MERI Updates
MERI Updates
Ethics and Travel Update
Contact information for MERI
Visit the MERI contact page to learn more about the team.
General inquiries: bblaher@unimelb.edu.au
Grants: mgse-grants@unimelb.edu.au
Graduate research: mgse-research@unimelb.edu.au
Human ethics:mgse-ethics@unimelb.edu.au
Ethics Updates
Human research ethics drop-in
Date: Tuesday 15 September 2020
Time: 3pm – 4pm
With so many ethics updates coming through, you might be considering how they will impact your research, including any research redesigns. Come chat with Associate Professor Tricia Eadie and Tim Mattingsbrooke about what this might mean for your research at the next drop-in.
DET update: Research activity in government schools and early childhood settings
All research and evaluation activity involving Victorian government schools and Victorian early childhood services requires approval through the Department of Education and Training’s (DET’s) Research in Schools and Early Childhood settings (RISEC) process.
The move to increased restrictions across Victoria necessitates that the DET again pauses the RISEC process and research and evaluation activities involving schools and early childhood sites. These activities are suspended for the remainder of 2020.
Therefore, the following should not proceed:
- RISEC-approved research and evaluations
- Any other contact with schools or early childhood sites, staff, or children to conduct, or to recruit for, research and evaluation activity
- RISEC applications and amendment requests.
There is no guarantee that this suspension of activities will not continue into next year. MERI encourages all supervisors to continue to discuss with Grdaute Researchers how to redesign their project so that it can go forward.
A message from Catholic Education Melbourne (CEM)
CEM is still accepting applications to conduct research in CEM schools and these applications will be subjected to the usual review process. However, even if approved, researchers are not yet permitted to approach schools until they are given written permission by CEM. All approvals at the moment are ‘conditional’. Some projects have been exempt from this current ban on approaching schools (e.g. research that has been instigated by a school not an external researcher, or research that had already begun pre-COVID), but this is considered by CEM on a case-by-case basis. At the moment non-essential staff or visitors (e.g. researchers) are not permitted in CEM schools.
Reminder: for staff who submit ethics applications and amendments
Please ensure that once you have submitted a new application, revisions or an amendment to an existing application, to email mgse-ethics@unimelb.edu.au and include your ethics id number in the subject line as this alerts the ethics officer to contact you if there are any issues with your application.
To check the status of your ethics application or amendment please review the spreadsheet under the FAQ: ‘How can I track the progress of my application?’. This spreadsheet is updated regularly. If you cannot find your application on the spreadsheet contact mgse-ethics@unimelb.edu.au.
Reminder: Themis Human Ethics Workbench Clean Up
In October 2020, access to Themis Human Ethics Workbench will be disabled and replaced with Infonetica Ethics Review Manager (ERM).
To ensure a smooth transition of your research applications to the new system:
- Continue using Themis Human Ethics Workbench to submit new human ethics research applications
- Progress draft applications up until 5 October, as draft applications will not move to the ERM
- Save a copy of any historical/completed applications that you wish to refer to in future by October 5, as these will not move to the ERM
- Use a unique Project Title and attachment File Names to ensure your projects and attachments are moved into the ERM. These must be within 200 characters (including spaces) with no special text or characters.
In the coming months, you will receive communications providing further details and instructions to ensure your readiness for the ERM.
Travel update to China, Hong Kong and Indonesia
China
China will not allow most foreigners to enter China due to COVID-19 and direct flights between China and Australia have been significantly reduced. DFAT advises that if, despite that advice, you travel to China you will be subject to 14 days mandatory quarantine and quarantine requirements may change at short notice. If you’re already in China and wish to return to Australia, DFAT recommends you do so as soon as possible by commercial means. Australians are advised that they may be at risk of arbitrary detention.
Hong Kong
National Security legislation for Hong Kong came into effect on 1 July 2020. This law could be interpreted broadly and the full extent of the law and how it will be applied is not yet clear. You could break the law without intending to. You may be at increased risk of detention on vaguely defined national security grounds. Visit the Smart Traveller website and select 'Local Laws' to find out more.
Indonesia
New regulations are in place for researchers wishing to conduct research in Indonesia and foreign researchers are advised to confirm compliance with following new regulations:
“Foreign nationals conducting research in Indonesia are advised to reconfirm their compliance with local regulations, following a legislative amendment in July that introduced new requirements. Foreign researchers must now seek ethical approval from the Research, Technology and Higher Education Ministry, alongside the pre-existing visa and permit requirements for conducting research. Penalties for non-compliance with this policy now include criminal prosecution with the possibility of imprisonment. Travellers intending to conduct research are advised to contact their nearest Indonesian Embassy for advice.”
