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
Ethics Updates
AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research
AIATSIS has announced the release of the AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research (AIATSIS Code of Ethics) in conjunction with a Guide to applying the AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research. These documents will supersede and replace the Guidelines for Ethical Research in Australian Indigenous Studies 2012 (GERAIS).
Additional Infonetica ERM Training now available
Researchers and graduate researchers who submit human ethics applications are encouraged to attend a 1.5 hour training session to learn how to use Infonetica ERM.
The training session will cover the new human ethics application process, how to use Infonetica ERM to submit applications, and the new human ethics committee structures and meeting schedules.
Register by clicking on the suitable session below to apply using Eventbrite.
Date | Time | Eventbrite Registration Link |
Wed 11 Nov | 2pm-3.30pm | |
Thu 19 Nov | 10.30am-12pm | |
Tue 24 Nov | 10.30am-12pm | |
Wed 2 Dec | 1.30pm-3pm |
Please note – tailored training sessions will be held in the coming weeks for human research ethics committee members.
Ethics Reminders
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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 Graduate Researchers how to redesign their project so that it can go forward.
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Catholic Education Melbourne (CEM): Applications to conduct research
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.
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Travel updates: 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:
Email the Research Integrity Unit
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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Melbourne Data Analytics Platform: EOIs open for research collaboration
Melbourne Data Analytics Platform (MDAP) supports and enables data-intensive research across all disciplines, as part of the Petascale Campus Initiative (PCI). Between Monday 26 October — Sunday 15 November, MDAP is seeking expressions of interest (EOIs) from researchers to collaborate with the MDAP team in applying innovative, tailored and/or end-to-end approaches to individual data journeys — from data stewardship, wrangling, analysis, visualisation, access and much more. MDAP’s team of multidisciplinary research data specialists are highly skilled at helping other researchers with their data-intensive projects.
The EOIs will be open from Monday 26 October for three weeks, before they invite full applications from short-listed submissions, for collaborations to start in February 2021. Please email the MDAP team with any enquiries.
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Find an Expert: New supervision enquiry form
New functionality is now available in Find an Expert. A key new feature is the supervision enquiry form. Prospective graduate researchers will now be able to complete a form when making supervision enquiries. The form is located below the 'Study with Me' tab on a researcher's profile and prompts the prospective graduate researcher to enter and attach necessary information including CVs, academic transcripts and comments relating to their area of interest. These details can be used to support researchers in prioritising their responses to enquiries. There is no need to access new systems to see the form details, as the information included in the form will be emailed to researchers from their relevant Faculty Graduate Research Office. For enquiries, please contact Tania Winton.
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Enhancing our research data and computing services
The Petascale Campus Initiative (PCI) is a five-year plan to accelerate the University's capacity for data-intensive research from 2018 to 2022. It is intended to drive new ways of co-designing the scope and scale of digital research systems with the research community and give researchers more time to focus on creativity and results, while spending less time on IT provisioning and maintenance.
Research Computing Services (RCS) is responsible for delivering the data and compute infrastructure component of the broader PCI plan, focussing on enhanced service reliability, capacity, performance, ease of access and ease of use for the University's Research Cloud, High Performance Computing (HPC), and research data storage and management services. Around $17 million has been invested since 2018 in end-of-life replacements, capacity, and capability uplifts.
For enquiries, please contact the Research Computing Services team.
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Call for participants: Parent and child wellbeing during COVID-19
The Research in Effective Education in Early Childhood Hub (REEaCh) is conducting an Australia-wide survey about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on parent and child wellbeing, parent-child relationships, the home learning environment, and young children's learning and development. If you are a parent/carer of a child aged 3-7 years and you live in Australia, they would love to hear from you.
Participation involves taking part in three online surveys:
- Now: A 20-minute online survey now,
- In three months: Another survey in three months' time
- In six months: A final follow-up survey in six months' time.
Take the survey or find more information on the Qualtrics site. Ethics Id: 2057564.1
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Reminders
GEM Scott Teaching Fellowships 2021
Expressions of Interest are now open, and close due Friday 20 November.
The GEM Scott Teaching Fellowships program recognises, rewards and further develops exceptional academic teaching staff at the University. Fellows propose and undertake a significant program of work to improve and enhance curriculum design and development, teaching, learning and assessment, innovative pedagogical practice and/or the student experience at the University. The Fellowship will allow staff to further develop their understanding and practice in University-based teaching, learning and assessment and asks them to share this more broadly across the University. Up to two GEM Scott Teaching Fellowships of up to $65,000 each will be awarded for 2021. Enquiries can be submitted to chancellery-academic@unimelb.edu.au
U of T - UoM International Research Training Group
The call for project proposals will close on Monday 23 November
The U of T - UoM International Research Training Group - Call for Proposals awards academic collaborative pairings from Melbourne and the University of Toronto (U of T) with funding to support Joint PhD candidates. Project proposals are open to all research areas, and a SciVal report is available for download that details the most prominent research areas and current research collaborations between UoM and U of T.
