Taking the talent pressure out of innovation

If you are a big business or SME within Australia’s growing Defence industry sector, chances are you are feeling the pressure to innovate. After all, in a world flooring the accelerator the only place to be is first. First to imagine tomorrow, first to raise the bar and first to build a team able to harness the next big technological advancement.

So how do you keep a step ahead of your competitors and stake your place as a sector leader? As well as getting smart with your R&D dollars, you will need a team powered by high-level expertise and specialist research skills.

Many big businesses and SMEs are turning to academic collaboration and Australian PhD expertise to shortcut their way to cutting-edge talent. In fact, the Defence industry sector is among Australia’s top PhD employers according to Advancing Australia’s Knowledge Economy - Who Are The Top PhD Employers?, a 2019 report released by the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) and CSIRO’s Data 61. With PhD completions in Australia soaring to 10,000 annually, the report revealed over half of this workforce plans to work in industry.

After a long history of low academic-industry collaboration, this shift is welcome news to many. While the impetus is there, many businesses are unsure how to get the conversation started or which door leads to the talent they need. For many, there also remains a wary scepticism about the value of investing in specialised PhD expertise, which is seen as inexperienced and too academic to keep pace with industry innovation. For those taking the leap of faith, such as Silentium Defence CEO, Dr James Palmer, those fears are proving unfounded in the face of some big and often transformative benefits.

The Adelaide-based defence and space industry business has not looked back since it was matched with University of Adelaide PhD, Nathan Anderson through the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute’s APR.Intern program. What started as a short-term project led to big outcomes for Silentium and a full-time role for Nathan.

Dr Palmer said the research project and access to Nathan’s specialised radar skills brought both immediate and long-term benefits for the business. “Leveraging Nathan’s expertise, we were able to focus his efforts on a specific project designed to successfully characterise the performance of our technology and further enhance our product’s core functionality.”

Helping to reduce industry anxiety about opening doors for PhDs, a growing number of companies like Silentium Defence are offering interns work beyond their research-project placements. For Dr Palmer and his team,it was an easy decision to employ Nathan who impressed with his expertise, skills and cultural fit with the company.

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Such good news stories are leading a growing list of defence industry innovators to rethink their perceptions of PhD expertise and its application within business. No longer seen as too niche, inexperienced or slow-paced to add value, industry is awakening to the possibilities and opportunities opened by this previously untapped skill repository.

With a growing profile within the Defence industry sector and rebates on offer to reduce costs, APR.Intern is making it easy for defence innovators to tap into postgraduate-level applied research. The program has transformed the innovation playing field for defence industry leaders by making project success as simple as 1, 2, 3. Prepare, plan and deliver.

In step one you’ll lay the foundations for success with the support of your APR.Intern relationship manager. As well as scoping your challenge, you’ll work with them to identify your perfect PhD student and mentor matches. Now you have a team, step two will focus on group project planning, including setting objectives and milestones. With everything scoped and planned, step three is about achieving those big results as you deliver your project.

For companies such as Silentium Defence, a clear and measurable process for on-boarding and applying PhD skills across the business as well as access to the 50 per-cent Australian Government industry rebate and partners such as DST Group, DSI and DIN, made APR.Intern a logical choice as a strategic partner to help further scale the business and unlock its full innovation potential.

Delivered through the National Research Internship Program (NRIP), the 50 per cent rebate means eligible industry will only pay $13,000 on the cost of a regular $26,000 five-month project.

For those in the Defence Sector, APR.Intern has partnered with sector leaders to make your R&D dollars go even further. Nationally the program is placing 100 PhDs through Defence Science & Technology Group over four years. In VIC and NSW $10K DefenceScience Institute and Defence Innovation Network vouchers are available to eligible partner businesses and SMEs. Western Australia’s Defence Science Centre has also partnered to offer $10K subsidies to eligible industry participants. Terms and conditions and eligibility criteria are available at https://aprintern.org.au/about-apr-intern/partnerships

The Defence sector’s interest in APR.Intern is not only fuelled by the promise of R&D savings, with the program’s track record delivering high impact results also turning heads. Over 60 PhD interns from universities around Australia have brought their expertise to defence and aerospace projects to transform defence innovation and capability. As well as Silentium Defence, those reaping the benefits include sector leaders BAE Design& Build, YTEK and BMT Design.

In a sector dependent on being a step ahead, the pressure to bring innovation capability to the defence table is only set to build. The good news? With Australian PhD graduates eyeing industry, APR.Intern has your next project covered.

For more on APR.Intern visit aprintern.org.au.