Graduate School Career Development Framework

HDR Industry Placements

The Graduate School Career Development Framework facilitates industry experiences, as Placements, to allow you to experience current practice and develop networks while demonstrating and strengthening your transferable, professional and research skills.

(VIDEO 1)

Learning objectives

  1. Apply advanced disciplinary knowledge, research and capabilities to real-world industry settings.
  2. Exhibit professional conduct and ethical decision-making in workplace scenarios.
  3. Communicate complex ideas and technical information effectively to diverse audiences.
  4. Develop and refine interpersonal skills to foster positive relationships and enhance collaboration.
  5. Utilise critical thinking and analytical skills to integrate research findings into practical applications.

Placement Information Sessions

2025 Dates (All Sessions are held via Zoom)

If you have attended an information session but still have questions, please book an appointment to discuss your plans. 

Book an Appointment

  1. Eligibility & Scholarships
  2. Types of placements
  3. Placement and your program
  4. How to organise your placement
  1. List of Host Organisations
  2. Travel considerations
  3. Student experiences

4. How to organise your placement

(Video 2)

If you are considering undertaking an HDR Placement during your candidature, it is important to be proactive and plan ahead. We recommend allowing 2-3 months from when you submit your project brief to when you plan on commencing your placement. Placements cannot be taken while on interruption.

Your placement should:

  • be within an Industry, NGO or Government organisation, and
  • develop your transferable and professional skills.

Organise your placement

  • Discuss taking a placement as part of your degree with your principal advisor, and make a plan on when to undertake it (preferably to be completed one month before your current stipend ends).
  • Look for an industry partner that you are interested in engaging with.  (In some cases, your principal advisor may be able to make some introductions to organisations on your behalf).
  • Check that the host organisation meets the criteria of the Research-end user provided by the federal Government to maintain eligibility for the scholarship.
  • Check whether that host organisation already has an industry placement agreement in place (if not, an agreement will need to be established prior to you commencing your placement. This may take some time. The agreement is separate to the project brief).
  • Check if the host organisation holds and maintains Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance coverage (if applicable).
  • Have a discussion/pitch an idea to that industry partner.
  • Review the placement learning objectives and think about how the placement activity meets these, then complete a project brief template (DOCX, 91.3 KB) with your industry partner.
You should also be mindful if considering a placement overseas that sometimes organisations elsewhere will not hold the same insurance levels as Australian organisations, and are unlikely to sign the UQ Placement agreement. There may also be right to work and visa complexities. Please leave plenty of time in case an alternative needs to be found. 

Seek approval for your placement

  • Submit your project brief as an attachment with the Principal Advisor approval for HDR placement my.UQ request.
  • The Graduate School Dean approves your project brief. They will contact you if changes are required. If you are submitting the placement project within the 18-month deadline, please submit the application at least two weeks prior to the deadline to allow sufficient time for any required changes.
  • The Graduate School Dean approves your project brief. They will contact you if changes are required. 
  • Once the brief is endorsed, the Graduate School will arrange a formal HDR placement agreement with your host organisation, if one does not yet exist and if it is an unpaid placement. If the host organisation wants to pay you, please inform us immediately, as the process is different.
  • You will be provided with a formal placement offer to commence your placement.
  • Accept your offer and prepare to commence your placement. It is mandatory to reply accepting the offer in order to finalise the placement approval.
Remember to be eligible for the placement scholarship or award you need to have registered your intent by completing  this step within the first 18 months of candidature (FTE).

Commence your placement

  • Commence on the agreed start date. We will send you a check-in email to confirm that you started as scheduled. Please contact the Graduate School immediately if you need to change the placement dates.
  • Keep in touch with the Graduate School, which will check in to make sure things are going smoothly. If you feel unsafe physically or mentally during the placement, please contact us immediately.

Complete your placement

  • Complete the final report for assessment, your host will also complete a confidential final report. It is mandatory to receive both reports to finalise the placement in our system.
  • Your final passing grade will be recorded on your student transcript.
  • You will receive an email notification confirming that you have successfully finalised your placement. Once you receive this notification, you will automatically become eligible for the UQ PhD Industry Placement Scholarship (if applicable).
  • Continue your professional development by:
    • Booking a meeting with the HDR Careers Advisor
    • Taking part in the mentoring program
    • Participating in Career Development Framework workshops