Monash Magazine October 2015 | Page 29

education OCTOBER 2015 Monash University 29 Photo: Steve Diffey “ The role of innovation in helping to create competitive advantage for the Australian chemistry industry cannot be overstated.” – Samantha Read Chemical attraction science and industry both stand to gain from an innovative program that brings their interests together. Words Bianca Nogrady H ow can green chemistry reduce environmental impact caused by industrial and domestic waste? What is the potential for helping society through developing self-healing polymers? The answers to these challenges may be found by students who are working towards their PhD as part of GRIP, an innovative program that links academia with industry and government. GRIP – Monash University’s Graduate Research Interdisciplinary Program – is an incubator of industry-relevant research, explains the vice-provost (graduate education), Professor Zlatko Skrbis. He sees it as creating a catalyst for innovation that benefits students and industry. “We are bringing together the interests of academic and industry leaders to identify challenges, topics and ideas that need to be addressed,” he says. This year, Monash has launched a GRIP underpinned by the Australian chemistry industry. In partnership with the Plastics and Chemicals Industry Association (PACIA) and the Victorian Government’s Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, the GRIP puts PhD students together with more than 20 participating companies and organisations including BASF, Procter & Gamble, 3M, Agilent Technologies, Nufarm, PPG, PerkinElmer, Dulux, Axieo and KPMG. The program also involves Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority and CSIRO. It links to Monash University’s Green Chemical Futures initiative, which has already attracted more than $100 million in investment. The researchers coming out of the program will have a firm understanding of industry needs, says PACIA chief executive (and Monash alumna) Samantha Read. “We have seen a tremendous response from industry to this initiative,” she says. “This is recognition of the vital importance of strong collaboration between academia, the research community and industry in helping to drive innovation. The role of innovation in helping to create competitive advantage for the Australian chemistry industry cannot be overstated.” Industrial experience Professor Karen Hapgood, a chemical engineer, and Associate Professor Tony Patti, a chemist, oversee the GRIP program, working with a team of academics from the science and engineering faculties who supervise the students in collaborative partnerships. Students will gain industrial experience through mentorship by an industry R&D expert, and by working as interns. “The PhD projects will be industry focused, and the industry partners will be looking to commercialise the research outputs,” says Joseph Lawrence, director of industry partnerships at Monash. Mr Lawrence says students will gain from the joint influence of research scientists and industry engineers. The program also gives industry a role in fostering the next generation of chemical scientists and engineers, and the opportunity to develop relationships with Monash and its extensive research capabilities. Many of the participating companies intend to build a deeper partnership with the university; PerkinElmer, for example, has set up an industrial flagship facility at Monash in the new Green Chemical Futures building. Another GRIP that focuses on sustainable water management in developing Asian cities is also under way at Monash (see page 13), and other programs are being developed. Professor Skrbis says the GRIP model was inspired by the Centres for Doctoral Training in the UK and other international best-practice models in graduate research education. “These allow universities to productively engage with industry partners – but those partnerships also serve as embedding mechanisms for PhD students who are future captains of industry and future research leaders.”   see the new digital version at www.monash.edu/monashmag