OverviewThe primary goal of the Industry Fellowships Program is to create a pathway to support academic researchers in establishing careers in industry, and industry-based researchers to work in university settings, with the aim of increased two-way mobility and skill-building in research collaboration, translation and commercialisation. The Schemes will also drive research collaboration, translation and commercialisation outcomes across a range of industry settings.The objectives of the Early Career Industry Fellowship scheme are to:develop the industry collaboration skills of Early Career researchers; andsupport Early Career researchers to achieve translatable and/or commercialisable outcomes and translation skills. Selection processApplications for funding commencing in 2023 opened on 20 September 2022 and closed on 3 November 2022. Applications were submitted through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Management System (RMS). This report outlines outcomes from the selection process for that round.These recommendations are based on advice from the ARC Selection Advisory Committee (SAC) which:assessed applications and reviewed assessments made by independent assessors;ranked each application relative to the others on the basis of the application, and the independent assessors’ reports; andassessed and recommended budgets.Advice was also provided from the ARC’s National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP) Eligibility Committee which:considered eligibility issues identified by ARC staff, the members of the ARC SAC or independent assessors,where required, sought advice from the ARC’s Medical Research Advisory Group, and made recommendations to the CEO in respect of ineligible applications.This report reflects the outcomes approved by the Minister. Unless otherwise specified, data represented in this report excludes withdrawn applications. Assessment criteriaAll applications that meet the eligibility criteria for the Early Career Industry Fellowship 2023 were assessed and merit ranked using the following assessment criteria:Impact (25%)The significance of the industry challenge or opportunity being addressed in the research project and its relevance to industry partners;The potential for short-, medium- or long-term outcomes, translation, adoption and/or commercialisation beyond the Fellowship completion; andThe appropriateness, completeness and effectiveness of proposed pathways to impact, and related activities to support research translation, adoption and/or commercialisation, including IP management.Commitment and Alignment (25%)Demonstration of the mutual benefit to the Fellow and Key Industry Partner including potential to lead to longer-term collaboration;Strength of engagement between the Fellow and Key Industry Partner, including previous projects (where applicable), and interactions to date on the proposed project; andThe extent to which all parties demonstrate a commitment to the success of the project and to expanding a collaborative relationship.Candidate Capability (25%)The extent to which the candidate’s skills and experience, relative to opportunity, are aligned to the project;The candidate’s demonstrated capability to undertake research projects in collaboration with industry and/or other research end-user groups; andThe appropriateness and effectiveness of the proposed career development plans for the Fellow, including to enhance their research translation and/or commercialisation skills.Research Quality and Innovation (25%)The clarity and novelty of the aim and conceptual framework and the innovativeness of the research method(s) to the industry challenge or opportunity;The novelty of the research in the context of previous research in the area;The clear presence of the Key Industry Partner in the design, method and delivery of the research; andThe feasibility of the research in terms of the project’s design, participants, requested duration, required resources/facilities, risk management and appropriateness of the budget.If the project involves Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander research, additional criteria include:The project’s level of collaboration, engagement, relationship building and benefit sharing with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and First Nations Organisations and Communities;The project’s strategy and mechanisms for Indigenous research capacity building within the project;The project’s adherence to the Australian Indigenous Data Sovereignty Principles; andThe project’s understanding of, and proposed strategies to adhere to, the AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research and NHMRC’s guidelines on Ethical conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities. Assessment processThe ARC assessment process for the Early Career Industry Fellowships 2023 involved 38 SAC members comprising of members from the ARC College of Experts and experts from industry across 4 discipline panels. The process was managed in RMS. In addition, independent assessors submitted a total of 1048 reports