Two Flagship activities ($65,000), 12 Amplify initiatives ($136,800) and 10 Participation Support grants ($26,425) were supported during the 2022–23 grant round. The 2022-23 program had the following outcomes:
Over 900 EMCRs from 37 universities and institutions across Australia benefited from TMIA grants.
ECMRs and grantee organisations were able to make linkages with 23 industry partners, and conduct or attend 24 symposiums and conferences, some of which were very critical for research endeavours.
Participation support grants enabled six EMCRs to travel to New Zealand, China and the United States for research presentations and conferences.
People engaged in activities included Aboriginal women, queer individuals, lecturers, senior scientists, research fellows, policymakers, post-doctoral researchers, health professionals, women in STEM, the Academy’s National Committees for Science members, and industry partners.
Thematically, the activities were in the areas of water and river care, queerness in STEM, dementia, circular bioeconomy, mentorship, nutrition, omics and bioinformatics, observational data, sleep research, translational research, purification technology, chemosensory testing, gastroenterology, and cardiovascular rehabilitation.
Apart from TMIA grant funding, the initiatives secured additional support, both financial and in kind, from 19 partners, maximising impact and expanding EMCR networks. In some projects, minimal event registration fees were applied to supplement the event budget.
Delivered from 19 to 23 February 2024 in Tasmania, the symposium titled ‘tunapri luna: women’s knowledge, freshwater and sea country connections from Lutruwita to Martuwarra’ brought together 35 Aboriginal women (30 from Lutruwita and five from Martuwarra) to celebrate Aboriginal women’s ways of knowing and healing our waterways.
Subsequently, a symposium was attended by 80 Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women who share an interest in understanding and healing our waterways. The symposium included films from Lutruwita and the Martuwarra River, keynote talks, a musical performance, presentations on restoration projects being undertaken by Pakana rangers, and panel discussions on Aboriginal water sovereignty, cultural engagement, healing and impacts of climate change. Attendees also participated in cultural activities such as shell stringing and making kelp water carriers. The event highlights were captured in the Academy’s newsletter.
Researchers from Monash University worked on uncovering the historical contributions of queer individuals in STEMM fields in Australia (STEMM is an alternative way of writing STEM and stands for science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine). Through archival research and presentations at conferences and events like the LGBTQIA+ STEMM Day celebration, which was attended by over 65 EMCRs, the project highlighted the often-overlooked achievements of queer individuals. The research findings were presented at conferences and published in the conference proceedings. The initiative also included community engagement activities such as the presentation of awards and personal testimonies, aiming to foster a supportive environment for LGBTQIA+ individuals in STEMM and gather feedback for future initiatives.
This event enabled networking between two academics, five EMCRs, and eight health care professionals and their relevant service stakeholders, to encourage future research collaborations in ageing, dementia and virtual reality education. Participants were from a range of backgrounds including physiotherapy, education, neuropsychology, occupational therapy and medicine.
This conference provided an opportunity for 11 EMCRs from STEM, creative education and businesses from South Australian (SA) and interstate universities to participate in roundtable discussions with 13 regional leaders and eight senior academics to highlight their research and identify research areas relevant to SA regions. The roundtable discussions centred around sustainability, liveability, education, regional resilience, and attraction of companies.
This event enabled EMCRs, academic researchers, post-doctoral fellows and students to participate in discussions for the implementation of circular bioeconomy and decarbonisation strategies and policies. The experts represented both government and private organisations, discussing science, environmental sustainability, engineering, economics, policy making and the circular bioeconomy. Fifty EMCRs were able to network with potential industry partners and engage in discussions that would lead to wider opportunities and future collaborations. An e-learning product has been created on Google Classroom for researchers working on the circular bioeconomy and net zero emissions.
Planning, mentoring and networking has been identified as one of the challenges faced by EMCRs, and this initiative helped design mentorship resources to facilitate networking between EMCR and senior researchers. Through the initiative, the project team developed the ‘Making Meaningful Mentorship’ program and toolkit aimed at helping over 1,000 EMCRs from three Western Australian universities.
This initiative enabled women in STEM to participate in the art and science of writing curriculum vitae and identification of entry points for their next career stage. Two workshops were hosted at the Academy EMCR Forum Science Pathways Festival 2023, with over 100 EMCRs participating. The workshop provided a promotional opportunity for WOMESSA, leading to a partnership agreement with the Geological Society of Australia to co-develop future EMCR career development events.
This symposium brought together 50 EMCRs in nutrition and dietetics with 20 members from the National Committee for Nutrition and other symposia presenters to strategise the implementation of four key recommendations from the Nourishing Australia decadal plan. The symposium provided EMCRs with the specifics of the decadal plan’s pillars and the opportunity to play a role in the implementation of the plan’s recommendations.
This symposium gathered EMCRs from mass spectrometry omics related fields including proteomics, metabolomics and lipidomics. Travel grants enabled EMCR’s to present their work to over 170 event participations from Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland.
This symposium focused on unlocking the potential of observational data provided 40 EMCRs with the opportunity to enhance their ability to incorporate observational data into all aspects of research and communication. Through networking, the event created a community of ECMRs in observational data and use of data beyond research.
This conference attracted over 50 EMCRs from Australian universities, research organisations and industry partners to attend a conference featuring presentations on digital rock, groundwater, and mineral recovery. It was followed by poster presentations, with the winner presenting on the application of porous media methods for fuel cell analysis.
This event provided over 60 EMCRs with the opportunity to engage in discussions on sleep health, sleep medicine, sleep disorders and sleep technology. The initiative also provided professional development opportunities, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration in sleep research. Over 1,000 attendees participated in the Sleep DownUnder event including medical practitioners, exercise scientists, pharmacists, dentists, physiologists, sociologists and anthropologists.
This symposium provided 119 EMCRs from the University of Sydney, CSIRO, Children’s Medical Research Institute, Kids Research, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, and Western Sydney Local Health District to enhance knowledge on research development by engaging with keynote speakers and networking with more researchers to work on impactful projects. As a result, the EMCRs had the opportunity to build networks and collaborations across the organisations, win travel awards to attend national and international conferences and develop track records by presenting their research.
This event was an add-on EMCR program to the third Australian Symposium on Advances in Separation Science. It featured an industry–researcher engagement session focused on translational research and industry-oriented career paths for EMCRs. Attended by 46 EMCRs, 35 industry experts and 14 academics, the symposium provided the opportunity for more than half the EMCRs attending to present their work and receive peer, industry partner and academic feedback. The project provided travel grants to 8 EMCRs attending the event.
Ten EMCRs (four male and six female) attended conferences and symposia in Australia (4), New Zealand (3), the United States (2) and China (1). Fields of research included chemical and environmental engineering, gastroenterology, nutrition science, genetic epidemiology, diet interventions for gut and mental disorders, and cardiovascular rehabilitation. The recipients came from six institutions in Victoria, two in NSW, one in Queensland and one in South Australia.
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
