Your organisation may have a problem or seek innovation and development
in areas amenable to solution through the application of mathematical and/or
statistics. Our case studies are full of examples of
successful collaborations. The IDTC program matches the brightest minds from
across the ATN’s universities, working hand-in-hand with your choice of
existing employee or hand-picked PhD applicant, to find tailored solutions
to those needs.
The sole focus of a traditional PhD by research is a pin-point problem,
producing a graduate of exceptional but highly discrete and specialised
technical knowledge; there may be little opportunity to apply the acquired
technical knowledge to other problems or industry, and limited prima-facie
options for professional development outside academia.
More than just a traditional PhD experience, the IDTC program is also
designed to benefit industry and student alike by delivering work-ready
students with knowledge in a range of technical, professional and commercial
areas of practical application to a broader range of industries and
problems, and opportunities for career progression in the executive domain.
Students will be engaged with the industry partner from day one, spending
up to two-thirds of their team at your organisation, working on the industry
problem, delivering solutions. The IDTC program will also balance on-the-job
and academic learning. Students will receive specific
coursework training
delivered through the IDTC to deliver technical skills critical to their
project and professional skills, such as communication and project
management, critical to operating effectively in an industry setting.
The research project is generated by your organisation, and then
undertaken under the joint supervision of your organisation and the chosen
ATN academic supervisor. The result is direct value specific
to your organisation.
The IDTC provides a collaborative partnership with a highly motivated PhD
student, with broad skills in the mathematical sciences, at an ATN
University of your choice under the supervision and enrichment of
Australia’s top academics, addressing your business challenge through
research.
A PhD student chosen in consultation with you, based on your specific
needs and the background, qualities and potential of the student. The
student can be an existing employee of your institution who earmarked for
development, who may have intimate knowledge of the technical, practical and
economic needs of your organisation.
Your existing employee PhD student will continue to spend the majority of
their time in your organisation. Rather than engaging an expensive external
contractor to assist in solving your problems or providing innovation, your
additional costs will be limited to the maintenance fee (see below). Your
employee-PhD student will know the nuances of your organisation and can add
value immediately and there is reduced risk of losing your cutting edge
through IP leakage.
The best! They will be high calibre students who value challenging
research as a tool to deliver outcomes. They will be students who are also
eager to embrace and advance their knowledge and experience in non-technical
skills such as problem solving, communication, teamwork, initiative and
enterprise. There will be 25 accepted into the IDTC each year starting in
2012, five at each of the five ATN Universities. They will
work over the four years of their PhD on either substantive long term
projects or a series of inter-linked shorter projects.
The IDTC is all about partnership. While providing a high level of
academic supervision for IDTC candidates, the IDTC is committed to providing
the option for industrial supervisors to join the supervision team and
participate in the research. Where the existing scale and expertise of the
industry partner does not permit this, the IDTC will provide frequent
reports/consultation on the progress of the project and the student.
In the United Kingdom IDTC’s, in many disciplines, have been successfully
operating for a number of years; they are considered to be of high value and
have attracted industry partners such as Jaguar Land Rover, Microsoft
Research, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Pfizer, AstraZeneca (pharmaceutical
multinationals), Arup (Engineering & Design multinational), Ford, Unilever,
BT, Met Office (UK), Shell Research, to name a few.
There are two main avenues for industry partnership in this IDTC:
Your organisation will receive the full commercial value of the IP, while
the student and University receive the academic value of the IP (the
University and the student retain publishing rights, rights to background
IP, license free use of IP and sharing of any upside commercialisation of
the IP).
The success of the IDTC relies heavily on industry collaboration. If you
think you may have an industry problem or want of innovation that may
benefit from the application of mathematics and/ or statistics,
contact the
IDTC Directorate or one of the
IDTC Program Coordinators in the
ATN university of your interest, to discuss the possibilities.
All ATN IDTC communication with the private sector is confidential, and
we respect your commercial in confidence requirements at all times.