to the ARC to support the assessment process. Funding levels and durationEarly Career Industry Fellowships projects are funded for 1 to 3 years on a full-time basis, subject to sufficient scheme funding, the provisions of the Australian Research Council Act 2001 (the ARC Act) and continued satisfactory progress of the Early Career Industry Fellowships project.It is a requirement of the Grant Guidelines for the Industry Fellowship Program (Variation No. 1, 2022 edition) for the Administering Organisation to employ an Early Career Industry Fellow at a minimum of Academic Level A (or equivalent) for the entire project activity period. The annual salary provided by the ARC of $109,079 (2022$) includes 30% on-costs.In addition to the Early Career Industry Fellowship salary and salary-related (on-cost) support, the ARC will provide Early Career Industry Fellows with project funding not exceeding $150,000 over the duration of the grant. Summary of outcomesThe ARC received a total of 359 applications for Early Career Industry Fellowships for funding commencing in 2023.50 Early Career Industry Fellows are approved for funding commencing in 2023, shown in Table 1. The overall success rate for Early Career Industry Fellowships for funding commencing in 2023 is 13.9%. The total indicative funding approved is $22.2 million over 3 financial years (Tables 2 and 3). A break-down of success rates and funding amounts is shown in Table 2.Of the unsuccessful applications in 2023, one was found not to meet eligibility requirements.Table 1. Early Career Industry Fellows approved for funding commencing in 2023.Fellowship candidateAdministering OrganisationDr Zoe Lisa A AitkenThe University of MelbourneDr Hareth B Al-WassitiMonash UniversityDr Ashley J AnsariUniversity of Technology SydneyDr Aimee L BrownbillThe University of QueenslandDr Kai ChenThe University of Western AustraliaDr Yi-Sheng ChenThe University of SydneyDr Guoyu ChuThe University of New South WalesDr Michael V CuttlerThe University of Western AustraliaDr Teka F DewoThe University of New EnglandDr Hoang-Long DuMonash UniversityDr Haoran DuanThe University of QueenslandDr Li GaoMonash UniversityDr Davide E GuccioneThe University of NewcastleMr Jarrod L GuppyJames Cook UniversityDr Cornelia M HooperEdith Cowan UniversityDr Zachary L HowardThe University of Western AustraliaDr Bronwyn A HradskyThe University of MelbourneDr Alon A IlsarMonash UniversityDr Mahyar KhorasaniRMIT UniversityDr Holly L KirkRMIT UniversityDr Seung Ho LeeUniversity of South AustraliaDr Karolina B MatuszekMonash UniversityDr Melinda R MylekUniversity of CanberraDr Loan T NguyenThe University of QueenslandDr Tam D NguyenMonash UniversityDr Trung H NguyenQueensland University of TechnologyDr Amanda S PadovanMacquarie UniversityDr Brooke PattersonLa Trobe UniversityDr Tamieka L PearceUniversity of TasmaniaDr Douglas Pinto Sampaio GomesVictoria UniversityDr Azhar Hussain I PotiaThe University of QueenslandDr David A RuddMonash UniversityDr Rachel SearstonThe University of AdelaideDr Nataliia SergiienkoThe University of AdelaideDr Adnan SufianThe University of QueenslandDr Rui TangThe University of SydneyDr Daniella TeixeiraQueensland University of TechnologyDr Dushmantha N ThalakotunaUniversity of Technology SydneyDr Arie A van RooijenThe University of Western AustraliaDr Qingxia (Jenny) WangUniversity of Southern QueenslandDr Zhouyou WangMonash UniversityDr Andrew J WardThe University of QueenslandDr Georgina WoodFlinders UniversityDr Nicky M WrightThe University of SydneyDr Jianping ZhangThe University of SydneyDr Wei ZhangThe University of AdelaideDr Dongxue ZhaoThe University of QueenslandDr Min ZhengThe University of QueenslandDr Ming ZhouGriffith UniversityDr Yuting ZhuoThe University of New South WalesTable 2. Application numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for approved Early Career Industry Fellowships 2023 applications.Funding yearApplications consideredApplications approvedSuccess rate (%)Requested funds over project life for all applications considered ($)Requested funds over project life for approved applications ($)Funds allocated over project life for approved applications ($)Return rate for approved applications (%)20233595013.9$163,526,959$23,209,075$22,227,16695.8Table 3. Indicative funds for approved Early Career Industry Fellowships 2023 applications.Budget item2023–20242024–20252025–2026TOTALEarly Career Industry Salary including on-costs$5,453,950$5,453,950$5,126,713$16,034,613Project Funding$2,268,396$2,179,876$1,744,281$6,192,553TOTAL$7,722,346$7,633,826$6,870,994$22,227,166 Outcomes by disciplineA summary of outcomes by discipline panel is shown in Table 4.Table 4. Application numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for approved Early Career Industry Fellowships 2023 applications.Discipline *Applications consideredApplications approvedSuccess rate (%)Requested funds over project life for all applications considered ($)Requested funds over project life for approved applications ($)Funds over project life for approved applications ($)Return Rate