Find out more
I’m a Curtin PhD student
I’m a supervisor or Curtin staff member
I’m an industry partner
You’re in the right place! Scroll this page for information and resources on how to engage a Curtin PhD student intern for your organisation’s R&D needs.
How the program works
Curtin’s PhD internship program is designed to be flexible, supported and outcomes-focused. Internships typically run 3-6 months, are aligned to the student’s research area, and are available across all disciplines.
- Explore opportunities
Students and supervisors identify an industry-aligned research project that complements the PhD. - Match and agree
Curtin works with partners to confirm scope, timelines and formal agreements. - Undertake the internship
The student completes the research internship alongside their PhD enrolment, with flexible delivery options. - Deliver outcomes
Internships deliver benefits for students, supervisors and partner organisations, and may lead to future collaboration.
Why participate?
Industry partners
Address R&D challenges
Tap into cutting-edge research without full hiring costs
PhD students
Apply research to real problems
Build industry networks
Strengthen career prospects
Supervisors
Support student impact
Access new research partnerships and funding opportunities
Program costs
If the internship meets the minimum government requirements, students are eligible to receive an internship incentive, provided by Curtin, of $3,500 per student. Host organisations can provide additional funds to interns at their discretion.
No funds are provided to support the research or associated costs; these must be met by the host organisation.
Success Stories
Next steps: engage a Curtin PhD intern
Want to take part in Curtin’s PhD internship program? Here are your next steps:
- Scope one or a series of projects that addresses a problem in your industry where the research question is suitable for a PhD student to address in sixty working days. The research can be completed all at once, or in stages.
- Please provide us with your project brief in the form of a single page description, including your preferred timing, and send to ROC.Excellence@curtin.edu.au. Curtin University will advertise your project to prospective interns and their supervisors, and you may meet with the students to ensure they are suitable.
- Curtin University will provide you with a contract template to initiate the internship. The contract must be in place before the student can commence the internship. Projects can commence at any point throughout the year. Contracts are available for a single student, or a series of students across multiple years.
Desire Runganga
“I’d definitely recommend internships to other PhD students. They keep you connected to industry and relevant. You don’t want to spend five years solving a problem that’s no longer a problem when you graduate. Internships help you stay in tune with real-world needs and give you a mental break from your thesis.”
Essam Morsy
“This internship strengthened my problem-solving skills and reinforced the importance of bridging academia and industry. It gave me confidence in applying my knowledge to real-world challenges.”
Sage Ishimwe
“Participating in this internship has been a meaningful experience of belonging and professional growth. It’s a good opportunity to exercise my research skills beyond the university and transfer knowledge in a real-world setting.”
Per Henningsgaard
“Most university-enabled work placements are for relatively short periods of time and with students whose skills are relatively nascent. By contrast, the Curtin HDR Industry Internship places students with industry partners for an extended period of time, and these students bring loads of skills and experience. This enables industry to assign them more substantial tasks that are likely to yield greater benefits for industry.”
Iain Murray
“Interns are a high value return on investment with a very low commitment (financial and training) when compared to employing staff. Our HDRs are fully qualified engineers so are capable of performing at a very high standard immediately but also have the research capabilities that all HDRs should develop, a combination that can bring a great deal to industry projects.”
Georgia Richter, Fremantle Press
“Irena saved other team members hours of work as a result of her contributions in a year in which our list expanded dramatically. She was an invaluable member of the team as a result of this contribution. We would have been behind our own deadlines without her!”
Ann-Renee Blais, Treasury Board of Canada
“Throughout my career as a researcher with the federal government, I have worked with several promising young scholars. Hiring students is a great way to expose them to our work as applied researchers while also learning from them and leveraging their up-to-date skills and knowledge.”
Thomas Addis, Sherpah
“We contacted a large US company who is now interested in using our technology based on the findings of the PHD student.”
Submit an expression of interest
If you would like to offer an industry project as a research internship, we encourage you to express your interest by emailing the Research Excellence team.
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