Right places, wrong time for HDR industry interns

The feds propose using Research Training Programme funds to “reward universities” whose HDR students take a three-month internship in the first 18 months of study (CMM July 20)

Bad timing – at least on the evidence of the industry-intern programme run by the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute, which has grown to place HDR researchers in more than just maths.  With federal funding from 2017 the Apr.intern programme has organised 633 PhD students to work on research projects in industry and less than 10 per cent were placed in the first 18th months.

“Significant feedback has been received from both students and universities on the benefits of undertaking an industry placement later in their studies,” AMSI states.