OverviewThe primary goal of the Industry Fellowship 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 Mid-Career Industry Fellowship scheme are to:strengthen the industry collaboration skills of mid-career researchers,encourage uptake of a wider range of career options for established researchers,supervise and develop future research and nurture their development of collaboration, commercialisation and translation skills; anddeliver significant, actionable outcomes for industry partners and end-users. Selection processApplications for funding commencing in 2023 opened on 8 September 2022 and closed on 20 October 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 Unless otherwise specified, data represented in this report excludes withdrawn applications.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 Mid-Career Industry Fellowships 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;The potential to build and expand sustainable relationships between industry partners and the research organisation and the wider research community; 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 the 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, including the industry partners’ financial and/or in-kind contributions.Candidate Capability (25%)The extent to which the candidate’s skills and experience, relative to opportunity, enable them to deliver the goals of the research project;The demonstrated capability of the candidate to lead research projects in collaboration with industry and/or other research end-user groups;Evidence of the candidate’s capability to effectively supervise and mentor more junior staff (in industry and university) and students; 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 involvement of the Key Industry Partner’s staff and resources in the design, method and delivery of the research; andThe feasibility of the proposed 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 Mid-Career Industry Fellowships 2023 involved 24 SAC members comprising of members from the ARC College of Experts and experts from industry on one multi-discipline panel. The process was managed in RMS. In addition, independent assessors submitted a total of 837 reports to the ARC to support the assessment process. Funding levels and durationMid-Career Industry Fellowship projects are funded for 2 to 4 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 Mid-Career Industry Fellowship 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 the Mid-Career Industry Fellow at a minimum of Academic Level C (or equivalent) for the project activity period. The annual salary provided by the ARC of $199,824 (2022$) per year includes 30% on-costs.In addition to the Mid-Career Industry Fellowship salary and salary-related (on-cost) support, the ARC will provide the Mid-Career Industry Fellows with project funding not exceeding $290,000 over the duration of the grant. Summary of outcomesThe ARC received a total of 314 applications for Mid-Career Industry Fellowships for funding commencing in 2023.25 Mid-Career Industry Fellows are approved for funding commencing in 2023, shown in Table 1. The overall success rate for Mid-Career Industry Fellowships for funding commencing in 2023 is 8.0%. The total indicative funding approved is $23.8 million over 4 financial years (Tables 2 and 3). A break-down of success rates and funding amounts is shown in Table 2.Of the unsuccessful applications in 2023, 6 were found not to meet eligibility requirements.Table 1. Mid-Career Industry Fellows approved for funding commencing in 2023.Fellowship candidateAdministering OrganisationProfessor Svetlana BogomolovaFlinders UniversityDr Patrick BurrThe University of New South WalesDr Kok ChanThe University of New South WalesDr Zhaolin ChenMonash UniversityDr Yit-Heng ChooiThe University of Western AustraliaProfessor Dewei ChuThe University of New South WalesProfessor Luke ConnalThe Australian National UniversityDr Nicolas FrancoisThe Australian National UniversityAssociate Professor Alice GabyMonash UniversityAssociate Professor Myra HamiltonThe University of SydneyProfessor Luke HendersonDeakin UniversityAssociate Professor Shihu HuThe University of QueenslandProfessor Cameron ParsellThe University of QueenslandDr Julie PearceThe University of QueenslandDr Melanie RobertsGriffith UniversityDr Tracey SlettenMonash UniversityAssociate Professor Carl SpandlerThe University of AdelaideAssociate Professor Rico TaborMonash UniversityDr Bojan TamburicThe University of New South WalesDr Kate UmbersWestern Sydney UniversityAssociate Professor Tony VelkovMonash UniversityAssociate Professor