The University of Melbourne would like to emphasise that researchers are to contact their nearest embassy or consulate for specific guidance if they are currently conducting research in Indonesia or will be in the future.
For more information:
University travel portal
The University’s health and safety travel portal has been updated with the most recent DFAT travel advice.
Research News
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Reminder: Campus-based research update
In light of Stage 4 restrictions, the research and research return to campus pages on the Central University's COVID-19 website have been updated with the latest information on eligibility criteria for on-campus research to ensure compliance with relevant Stage 4 restrictions, as well as advice regarding the new worker permit processes.
All previously approved on-campus research is to be reassessed to ensure it complies with Stage 4 restrictions. This work is being undertaken at the Academic Division level. No new approvals for return to campus can be given at the Divisional level but are to be managed via the process that was in place for Phase 1 requests. Requests will be routed to the DVCR for approval.
Guidance on the website will continue to be updated in line with new advice from PRG or any further clarifications from the Victorian government.
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Call for papers: Technology, Knowledge and Society Conference
The Technology, Knowledge & Society Research Network 2021 has issued a call for papers for its 17th International Conference on Technology, Knowledge and Society, to be held on 8-9 April 2021.
This conference is brought together by a shared interest in the complex and subtle relationships between the histories of tech, knowledge makers, and social realities.
For more information on proposal submissions and registration deadlines, please visit the conference website.
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Reminder: Applications now open for TRAM Track
TRAM (Translating Research at Melbourne) Track applications are now open for their Semester 2 cohort. In response to popular demand, this second intake of TRAM Track will create more opportunities for all researchers to interact with and participate in their programs. TRAM Track is undertaken by dynamic research teams over eight weeks to build their understanding of how to achieve impact. To do this, Track will support you to engage with customers to understand what problems they care about, generate a business model, and get your head into a business mind frame.
Applications are open from Wednesday 26 August through to Wednesday 21 October.
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Reminder: ARC scheme EOIs now open
Expression of Interest (EOI) for ARC schemes opening in the third and fourth quarter of the year are now available. If you are interested in applying for the current rounds please complete the EOI so that the MERI team can support you through the application process.
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Call for participants: Discovery
The Library Discovery team (the team that manage the discovery of and access to books, ebooks, and journals) are conducting a user research project to understand the needs, motivations and difficulties of people using the library systems and platforms. This includes Discovery, the Library catalogue, LeanLibrary, and Minerva.
The project aims to identify improvements that we can make to the discovery and access to Library resources. The team is seeking to interview both research academics and Graduate Researchers.
The interview will be conducted via Zoom and will take approximately 30 minutes. If you choose to participate, you will be asked questions about you and your research, which systems you use, and how you access them.
If you are interested in participating in the study and would like more information, please contact Hannah Armitage, Discovery UX Specialist, Student and Scholarly Services at hannah.armitage@unimelb.edu.au
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Research Capability Mapping tool is live
The new Research Capability Mapping (RCM) tool offers users an aggregated view of research capability with an easy-to-interpret visualisation, and thus provides an alternative to the low-level lists of individual research activities or simple activity counts that are the output of existing tools. RCM allows users to explore our activities using rich queries across keywords, researchers, academic divisions, external partnerships, and Field of Research (FoR) Codes.
Visit the RCM website to learn more about the tool, explore the user guide, and get answers to common queries.
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ARC Fellowship Buddy Program
Researchers preparing major grant proposals often find it helpful to exchange drafts and feedback with others who are applying for the same grants. This program is a buddy system for the ARC DECRA and Future Fellowship schemes. You'll be paired with another researcher who is applying to the same scheme/level and matched according to which ARC Panel you align with. Matches will take place across all Academic Divisions to simulate the diversity of assessors. Once you have been paired, you can support each other to develop your proposals. Buddies are assigned on a weekly basis on a Thursday. You will receive an email informing you of your fellowship buddy along with further guidance.
Feedback from Chancellery's survey on Engagement with Latin America
Thank you to all colleagues who responded to the Chancellery’s request for input about engagement with Latin America. MGSE provided 16% of the responses that have been summarised in the brief report. Though currently on hold, plans remain in place to strengthen UoM’s ties with Latin America. Please contact Chancellery International if you are interested in a copy of the survey questions and raw data used for this report.
