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.”
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