Dries VerstraeteThe University of SydneyDr Ryan WhitfordThe University of AdelaideDr Angela Van De WouwThe University of MelbourneAssociate Professor Yunfei XiQueensland University of TechnologyTable 2. Application numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for approved Mid-Career Industry Fellowship 2023 applications.Funding yearApplications consideredApplications approvedSuccess rate (%)Requested funds over project life for all applications considered ($)Requested funds over project life for approved applications ($)Funds allocated over project life for approved applications ($)Return rate for approved applications (%)2023314258.0$303,334,206$24,652,636$23,840,57696.7Table 3. Indicative funds for approved Mid-Career Industry Fellowship 2023 applications.Budget item2023–20242024–20252025–20262026-2027TOTALMid-Career Industry Salary including on-costs$4,995,600$4,995,600$4,995,600$2,997,360$17,984,160Project Funding$1,716,631$1,684,561$1,687,324$767,900$5,856,416TOTAL$6,712,231$6,680,161$6,682,924$3,765,260$23,840,576 Outcomes by disciplineA summary of outcomes by discipline panel is shown in Table 4.Table 4. Application numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for approved Mid-Career Industry Fellowship 2023 applications.Discipline *Applications consideredApplications approvedSuccess rate (%)Requested funds over project life for all applications considered ($)Requested funds over project life for approved applications ($)Requested funds over project life for approved applications ($)ReturnRate for approved applications (%)BSB7756.5$77,274,180$4,854,710$4,656,48295.9EIC12197.4$117,130,855$8,894,881$8,641,00497.1HSE6857.4$63,027,362$5,015,935$4,913,80998.0MPCE48612.5$45,901,809$5,887,110$5,629,28195.6Total314258.0$303,334,206$24,652,636$23,840,57696.7*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 $23.8 million of ARC indicative funding approved, the 25 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 $30.3 million. Outcomes by Administering Organisation The Administering Organisations of the 25 applications approved for funding are:Table 5. Partner Organisation contributions for approved Mid-Career Industry Fellowship applications by Administering OrganisationAdministering OrganisationSubmitted applicationsApproved applicationsSuccess rate (%)Total allocated funding amountParticipating organisation contributions (cash & in-kind for funded applications)Australian Capital Territory15213.3$1,841,618$2,957,251The Australian National University10220$1,841,618$2,957,251University of Canberra500$0$0New South Wales8478.3$6,686,568$9,006,867Australian Catholic University200$0$0Charles Sturt University300$0$0Macquarie University500$0$0Southern Cross University100$0$0The University of New England400$0$0The University of New South Wales15427.6$3,702,671$5,695,042The University of Newcastle600$0$0The University of Sydney2129.5$1,940,105$2,695,485University of Technology Sydney1200$0$0University of Wollongong1000$0$0Western Sydney University5120$1,043,792$616,340Northern Territory200$0$0Charles Darwin University200$0$0Queensland6357.9$4,875,846$5,963,837Central Queensland University400$0$0Griffith University5120$1,034,832$949,012James Cook University200$0$0Queensland University of Technology1516.7$1,060,944$2,489,458The University of Queensland3339.1$2,780,070$2,525,367University of Southern Queensland100$0$0University of the Sunshine Coast300$0$0South Australia3339.1$3,045,230$4,756,203Flinders University8112.5$1,051,456$1,150,326The University of Adelaide15213.3$1,993,774$3,605,877University of South Australia1000$0$0Tasmania700$0$0University of Tasmania700$0$0Victoria8278.5$6,341,410$6,196,033Deakin University1218.3$1,052,296$1,858,145Federation University Australia100$0$0La Trobe University100$0$0Monash University18527.8$4,541,988$3,904,834RMIT University900$0$0Swinburne University of Technology1000$0$0The University of Melbourne2813.6$747,126$433,054Victoria University300$0$0Western Australia2813.6$1,049,904$1,439,159Curtin University1100$0$0Edith Cowan University100$0$0Murdoch University100$0$0The University of Western Australia1516.7$1,049,904$1,439,159Total314258.0$23,840,576$30,319,350Industry Partners Australian 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 42 unique Key Industry Partners or Other Industry Partners involved with the 25 projects approved for funding, giving an average of 1.7 Industry Partners involved in each project.Together, they have pledged a total (cash and in-kind) of $18.5 million. This represents 78 cents from Industry Partners for every dollar funded by the ARC.Table 6. Partner Organisation