Erasmus+ programme funding outcomes
Congratulations to Gosia Klatt and Stanley Koh from the Centre for Vocational and Educational Policy, for being awarded EU funding. Of the 1447 eligible applications received from around the world, 360 were selected for funding.
Gosia and Stanley will receive €30,000 (approx. $49,375 AUD) for 'Education Policy in Practice: European education policy and national systems.'
Learning and teaching initiatives: 2020 round 2 outcomes
Congratulations to Sandra Milligan, Paula De Barba, Pauline Thompson and Narelle English for being part of an interdisciplinary team from Computer Science to be awarded a Learning and Teaching Initiatives grant. The successful project is entitled 'Employment skills: closing the gap between academia and industry through personalized student journey maps.'
Research Events
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Exploring knowledge transfer, exchange and co-creation
Date: Thursday 27 August
Time: 10am – 11amOne of the most frequently asked questions on engagement is 'what is engagement?'. Part of the Applying Collaborative Partnerships series, in this interactive session professional staff will come together to discuss, unpack, and explore the means, purposes, and challenges of the way we engage as knowledge producers within the knowledge institution. By the end of the session, participants will have gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of different approaches we undertake in communicating, collaborating, and creating knowledge with their broader society.
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ROPE#2 - Positioning your publications in context
Date: Thursday 27 August 2020
Time: 11.00am – 12.30pmYour research outputs form part of the compelling narrative of how you are positioned within your discipline and explain your career journey for your fellowship application. It can be challenging to do well. This session looks at how to select your Top 10 research outputs and contextualise these to grab the assessor’s attention so that they form a cohesive compelling narrative of how your publications demonstrate your outstanding Research Opportunity and Performance Evidence. This session is coordinated by Academic Divisions as part of a series to support ARC DECRA and Future Fellowships.
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Managing your online presence as a researcher
Date: Thursday 27 August
Time: 3pm – 4pmSCIP (Social and Cultural Informatics Platform) is hosting a three-part webinar series on managing your online presence as a researcher and academic.
The first installment will cover the pros and cons of academic websites and how they can propel your research and teaching career in a one-hour webinar.
This webinar is open to all, but early career researchers and advanced Graduate Researchers are especially encouraged to attend.
Please contact gregory.darcy@unimelb.edu.au for more information.
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Educational Leadership Spotlight Series
The Changes We Need In Education
Date: Thursday 3 September 2020
Time: 10am – 11amJoin the conversation as Professor Jim Watterston and Professor Yong Zhao discuss the six big changes education needs to make, including curriculum, assessment, outcomes, teaching and teacher education, the new basics, and learning and the learners. Hosted by Dr Daniela Acquaro.
The Link Between Principal Leadership and Growth In Student Learning
Date: Monday 14 September 2020
Time: 10am – 11amPresented by Dr Pauline Thompson and Associate Professor Helen Stokes, hosted by Dr Daniela Acquaro. Further details to come.
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Educational Leadership Mentorship Series (MGSE staff-only)
Researching Your Practice
Date: Friday 11 September 2020
Time: 10am – 11amPresented by Associate Professors David Gurr, Lawrie Drysdale, and Helen Stokes. Hosted by Dr Daniela Acquaro. Further details to come.
How To Make An Impact With Your Research
Date: Friday 18 September 2020
Time: 10am – 11amPresented by Professor Yong Zhao and Laureate Professor John Hattie. Hosted by Dr Daniela Acquaro. Further details to come.
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Digital research training for the arts and social sciences
Dates: Friday 28 August and Tuesday 8 September
Times: 3pm and 10amSCIP (Social and Cultural Informatics Platform) is offering a series of free online training events in digital research methods. Remaining training topics include Web Scraping and APIs (28 August 3pm), and Tour of Data Visualisation Tools (8 September 10am). Recordings of previous workshops can be found on the SCIP training website.
Please contact gregory.darcy@unimelb.edu.au or visit the SCIP training website for more information.
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Graduate Researcher scoring and selection processes
Date: Tuesday 8 September 2020
Time: 12pm – 1pmJoin Dr Peter Woelert to learn how we score graduate research applicants at MGSE, and find out why even a strong application doesn't guarantee a place in a research degree. If you're planning to supervise additional Graduate Researchers, this seminar is for you.
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Your research project
Date: Monday 7 September 2020
Time: 2pm – 4pmYour research project sits at the core of your application. It needs to be both imaginative and believable to grab the assessor’s attention, as well as reassuring them that it is achievable. That can be tricky to do well. Enthusiastic assessors will rave about your interesting ideas, while critical ones will demand more detail about your methods. This session is coordinated by Academic Divisions as part of a series to support ARC DECRA and Future Fellowships.