for approved applications (%)BSB971414.4$44,622,301$6,479,634$6,430,47699.2EIC1542113.6$69,257,769$9,816,347$9,237,75894.1HSE64914.1$29,118,560$4,095,307$3,901,69595.3MPCE44613.6$20,528,329$2,817,787$2,657,23794.3Total3595013.9$163,526,959$23,209,075$22,227,16695.8*BSB = Biological Sciences and Biotechnology; EIC = Engineering, Information and Computing Sciences; HSE = Humanities and Creative Arts, Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences; MPCE = Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences. Leverage of ARC FundingIn addition to the $22.2 million of ARC indicative funding approved, the 50 projects will also receive cash and in-kind contributions from their administering organisations and their Industry Partners. These participating organisations will contribute a total of $31.7 million. Outcomes by Administering OrganisationThe Administering Organisations of the 50 applications approved for funding are:Table 5. Partner Organisation contributions for approved Early Career Industry Fellowships applications by Administering Organisation.Administering OrganisationSubmitted applicationsApproved applicationsSuccess rate (%)Total allocated funding amountParticipating organisation contributions (cash & in-kind for funded applications)Australian Capital Territory2114.8$443,486$357,572The Australian National University1500$0$0University of Canberra6116.7$443,486$357,572New South Wales1061110.4$4,962,204$7,246,520Australian Catholic University100$0$0Macquarie University1317.7$476,833$231,269Southern Cross University100$0$0The University of New England6116.7$447,914$395,710The University of New South Wales17211.8$918,163$1,967,009The University of Newcastle10110$452,085$1,131,123The University of Sydney33412.1$1,831,655$2,360,045University of Technology Sydney13215.4$835,554$1,161,364University of Wollongong1000$0$0Western Sydney University200$0$0Northern Territory000$0$0Queensland751317.3$5,681,071$6,835,107Central Queensland University500$0$0Griffith University7114.3$465,237$509,589James Cook University3133.3$472,027$751,702Queensland University of Technology2129.5$829,651$903,649The University of Queensland31825.8$3,483,156$4,281,355The University of Southern Queensland4125$431,000$388,812University of Sunshine Coast300$0$0South Australia37513.5$2,199,386$3,590,082Flinders University10110$467,577$606,367The University of Adelaide18316.7$1,266,572$1,910,139University of South Australia9111.1$465,237$1,073,576Tasmania3133.3$463,971$1,036,473University of Tasmania3133.3$463,971$1,036,473Victoria901415.6$6,184,188$9,522,062Deakin University900$0$0La Trobe University10110$448,222$258,095Monash University26830.8$3,428,008$6,069,217RMIT University11218.2$913,741$1,209,866Swinburne University of Technology500$0$0The University of Melbourne2428.3$930,173$1,522,884Victoria University5120$464,044$462,000Western Australia27518.5$2,292,860$3,182,204Curtin University800$0$0Edith Cowan University3133.3$447,127$738,457Murdoch University200$0$0The University of Notre Dame Australia100$0$0The University of Western Australia13430.8$1,845,733$2,443,747Total3595013.9$22,227,166$31,770,020 Industry PartnersAustralian companies, government entities and non-profit organisations will participate in the approved projects as Key Industry and Other Industry Partners. International organisations will also contribute as Other Industry Partners.In total, there are 92 unique Key Industry Partners or Other Industry Partners involved with the 50 projects approved for funding, giving an average of 1.96 Industry Partners involved in each project.Together, they have pledged a total (cash and in-kind) of $17.4 million. This represents $0.78 from Industry Partners for every dollar funded by the ARC.Table 6. Partner Organisation contributions by sector for approved Early Career Industry Fellowships 2023 applications.TypeCashIn-KindTotal $%$%$%GovernmentAustralian Federal $00.0%$148,3511.2%$148,3510.9%Australian state, territory and local $946,01120.7%$3,046,08623.8%$3,992,09723.0% Sub-total$946,01120.7%$3,194,43725.0%$4,140,44823.9%Industry BodyAustralian $3,307,95872.5%$8,571,46367.0%$11,879,42168.4%International $100,0002.2%$591,1684.6%$691,1684.0% Sub-total$3,407,95874.7%$9,162,63171.6%$12,570,58972.4%Non-profitAustralian $211,1414.6%$431,7583.4%$642,8993.7%International $00.0%$1,3590.0%$1,3590% Sub-total$211,1414.6%$433,1173.4%$644,2583.7%OtherOther $00.0%$2,6400.0%$2,6400% Sub-total$0 $2,6400.0%$2,6400% Total$4,565,110 $12,792,825100%$17,357,935100%Note: All percentages are shown using rounded figures, and as such may not sum to 100%.These partnerships form congruent and/or complementary linkages in Fields of Research (FoR). A summary of the FoR categories identified by applicants of approved applications and the total Industry Partners contributions are shown below in Table 7.Table 7. Application data by Field of Research category for Early Career Industry Fellowships 2023.Field of Research categoryNumber of applications approved*Key and Other Industry Partner contributions (cash & in-kind) over project life (approved