contributions by sector for approved Mid-Career Industry Fellowship 2023 applications.TypeCashIn-KindTotal $%$%$%GovernmentAustralian Federal$00$36,0000.3$36,0000.2 Australian state, territory and local$449,9997.4$1,079,2008.7$1,529,1998.3 Sub-total$449,9997.4$1,115,2009.0$1,565,1998.5Industry BodyAustralian$4,468,06173.6$8,175,52065.7$12,643,58168.3 International$729,09712.0$630,9945.1$1,360,0917.3 Sub-total$5,197,15885.7$8,806,51470.8$14,003,67275.7Non-profitAustralian$00$1,950,97215.7$1,950,97210.5 International$00$12,6000.1$12,6000.1 Sub-total$00.0$1,963,57215.8$1,963,57210.6Higher EducationInternational$00$147,8401.2$147,8400.8 Sub-total$00$147,8401.2$147,8400.8OtherOther$420,0006.9$410,0003.3$830,0004.5 Sub-total$420,0006.9$410,0003.3$830,0004.5 Total$6,067,157 $12,443,126100$18,510,283100Note: 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 Mid-Career Industry Fellowship 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 SCIENCES1$433,054BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES2$3,422,970BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES0 BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND DESIGN0 CHEMICAL SCIENCES3$3,214,651COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM AND SERVICES1$1,150,326CREATIVE ARTS AND WRITING0 EARTH SCIENCES1$1,622,066ECONOMICS0 EDUCATION0 ENGINEERING9$14,276,989ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES2$1,595,929HEALTH SCIENCES1$976,932HISTORY, HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY0 HUMAN SOCIETY1$924,520INDIGENOUS STUDIES0 INFORMATION AND COMPUTING SCIENCES0 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE1$239,103LAW AND LEGAL STUDIES0 MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES1$949,012PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES0 PHYSICAL SCIENCES1$703,797PSYCHOLOGY1$810,001TOTAL25$30,319,350* 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 Mid-Career Industry Fellowships 2023ANZSIC categoryNumber of applications approved101 - Exploration1114 - Fruit and Vegetable Processing1014 - Sheep, Beef Cattle and Grain Farming2151 - Pulp, Paper and Paperboard Manufacturing1181 - Basic Chemical Manufacturing1182 - Basic Polymer Manufacturing1184 - Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Product Manufacturing2203 - Cement, Lime, Plaster and Concrete Product Manufacturing1239 - Other Transport Equipment Manufacturing1241 - Professional and Scientific Equipment Manufacturing1242 - Computer and Electronic Equipment Manufacturing1261 - Electricity Generation3281 - Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage Services2292 - Waste Treatment, Disposal and Remediation Services1691 - Scientific Research Services280 - Metal Ore Mining1821 - Adult, Community and Other Education1879 - Other Social Assistance Services2Total25 Career age and genderOf the 314 Mid-Career Industry Fellowship candidates in this round, 92 were female, 220 were male and 2 chose not to specify gender. The success rate for female, male and unspecified candidates in this round is 8.7%, 7.7% and 0% respectively.Success rates of Mid-Career Industry Fellowship candidates by career age and gender in the current Mid-Career Industry Fellowship 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* (0.6%), are not represented in the figure below.*It was not a requirement for a Mid-Career Industry Fellowship candidate to hold a PhD.Figure 1. Participation and success rate of Mid-Career Industry Fellowship 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 one 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 Mid-Career Industry Fellowship 2023 candidates and approved Awardees.Citizenship/residency statusApplications considered% Of Applications consideredApplications approvedSuccess rate (%)Foreign Nationals41.300Resident Australians30597.1258.2Returning Australians51.600Total314100258.0Note: All totals and percentages are shown using rounded figures, and as such may not sum. Research StudentsIn the 25 applications approved for funding, a total of 37 research students will be filled as a result of the funded projects, with a total of 15 PhD student places, 9 Masters student places and 13 Honours student places. International CollaborationAmong 314 of the applications considered, applicants foreshadowed 231 instances of collaboration with researchers in 41 overseas locations. Of the applications approved for funding, applicants foreshadowed 22 instances of collaboration with researchers in 9 overseas locations (Figure 2).Figure 2. International collaborations by location in approved Mid-Career Industry Fellowships 2023 applications