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Early-career researchers engagement workshop
Date: Wednesday 9 September
Time: 11am – 12.30pmThe Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education (MCSHE) has teamed up with the MDHS Early-Career Researchers Network to present an online workshop about engagement and collaboration for early-career researchers, including PhD candidates. Dr Siew Fang Law is the Engagement Lead at the MCSHE and will coordinate the series with support from the MDHS ECR Network's committee, including case study presentations by Dr Lucas Calais Ferreria. This workshop will focus on unpacking engagement concepts and practice, navigating and addressing engagement dilemma through case studies, and discussing ways to improve engagement.
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Melbourne InnovatEd Bootcamp training
Dates: Saturday 12, Sunday 13 and Friday 18 September
Times: email Mim Ingvarson at mim.ingvarson@unimelb.edu.au for details.Have an innovative idea of how technology can be used to support teaching and learning? Interested in the intersection of education and technology? Roll up your sleeves and join this 2.5-day online bootcamp where you can gain the tools, entrepreneurial skills, and know-how to develop your education technology ideas.
Delivered in partnership with the Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship, you will have the opportunity to develop, test, and shape your ideas into commercially viable solutions, practice and refine your pitch, meet inspiring experts, mentors, and like-minded entrepreneurs-to-be in a supportive, fast-paced environment.
There is no cost to attend, but there is a maximum of 40 participants.
For more information, please email Mim Ingvarson at mim.ingvarson@unimelb.edu.au
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Crafting a well-justified ARC fellowship budget
Date: Tuesday 22 September 2020
Time: 11amThis session will focus on how to make your budget fit cohesively within your Fellowship application. It will assist you to cost and describe your budget items, to categorise your costs in line with ARC Guidelines, and to frame a strong budget justification. This session is coordinated by Academic Divisions as part of a series to support ARC DECRA and Future Fellowships.
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Grant Camps
Dates and times for individual sessions can be found below. The Zoom link is the same for each session as well as the password which is 058718.
Grant Camps provide concentrated times to draft a small part of your application and ask questions about specific parts of the application. The format for each Grant Camp is the same: a single overhead encapsulating the key points; five minutes of instructions; 25 minutes of writing; five minutes for questions; and then another 25 minutes of writing. The aim is not to produce polished prose, but to get words on paper that can be discussed with a mentor. It is designed to get you started on each section of the application in a timely manner.
The sessions will run as follows:
- Talking about career interruptions and publications
Date: Monday 31 August
Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pmTime to work on the publications and career interruption section of your ARC application.
- Project – What will you actually do?
Date: Monday 14 September 2020
Time: 10am – 11amTime to work on the project methodology section of your ARC application.
- Significance – Why now?
Date: Thursday 24 September 2020
Time: 10.30am – 11.30amTime to work on the significance section of your ARC application.
- Impact – What difference will it make?
Date: Tuesday 6 October 2020
Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pmTime work on the impact section of your ARC application.
- Talking about career interruptions and publications
Funding opportunities
MGSE funding submission essentials
This process is in response to both the MGSE Submissions Policy and the MGSE Grants Notice of Intent (NOI) Policy. It applies to both lead proposals (submitted via University) and non-lead proposals (submitted through other institutions).
It's essential to notify the MERI Grants team of your intent to apply for any funding opportunity, as all funding proposals (internal and external) need to be endorsed by the Dean, as Head of Department.
As all applications require several internal approvals, MERI sets its own close dates in advance of both the funding body (for submissions direct to sponsor), as well as the Research, Innovation, and Commercialisation (RIC) closing dates. This allows time to process your application before it is formally submitted.
If you're not sure you can make the MERI close date, email the Grants team with your intent to apply.
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Opportunities closing soon
Melbourne Social Equity Institute Seed Funding Scheme
Deadline to contact the grants team: Wednesday 2 September 5pm
The Melbourne Social Equity Institute supports collaborative, interdisciplinary research between academics, members of community organisations, policy makers and people with lived experiences of disadvantage or marginalisation in order to create fairer societies.
The Institute is inviting proposals for interdisciplinary, community-engaged, and innovative research projects to be completed by the end of 2021.
You can apply for a minimum of $25,000 and a maximum of $40,000.
Formal applications to the Institute close on Wednesday 9 September. Visit the Funding Opportunities page to learn more about the application process.
