Activating Inclusive Employment PhD Scholarship Opportunity

A new scholarship is being offered to advance knowledge about how inclusive employment is enabled through partnerships between social enterprises and mainstream employers.

This Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship is provided by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute and will be located within the School of Social and Political Sciences and the Department of Management and Marketing under the supervision of Professor Jo Barraket and Professor Susan Ainsworth.

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The Project

This project forms part of an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant, Activating Employment Through Work Integration Social Enterprise, led by academics at the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland. This project is being undertaken in partnership with leading social enterprises and supporters Whitebox Enterprises, Westpac Foundation, Outlook Australia, and STREAT.

The successful applicant will be interested in whether and how social enterprises and mainstream employers can work together to improve access to decent work by people experiencing significant disadvantage in the labour market. This is an interdisciplinary project and the applicant may locate their work in policy studies, sociology, or management.

The research is likely to include the following elements:

  • Undertaking qualitative or mixed-methods research with social enterprises, social enterprise workers, and mainstream employers;
  • Designing research with attention to community engagement and/or coproduction principles;
  • Working as part of a cross-organisational research team and working with industry partners;
  • Developing and delivering regular insights reports and presentations related to the research.

Critical Dates

  • Expressions of Interest Open – Thursday 15 June 2023
  • Expressions of Interest Close – Friday 1 September 2023
  • Shortlisted candidates required for interviews – week commencing Monday 11 September 2023
  • Successful candidates submit full applications to the Faculty of Arts by Friday 6 October 2023

Scholarship Benefits

The scholarship benefits include:

  • Full exemption from payment of student fees at the University of Melbourne;
  • A stipend of $34,400 per annum (2023 full-time rate, tax-free) for three years, with a possible extension to 3.5 years;
  • Allowances as per the Graduate Research Scholarship Terms & Conditions.

Melbourne Social Equity Institute will also provide an additional $2000 per annum (a maximum of $6000 during candidature) in research support funds.

The successful candidate will also receive automatic entry into the Institute’s Doctoral Academy.

Eligibility

The scholarship is only available to Australian and New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents. The scholarship is conditional upon acceptance into a PhD program at the University of Melbourne. Applicants must be eligible for acceptance by the University of Melbourne into a PhD program.

By the commencement of the program, applicants must have completed a postgraduate degree and/or an accredited fourth-year program at Honours 1 or Honours 1 equivalence level, or at an Honours 2A with an outstanding record of professional or research achievements since graduation.

Applicants should possess excellent interpersonal skills and cross-cultural community skills, the ability to work independently as well as part of a team and excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Applications

Please complete the Expression of Interest form and include the following:

  • Curriculum Vitae (up to 2 pages);
  • A brief research proposal (up to 4 pages). Outline preliminary ideas, key research questions, methodologies, relevant conceptual and theoretical approaches;
  • Academic transcripts; and,
  • If applicable, include Masters / Honours thesis examiners’ reports.

Following an initial short-listing, you may be invited to submit a full, formal application.  Any decisions based on this Expression of Interest and subsequent interviews will be conditional on you submitting a formal application and meeting all of the University’s eligibility requirements.

Melbourne Social Equity Institute reserves the right not to allocate any scholarships where, in its opinion, there are no expressions of interest of sufficient merit.

Download the EOI Form

All Expressions of Interest must be received by 11.59pm AEST on Friday 1 September 2023. Please send your completed form to social-equity@unimelb.edu.au.

Enquiries

If you have any questions about the PhD opportunity or the Expression of Interest process please contact Professor Jo Barraket at jo.barraket@unimelb.edu.au.

For queries regarding this webpage or the EOI form, please contact social-equity@unimelb.edu.au.