Applications are open for individual projects and project "clusters". Priority will be given to “Cluster Applications”, which includes three or more primary supervisors (PIs) across both institutions, supervising at least two joint PhD candidates. More details about applications can be found in the Joint Call Guidelines.
Please email mgse-research@unimelb.edu.au if you are interested.
Graduate Certificate in University Teaching - EOI for 2021 intake
EOIs close on Monday 30 November
Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education is now accepting expressions of interest for the Graduate Certificate in University Teaching 2021 intake. This course combines research-based, theoretical seminars with practical exercises involving peer review and negotiated projects. It is offered part-time to complement participants' current teaching practice. A limited number of University of Melbourne academic staff who have the support of their Dean or Head of School will have their course fees covered by the University.
Interdisciplinary GR Program in Indigenous Settler Relations
The Indigenous Settler Relation Collaboration’s Interdisciplinary Graduate Research Program is open to graduate researchers in any faculty undertaking a graduate research related to the emerging field of Indigenous-settler relations in Australia and the world.
The program will connect students with researchers across disciplines, fostering an engaged and supportive intellectual community, and creating a strong cohort experience for the duration of their study. The program will deepen academic understandings, and enhance interdisciplinary knowledge exchange on research that leads to more just relations between Indigenous and settler peoples. Students are supported to build networks across the University and with relevant external organisations and to develop their research in reference to current real-world challenges.
Eligible students must have commenced a PhD/Doctorate or Masters by Research. Priority will be given to students who have at least one supervisor based at the University of Melbourne.
If your graduate researcher is working in this space, please direct them to find out more about the program and how to apply on the Program website.
ARC scheme EOIs 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.
Research Events
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Prospective GR Supervision Seminar
Date: Wednesday 11 November
Time: 11am – 12pmJoin Dr Gosia Klatt and Dr Peter Woelert to learn how to best engage with prospective Graduate Researchers seeking supervision for a research degree at MGSE. This seminar is designed to reduce confusion over the type of GR applicants MGSE accepts, help clarify the GR selection process for 2021, and support your responses to emails from interested applicants with tools and advice. Gosia has developed a checklist for supervisors to help identify applicant suitability. Download it in advance of the seminar.
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The lives and deaths of ethical AI
Date: Wednesday 11 November
Time: 12pm – 1pmOver the last decade, ideas of 'ethical' AI have transitioned from research papers, community projects, and side panels to dedicated organizations, funding streams, and keynote slots. We’ve moved from ethical principles to proposed technical interventions, to re-framing of ethical issues as issues of justice, structural oppression, and systemic failure. There’s been ethics washing, ethics bashing, and ethics selling. Has ethical AI run its course or courses? And if ethical AI is dead, what comes afterwards?
This lecture explores recent evolutions and transitions in ethical AI, its influences and failures, as we look to the future against the backdrop of a year of profound social, economic and environmental upheaval for us all.
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Workshop on Submitting to Academic Journals
Date: Wednesday 11 November
Time: 4pm – 5pmJoin Associate Professor John Quay, Associate Professor Tricia Eadie, and Professor William Locke to learn how to submit to journals, what journal editors are looking for, and how journal review processes work.
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Educational Leadership Mentoring Series (staff-only)
Publishing Your Research
Date: Friday 13 November
Time: 10am – 11amPresented by Professor Yong Zhao, Associate Professor David Gurr, and Associate Professor Helen Stokes. Hosted by Dr Daniela Acquaro.
Understanding Engagement and Impact in Your Narrative for Promotion
Date: Friday 27 November
Time: 10am – 11amPresented by Professor Helen Cahill and Associate Professor Larissa McLean Davies. Hosted by Dr Daniela Acquaro.
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Library Publications Series
Creating your publishing story
Date: Tuesday 24 November
Time: 11am – 11.45amJoin the Library team to find out how you can weave attention, mentions, and citations data of your publications into your publishing narrative. Presented by Fransie Naude, Amy Perkins-White, and Kylie Tran. Please contact Fransie Naude for any queries.
Drop-in 1: Finding data for your publishing story
Date: Wednesday 2 December
Time: 12pm – 1pmDrop-in and find data about attention to, mentions and citations of your publications. Weave this into stories about your research for grant applications, promotion rounds and PDF discussion. Please contact Fransie Naude for any queries.
Drop-in 2: Finding data for your publishing story
Date: Wednesday 9 December
Time: 12pm – 1pmDrop-in and find data about attention to, mentions and citations of your publications. Weave this into stories about your research for grant applications, promotion rounds and PDF discussion. Please contact Fransie Naude for any queries.
