HDR Student Industry Engagement for Supervisors

A conversation at the beginning of candidature about what your HDR students want to achieve and their aspirations, particularly career goals, will help you and your student identify relevant engagement opportunities and plan these into candidature. You will need written confirmation of the planned internship duration and the research and development activities within the first 18 months FTE of candidature (36 months for part-time students).

• Consider the partner organisations you work with, or companies that align with your student’s research.
• Complete the internship enquiry/proposal form below. The proposal will outline the Industry Partner and internship project, timelines and deliverables along with supervisor details and business information.
• The Office of Graduate Research HDR Engagement Coordinator will review the internship project proposal and if applicable, align it with a potential PhD student.
• For each internship, a Flinders HDR Internship Agreement will be signed by the Dean of Graduate Research, Industry Supervisor and the Student.
• The student will need an Industry Supervisor while on their internship.
• Once the student is on the internship, the Principal Supervisor and Office of Graduate Research HDR Engagement Coordinator will be the points of contact for the student and Industry Supervisor.

A letter of agreement sets out the obligations of the parties: the University and its Staff, the Industry Partner, and PhD student regarding the internship.  

If an Industry Partner agrees to take students on an internship, the terms in the agreement letter and appendices will constitute an agreement between the University and industry organisation. Industry Partners can have an individual Letter of Agreements for one-off HDR student internships, or a Master Letter of Agreement (for up to 5 years) for multiple HDR student internships. Agreement templates are available from the Office of Graduate Research.

For PhD internships, a written agreement must be entered into by all parties within 18 months of the Student’s HDR degree commencement as a full-time Student, or within 36 months as a part-time student.

An eligible industry internship is 3-months minimum (60 days full-time equivalent). However, the internship requirements and hours/days can be negotiated between the Principal Supervisor, student and host organisation. The agreed industry internship can then be undertaken by the student at any point during their course.

A research internship is defined as a position with a research end-user where a student has undertaken research and development (R&D) activities related to their higher degree by research (HDR). A research internship can be either paid or unpaid and forms part of an enrolment.

A research end-user is defined as an individual, community or organisation external to academia that will directly use or directly benefit from the output, outcome or results of the research.

Examples of end users includes businesses, governments, non-governmental organisations, communities and community organisations. Specific exclusions of research end-user are:

• Other higher education providers
• Organisations that are affiliates, controlled entities or subsidiaries (such as Medical Research Institutes) of a higher education provider
• Equivalents (international or domestic) of the above exclusions.

The level and technical knowledge of the Industry Supervisor depends on the type of student they are hosting. All students will require regular supervision, guidance, and feedback. Please refer to the Charter of Industry Supervisor for more information.

Internships work well when a student feels comfortable and safe in their workplace, and able to contribute to the organisation. When they know the expectations and understand what work will be completed for the project.

Expectations should be made clear at the initial interview including work and learning objectives, dress standards; work attendance; clear project outlines (if a project is to be completed); orientation to the workplace – toilets, refreshments and introduction to other staff. It is also helpful that other staff are aware of the student and the role they are to play.

A health and safety induction must be provided to the student upon commencement.

If possible, inclusion of students in all aspects of the work environment including meetings is highly valued. We ask students to act in a professional manner, show initiative and be willing to perform a variety of jobs.

Students undertaking an internship in a host organisation are bound by the standards of performance conditions in the host workplace. It is important that their workplace performance meets the needs of the host organisation. It is suggested that issues should first be addressed by the supervisor in the workplace, and if the issue(s) cannot be resolved, or if the concerns require discussion, please contact the Principal Supervisor and Office of Graduate Research HDR Engagement Coordinator.

To establish an internship with an industry partner, all parties will need to:

• Sign a Letter of Agreement
• Assist in developing the student’s Internship Project Plan during the internship
• Mid-Way and Final Evaluation (by the Industry Supervisor)

The Letter of Agreement is a legally binding document completed and signed by the PhD Student, Industry Partner and Flinders University. This agreement outlines the roles and responsibilities of all parties.

The Internship Project Plan guides student’s work while on an internship is agreed to by the Industry Partner, student and supervising academic, and is the basis of a successful internship. The Work Plan should document the scope, objectives, deliverables, and proposed outcomes of the project and work schedule, and is not just a list of tasks.

The Industry Partner will be requested to share any relevant documentation relating the management of the safety of students while they are on an internship. This may include risk assessments, inductions, or training requirements.

The Industry Partner will be asked to provide feedback regarding both the student’s performance, and the administrative arrangements from the University. An electronic copy will be emailed to them at the end of the internship. Their feedback will form part of the student’s progress and provide the student with valuable guidance in areas they are doing well in and areas they might need to improve.

Recognising IP is important. The Agreement signed by Flinders University and the host organisation ensures the ownership of any created IP remains with the host organisation, under specific conditions relating to the use of the IP for the student’s reports and assessment.

Industry Partners may also choose to request the student sign a confidentiality agreement. We are open to discussing how we can further support the protection of confidential and commercially sensitive is managed throughout the student’s internship.

Flinders University will ensure that it takes out and maintains public liability and professional indemnity insurance for the Student and its Staff.

The Industry Partner will ensure that it takes out and maintains appropriate public liability insurance covering the Internship Organisation in relation to any loss, damage or injury suffered by the Student.

If the Internship requires the Student to travel outside of Australia, the Student will be responsible for registering with Flinders University in order to access its Corporate Travel Insurance policy and otherwise ensuring that appropriate coverage is in place.

If the student is undertaking employment as their internship, they will be employed by the Industry Partner and as such, will be covered by the Industry Partner's relevant insurances.

There is no financial contribution required. However, they can offer a top-up stipend to attract talented students. For more information, please contact the HDR Engagement Coordinator at HDR.Engagement@flinders.edu.au.