New Theo Murphy Initiative opportunities for EMCRs

Five new activities will be funded by the Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia) over the coming year with the aim of supporting Australia’s early- and mid-career researchers (EMCRs). The activities will provide tangible career benefits and ultimately further scientific discovery. The five successful proposals include:

• establishing a national LGBTQIA+ STEMM network
• empowering regional research through an EMCR development workshop
• focusing on genomes and biodiversity in the era of big data
• kickstarting the Australian bioeconomy with synthetic biology
• supporting Re:produce through a kick-off meeting of the reproducible research network.

The final two opportunities for EMCRs funded as part of the previous round were delivered in April and May this year.

The 2019 Theo Murphy Australian Frontiers of Science symposium, Redefining healthy ageing together, was held in Adelaide in April. The symposium brought together EMCRs working on ageing from across Australia to discuss their latest research and spark potential collaborations. The EMCRs also had the unique opportunity to take part in a public engagement session. This involved a conversation with seniors to better understand how researchers can build respectful and valuable relationships when engaging the public as part of their research.

The STEM Transferable Skills Toolkit pilot program debuted with two workshops at Deakin University and Macquarie University in May. More than 70 EMCRs from these organisations joined the workshops, either face-to-face or online, to learn the key skills required to improve the way they prioritise tasks and manage expectations in the workplace. There are two more workshops scheduled, followed by stage two of the program: online professional development learning modules for EMCRs.

Join the EMCR Forum for updates about the Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia) and more.