populate this form by COB Friday 31 October.

Funding available: is between $10,000 – $120,000.

Funding period: One year.

Perpetuals’ charitable trusts and endowments distribute to all sectors including: Social and Community Wellbeing, Health, Medical Research, Conservation and Environment, Education, Animal Welfare and Arts and Culture.

Funding is provided for a wide range of projects at different developmental stages including (but not limited to) pilot and existing projects, capacity building and operational costs. Their guidelines are broad, but they are looking for projects which demonstrate:

  • Strategy: Evidence of strategic goals and demonstrable outcome-orientated measures.
  • Outcomes: Evidence of tangible, realistic, measurable and achievable goals and outcomes, including societal impact. Perpetual asks that applicants look beyond the outputs related to their request and demonstrate the potential impact of their activities.

Guidelines are attached and further detail can be accessed here.

3. Commercialisation for Impact Network: End-of-Year Morning Tea

10.30am — 12pm, Thursday 6 November 2025 at the Woodward Centre

Join us for a celebratory morning tea recognising University of Melbourne researchers who created new intellectual property in 2025. This is a great opportunity to connect with colleagues across disciplines who are passionate about extending the impact of their research through application.

Participate in the conversation with Professor Marcello La Rosa, co-founder and CEO of Apromore, as he shares his journey from academic research to building a global tech company.

You’ll also hear about the University’s support for research commercialisation — from startup creation and industry partnerships to funding and expert guidance.

Register now to secure your place.

4. Faculty of Education Digital Wellbeing Communities Research Hub Seminar

Date: 20 November

Time: 11am-12pm

Conference Room 915, 100 Leicester St

Or join Zoom on your computer or mobile app: Click here to join the meeting

Presentation Title: Press B to Belong: Inclusive Gaming to Support Neurodivergent Students

Gaming is a powerful tool for social learning, but educators want to know how they can create the optimal conditions for learning. This presentation introduces a program that combines video modelling and video review with the supported play of cooperative video games to help our students develop essential collaborative skills. Sharing insights from their research and professional practice, Jess Rowlings details practical structures and strategies to run engaging and effective inclusive gaming programs for all students. 

Jess Rowlings is a qualified speech and language pathologist and co-founder/CEO of Next Level Collaboration, a social enterprise that runs strength-based programs to support neurodivergent children in developing collaborative skills and social connection through cooperative video games. She is proudly the first openly neurodivergent (AuDHD) CEO from a University of Melbourne spinout, and led the application for the first successful Genesis Pre-Seed Fund investment in a social enterprise (University of Melbourne/Breakthrough Victoria). As the leader of Next Level Collaboration, she leads a team of 15 neurodivergent staff across a growing portfolio of programs. Jess also serves as an Honorary Enterprise Fellow and researcher at the University of Melbourne Faculty of Education. Informed by her lived experience of receiving autism and ADHD diagnoses as an adult as well as her lifelong love of games, Jess is also completing her PhD investigating the experiences of neurodivergent women in gaming communities.

5. The National Intelligence Post-Doctoral Grants (NIPG) – opens 17 November 2025 & closes 13 February 2026

If you are interested in applying please contact foe-research@unimelb.edu.au

A NIPG (10 available) provides for a $365k (GST exclusive) Fellowship over two years to enable Post-doctoral research by an individual into specific NIC-defined topics. Research proposals will be invited to address one or more of 20 topics.

The key dates for this program are as below:

  • Applications open and research topics announced: 17 November 2025
  • Applications Close: 13 February 2026
  • Anticipated announcement: June 2026

Information on the NIC Research programs is available at National Intelligence Community Research Program | National Intelligence Community and a webinar

WebinarDate and timeRegistration
NIAS Live Q&A for NIPG ApplicantsThursday, 20 November 2024 from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm (AEDT)Register here by COB Friday, 14 November 2025