Research News & Funding Opportunities

  1. ARC Future Fellowships call out to FoE researchers!
  2. EBSCO platform is moving to a new user interface – Tuesday 15 July
  3. Call for EOIs: John Templeton Foundation – EOI due Thursday 17 July
  4. AI in Research Workshop no. 5 for FoE & FBE – Thursday 30 July 2025
  5. TRAM Runway 2025 recruitment now open
  6. Update on INEI grant submission – 11.59pm 3 October Beijing time/1.59am 4 October Melbourne time

1. ARC Future Fellowships call out

If you are interested in applying for the last call out for the ARC Future Fellowship, please emails foe-research@unimelb.edu.au asap!

The Future Fellowships scheme objectives are to:

  • support outstanding mid-career researchers, with demonstrated capacity for high-quality research, leadership, research training and mentoring;
  • support excellent basic and applied research by outstanding mid-career researchers to be recruited and retained by universities in continuing academic positions;
  • foster national and international research collaboration;
  • support excellent and innovative research that addresses a significant problem or gap in knowledge and represents value for money;
  • create new or advanced knowledge resulting from the outcomes of the research with economic, commercial, environmental, social and/or cultural benefits for Australia, and enhances the scale and focus of research in Australian Government priority areas.

Anticipated scheme dates:

Opening: 24 September 2025

Closing: 5 November 2025

Rejoinders open and close: 12-25 February 2026

Outcomes: 6-17 July 2026

2. EBSCO platform is moving to a new user interface – Tuesday 15 July

The EBSCO platform is moving to a new user interface on Tuesday 15 July.

If you’ve created an individual profile on the current platform and you have

  • added articles/items to custom folders,
  • saved search strings or
  • created automated alerts

You will need to follow these steps to move your saved searches, search alerts and saved articles from custom to the standard EBSCO ‘My Folder‘.

Further questions? Contact the Education Liaison team.

3. Call for EOIs: John Templeton Foundation – EOI due 17 July

The John Templeton Foundation are taking applications for their upcoming grant round, due 15 August. Advancement is coordinating internal expression of interests to support the University to submit the most competitive applications.

If you’d like to put forward your project, please submit this form by COB Thursday 17 July.

JTF welcome applications to support field-leading research and high impact public engagement programs. Across their core funding areas JTF are looking to invest in bold ideas from contrarian thinkers — ideas that cross disciplinary boundaries and challenge conventional assumptions. They fund innovative programs that engage the public with these ideas, to open minds, deepen understanding, and inspire curiosity, awe and wonder.

It’s highly recommended to review previously funded projects by JTF to gain an understanding of type of projects they support.

Funding AreaDescription
Character Virtue DevelopmentThis area seeks to better understand and elevate the cultivation of character, with a focus on moral, performance, civic, and intellectual virtues, such as humility, gratitude, curiosity, diligence, and honesty. These grants have two categories:   Science of Virtues: Funding for inter and multi-disciplinary teams to further our understanding of the nature and development of specific virtues and have the potential to inform programmatic work in the future. Grants have explored questions like: What are the boundaries of forgiveness in early childhood? What does it mean to love one’s enemy? Do expressions of gratitude vary across cultures?   Programs and Applied Research: Supporting applied research that can inform the practice of character, as well as programs that engage directly with individuals and communities to cultivate character. Programmatic support is provided through project-based grants, typically for organizations that seek to develop, implement, enhance, scale, or evaluate research-informed character. Historically, grants in this area have focused on character development in the first two decades of life, however the Foundation is open to projects that reach audiences at any life stage.   In 2025, they are particularly interested in projects that highlight the role of relationships and communities in helping to address some of the most pressing issues individuals will face in the next decade. Issues such as:
1. Purpose and agency for adolescents
2. Character development to sustain free societies
3. Moral imagination and hope for young people
4. Humility and love for thriving societies
5. Virtues such as honesty, creativity and love in economic free-market systems.  

Please see here for a full description of topical areas of interest.  

Guidelines:

  • For Australia, the average grant size is around $200K $300K+ USD
  • Grant duration is often up to three years, and in rare instances up to five years. JTF will not fund any project for more than five years.
  • JTF do not fund: buildings, renovations, capital campaigns, direct-service programs, scholarships, general operating support or disaster relief.
  • Overhead/indirect costs are to be no more than 15%. Proposals that request a lower percentage are welcomed.
  • JTF do not expect a full reference list at proposal stage.
  • JTF value co-funding and support from other sources in the projects they fund.

4. AI in Research Workshop no. 5 for FoE & FBE

Date: Thursday 30 July 2025

Time: 10.00-11.30am

Venue: Level 9, room 915, 100 Leicester Street

In the fifth AI in Research Workshop for Faculty of Business and Economics and Faculty of Education academics, Professor Eduard Hovy and Dr Mel Mistica will dive into the use of generative large language models (GenLLMs) for research applications, including demonstrations of their capabilities in writing, literature reviews, data analytics, numerical analysis, image processing and more. This session will also introduce some of the ethical and legal aspects of gen AI including: hallucinations, bias, copyright and existing and proposed regulations in the EU, US and Australia.

4.TRAM Runway 2025 recruitment now open

Is your idea a start up? If yes, then the TRAM Runway program will equip you wit the skills, tools & knowledge to create a develop your venture

You will learn to develop and validate your business model, strengthen your team’s capabilities and pitch to investors and gain early feedback

If you are a research team with an entrepreneurial mindset who are committed to exploring commercialisation with at high impact project then TRAM Runway is for you!

Program dates:

5 August – 28 October 2025

For more information visit – https://www.tram.org.au/tram-runway

5. Update on INEI grants

Important Deadline for 2026 INEI Seed Funding Competition

Monday, June 23, 2025: Request for Proposals announcement

Friday, October 3, 2025: Submission deadline 11.59pm 3 October Beijing time/1.59am 4 October Melbourne time

Monday, December 15, 2025: Winner announcement

Thursday, January 1, 2026: Funding period begins Thursday

December 31, 2027: Funding period ends

Please contact foe-research@unimelb.edu.au for more information about this scheme