applications)AGRICULTURAL, VETERINARY AND FOOD SCIENCES6$3,451,952BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES4$2,318,383BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES0 BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND DESIGN0 CHEMICAL SCIENCES4$3,440,925COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM AND SERVICES1$388,812CREATIVE ARTS AND WRITING1$445,192EARTH SCIENCES2$1,098,052ECONOMICS0 EDUCATION0 ENGINEERING20$14,627,303ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES4$2,682,090HEALTH SCIENCES3$1,087,531HISTORY, HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY0 HUMAN SOCIETY0 INDIGENOUS STUDIES1$599,916INFORMATION AND COMPUTING SCIENCES1$410,334LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE1$256,970MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES0 PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES0 PHYSICAL SCIENCES0 PSYCHOLOGY2$962,560TOTAL50$31,770,020* Based on the primary FoR Australia and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC)A summary of the ANZSIC categories that best represent the proposed research of the approved applications are shown below in Table 8.Table 8. Application data by Australia and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) category for Early Career Industry Fellowships 2023.ANZSIC categoryNumber of applications approved011 Nursery and Floriculture Production1012 Mushroom and Vegetable Growing1014 Sheep, Beef Cattle and Grain Farming3015 Other Crop Growing2017 Poultry Farming1020 Aquaculture2080 Metal Ore Mining1101 Exploration1119 Other Food Product Manufacturing1181 Basic Chemical Manufacturing1183 Fertiliser and Pesticide Manufacturing1184 Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Product Manufacturing1189 Other Basic Chemical Product Manufacturing1211 Basic Ferrous Metal Manufacturing1231 Motor Vehicle and Motor Vehicle Part Manufacturing1243 Electrical Equipment Manufacturing1249 Other Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing1261 Electricity Generation1263 Electricity Distribution1281 Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage Services5292 Waste Treatment, Disposal and Remediation Services1301 Residential Building Construction1580 Telecommunications Services1591 Internet Service Providers and Web Search Portals1642 Auxiliary Insurance Services1691 Scientific Research Services5692 Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services3699 Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services1752 State Government Administration1754 Justice1760 Defence1802 School Education1810 Tertiary Education1879 Other Social Assistance Services1900 Creative and Performing Arts Activities1911 Sports and Physical Recreation Activities1 Career age and genderOf the 359 Early Career Industry Fellowship candidates in this round, 153 were female, 204 were male and 2 chose not to specify gender. The success rate for female, male and unspecified candidates in this round is 14.4% (22), 13.7% (28) and 0 per cent respectively.Success rates of Early Career Industry Fellowship candidates by career age and gender in the current round are presented in Figure 1. Candidates who did not provide gender information (0.6%) and candidates who did not specify the date of completion of their PhD or who do not hold a PhD* (1.9%), are not represented in the figure below.*It was not a requirement for an Early Career Industry Fellowship candidate to hold a PhD.Figure 1. Participation and success rate of Early Career Industry Fellowships 2023 candidates by gender and career age*^ * Career age is calculated as years since PhD. The earliest PhD award date was used where there was more than 1 PhD.^ Calculated career age does not take career interruptions into consideration. Attracting and retaining outstanding researchersApplications were open to Eligible Organisations to nominate candidates who are world-class researchers of international repute, residing either within Australia or overseas (Table 9).Table 9. Citizenship/residency status of Early Career Industry Fellowships 2023 candidates and approved Awardees.Citizenship/residency statusApplications considered% Of Applications consideredApplications approvedSuccess rate (%)Foreign Nationals318.639.7Resident Australians32490.34614.2Returning Australians41.1125.0Total3591005013.9Note: All totals and percentages are shown using rounded figures, and as such may not sum. Research StudentsIn the 50 applications approved for funding, a total of 147 student positions will be filled as a result of the funded projects, with a total of 57 PhD student places, 26 Masters student places and 64 Honours student places. International collaborationAmong 359 of the applications considered, applicants foreshadowed 180 instances of collaboration with researchers in 35 overseas locations. Of the applications approved for funding, applicants foreshadowed 32 instances of collaboration with researchers in 18 overseas locations (Figure 2).Figure 2. International collaborations by location in approved Early Career Industry Fellowships 2023 applications