ECR Grants
Deadline extended to: Monday 7 September 5pm
Are you an ECR and can demonstrate clear evidence of high research potential?
Apply now for an ECR grant, and if successful, receive funding in January 2021 for 12 months. Education researchers are eligible to receive up to $25,000.
Chancellery will provide half of the awarded funding and the remainder via co-contribution from the Academic Division.
To apply you'll need to:
- Create a draft project description and application as a PDF within SmartyGrants
- Email your project description and application form to our Grants team.
Only selected applicants will be invited to proceed to the final application stage.
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Commonwealth Foundation Special Grants Call: COVID -19
Deadline to contact the grants team: Friday 11 September
The Commonwealth Grants Programme supports innovative projects that strengthen the ability of voices to engage with governments about the impact of COVID-19 to improve governance and development outcomes through their active participation. The focus is on national initiatives that engage with government in strengthening institutions, policies, and practices as communities and countries seek to recover and rebuild. Applicants must be based in a Commonwealth member state and the organisations must be registered as non-profits. Grants are worth between GBP £10,000 (approx. AU$18250)and £30,000 (approx. AU$55,000) each for a period of 12 months.
Applications close on Friday 18 September.
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Australia-Korea Foundation Grants
Deadline to contact the grants team: Friday 18 September
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade invites applications for its Australia-Korea Foundation Grants. These aim to increase public awareness of Australia in Korea, and of Korea in Australia, and to develop partnerships in areas of shared interest in the bilateral, regional, and global context.
Grants are worth between AUD $5,000 and $AUD 40,000 each per year for up to three years.
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Telematics Trust Small Grants
Deadline to contact the grants team: Thursday 1 October
The Telematics Trust funds projects which: educate and empower people from diverse backgrounds to learn new things and build their capacity to contribute to society; would be assisted by seeding grants; are not likely to be supported by other funding bodies. All projects must be based in Victoria and be for the benefit of Victorians. Grants are worth up to AUD $50,000 each over one year.
Applications close Thursday 8 October.
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Community Engagement Grants - Melbourne Social Equity Institute
Deadline to contact the grants team: Friday 16 October
The Melbourne Social Equity Institute is inviting proposals for activities to support a UoM researcher with an idea to test, explore, and develop in partnership with members of disadvantaged or marginalised communities. Grants of up to $3000 are available. The funding will enable the researcher to develop interdisciplinary and community-engaged networks within and external to the University. The scheme aims to support research ideas that may lead to a proposal for future rounds of the Institute's Seed Funding Program or the Community Fellows Program. An information session about the Community Engagement Grants Program will be held on Friday 4 September and applications are open until Friday 23 October.
Enquiries: social-equity@unimelb.edu.au
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Reminder: DECRA and Future Fellowship applications extended
The Australian Research Council has extended the application time frames for DECRA and Future Fellowship applications, to take into account the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Find out more on the ARC website.
Applications close Wednesday 25 November.
If you're considering applying, please email the Grants team as soon as possible.
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ARC Linkage Projects
Linkage Projects 2020 Assessment Round 3
- Submit review ready application to MERI: 26 October 2020
Submit review ready application to RIC: 2 November 2020
Request not to Assess due to RIC: 15 November 2020
Request not to Assess Close: 17 November 2020 - Final Application due to MERI: 17 November 2020
Final Application due to RIC: 24 November 2020
Final Applications due to ARC: 1 December 2020
If you are contemplating submitting an application in round 3, you must email the Grants team as soon as possible.
- Submit review ready application to MERI: 26 October 2020
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Reminder: 2021-2022 ARC Scheme Dates
Official key dates for the new ARC grants rounds have been published online. Explore them today and save the most important key dates in your calendar.
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Ongoing opportunities
The Ford Foundation - Challenging Inequality
Expressions of Interest are open on an ongoing basis
The Ford Foundation is a prestigious United States funder that has fellowship and project opportunities available in the broad thematic area of Challenging Inequality. Having a United States partner would improve the competitiveness of your application.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Applications are open on an ongoing basis
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has a grants database with fellowship and project opportunities that includes Higher Education in the Humanities, Arts and Cultural Heritage, Diversity, Scholarly Communications, and International Higher Education. Having a United States partner would improve the competitiveness of your application.
The Economic and Research Council
Applications are open on an ongoing basis
The Economic and Social Research Council has called for proposals for a range of project ideas and specific grant opportunities. Having a United Kingdom partner would improve the competitiveness of your application.