The Aspire Early Career Research Fellowship
This two-year fellowship aims to increase the diversity of the QUBIC community by supporting the recruitment and retention of Early Career Researchers from communities that typically face barriers to entry and progression in STEM and related fields.
Specifically, the fellowship offers financial support of $65,000 per year over two years towards the salary and associated costs of the successful applicant with the remainder to be covered by the applicant’s supervising Chief Investigator.
Eligibility
• Applicants must be Early-Career Researchers who are either currently affiliated with QUBIC or external candidates intending to join the research group of a QUBIC Chief Investigator.
• Applicants must hold a PhD (or have submitted their PhD thesis for review) at the time of the application in a relevant discipline such as quantum science, biotechnology, synthetic biology, computational chemistry, science policy or related fields.
The successful applicant will take on a research-focused academic role aligned with QUBIC’s research themes (description available here) and work closely with their supervising Chief Investigator.
How to apply
Applicants should be within five full-time equivalent years of PhD award and must provide: :
1. Research Proposal (use template provided)
Outline the research that will be undertaken during the fellowship, including:
• A brief background and rationale for the project
• Aims and objectives
• Expected outcomes and significance
• Alignment with QUBIC’s core research themes
• Description of how the project will enhance interdisciplinary collaboration within QUBIC or with external partners
2. Statement on Diversity and Inclusion (use template provided above)
Address the following:
• Your personal experience and professional engagement to diversity and your field(s) of research. This may include lived experience, community background, identity, etc.
• Past engagement and planned future contributions to promoting inclusivity and equity in your academic career.
3. Curriculum Vitae (3 pages maximum)
As a guide, your CV may focus on the most recent five years, and include:
• Full details of education, postgraduate training, present and past appointments.
• Details of awards or prizes (include $ amount where applicable).
• List of publications and summary of publication metrics, including total number of publications, total citation counts, h-index, proportion in tier 1 journals, etc.
• Seminar/conference presentations (details of the conference, indicate if invited talk, selected for oral or poster presentation).
• Leadership, service, and community engagement activities related to your research discipline and/or equity, diversity and inclusion (e.g. membership of professional societies and committees, peer review experience, administrative responsibilities, etc).
4. Letter of Support from the Supervising Chief Investigator
• This letter (guidelines provided) must confirm that, if the applicant is successful, the Chief Investigator will support the remaining salary and project expenses for the duration of the two-year fellowship.
• Each supervisor may support a maximum of two applicants.
• This letter should be sent via email from the supervising Chief Investigator directly via email to ideas.qubic@uq.edu.au
Assessment and Outcomes
Applications will be assessed relative to opportunity, based on:
• Qualifications and experience of the applicant (50%)
• Research proposal (50%)
If needed, additional information or interviews may be requested.
Please email completed applications to ideas.qubic@uq.edu.au by the 29th of August 2025.
Submissions will be reviewed and ranked by QUBIC’s Inclusivity, Diversity, Ethics and Access (IDEA) Portfolio Committee. This list will be forwarded to the Executive Committee for final approvals and outcomes will be communicated to applicants and their supervising Chief Investigator prior to the Annual Symposium in November.
Any questions can be directed to Allison Fish, chair of the IDEAs Portfolio, at ideas.qubic@uq.edu.au