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
Indigenous Knowledge Institute seed funding
Deadline to contact the Grants team: Wednesday 4 November.
The Indigenous Knowledge Institute invites proposals for innovative and interdisciplinary research projects with a focus on Indigenous knowledges. All University of Melbourne researchers are eligible to apply for this seed funding opportunity for projects up to a maximum of $20,000. Proposals will be assessed against five selection criteria:
- advances research in Indigenous knowledges
- commitment to partnership
- feasibility and impact
- interdisciplinarity, and
- early career researcher development.
Applications close Wednesday 11 November.
You can find more information or make an enquiry with the Indigenous Knowledge Institute.
Email the Grants team to apply
DECRA and Future Fellowship applications extended
Deadline to contact the Grants team: Wednesday 18 November
The Australian Research Council (ARC) 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.
Email the Grants team to apply
The Laura Bassi Scholarship
The Laura Bassi Scholarship, which awards a total of $8,000 thrice per annum, was established by Editing Press in 2018 with the aim of providing editorial assistance to postgraduates and junior academics whose research focuses on neglected topics of study, broadly construed. The scholarships are open to every discipline and the next round of funding will be awarded in December 2020.
All currently enrolled master’s and doctoral candidates are eligible to apply, as are academics in the first five years of their employment. Applicants are required to submit a completed application form along with their CV through the application portal by the relevant deadline. Further details, previous winners, and the application portal can be found on the Editing Press website.
Application deadline: 25 November 2020
Outcomes announced: 20 December 2020 -
Learning & Teaching Initiative (LTI ) Grants
Applications close at 5pm Wednesday 25 November
Based on the success across the University of the Improving Online Learning Quality category in the previous LTI round, this new round is seeking applications in the same category for subjects delivering in the first half year of 2021.
As in the previous round, applicants are asked to commit to improving online learning quality by incorporating five of ten online initiatives into their subject. Information on these ten initiatives can be found on the Implementing online learning quality page.
$5,000 incentive funding is provided for these projects. The funding is transferred to the project lead’s nominated account following the submission of an implementation report due by Week 6 of Semester 1, 2021. This funding can be used for teaching support or any activity which supports the academic in their role that allows them to successfully complete the project.
The Application Guidelines are available on the Learning and Teaching Initiatives page, including a link to the application form.
Please note that the form, as usual, includes this question:
Have relevant Heads of Department/School confirmed that the subject coordinator(s) will have the time and basic resources required to complete this project within the context of their existing responsibilities?This question requires that you write a short statement to this effect and email it to the Associate Dean Learning & Teaching with a copy of your application to jquay@unimelb.edu.au. This is to assist in creating an MGSE record of who is applying. A confirmation email will be sent to you.
Applications will close at 5pm Monday 25 November and will be awarded by Friday 18 December.
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Jack Keating Fund Scholarship
The Jack Keating Fund Scholarship is currently open until Tuesday 9 February 2021. This scholarship is awarded in the memory of Professor Jack Keating, who was a specialist in post compulsory education and training, most noted for his contribution to education policy and debates. This scholarship is open to current or prospective research students of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education who are pursuing policy research in the field of education where the research is likely to impact on greater equality of opportunity and education outcomes and the advancement of social justice. It is valued up to $8500 for one year. Please share these details if your graduate researcher would benefit from this scholarship.
Please visit the scholarship website for more information including the application requirements and eligibility.
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ARC Discovery Indigenous 2022: Applications open soon
The Discovery Indigenous scheme provides funding to Administering Organisations to support research programs led by an Indigenous Australian researcher and to build the research capacity of higher degree research and early career researchers. The scheme provides $30,000-$500,000 funding per annum for three years. Project costs can be used for a variety of purposes. As indicated in the key dates below, applications open on Wednesday 25 November.
Key dates for Discovery Indigenous 2022
- Release of Grant Guidelines: 8 October 2019
- Applications Open: 25 November 2020
- Request Not to Assess Close: 3 March 2021
- Applications Close: 17 March 2021
- Rejoinders: 17 June 2021 to 30 June 2021
- Anticipated announcement: Fourth Quarter 2021
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ARC Discovery Projects 2022: Applications open soon
The ARC Discovery Projects support fundamental research conducted by both individuals and teams. The scheme provides $30,000-$500,000 funding per annum for projects of two to five years duration. Project costs can be used for a variety of purposes. As indicated in the key dates below, applications open on Wednesday 11 November.
Key dates for Discovery Projects 2022
- Release of Grant Guidelines: 8 October 2019
- Applications Open: 11 November 2020
- Request Not to Assess Close: 10 February 2021
- Applications Close: 24 February 2021
- Rejoinders: 8 June 2021 to 22 June 2021
- Anticipated announcement: Fourth Quarter 2021
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Reminders
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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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.