MDHS Discovery Awards

The MDHS Discovery Awards recognise outstanding contributions towards the delivery of high-impact research and the building of a world-leading research community. They celebrate the research that helps achieve the goals of Advancing Health 2030, including recognition researchers, external partnerships, collaborations across disciplinary boundaries, and graduate research supervision.

These awards complement other forms of research recognition that arise through publications, external grants, early-career grants, fellowships, and academic societies. Except where indicated otherwise, the MDHS Discovery Awards are open to both teams and individuals

Discovery Awards

  • Award for Graduate Researcher Supervision

    Nominees should have a sustained record of high-quality graduate researcher supervision at the University, relative to opportunity and disciplinary norms. They should have demonstrated supervision practices that develop their graduate researchers’ skills both in research and more broadly, and which lead to them becoming rounded, independent, and successful in their chosen fields. This award is open only to individuals.

  • Award for Interdisciplinary Research

    Nominees will have been collaborators in interdisciplinary research of outstanding influence, that is, the establishment of new, or advancing of existing, collaborations and programs that draw on multiple disciplines typically involving multiple faculties or schools.

  • Award for Research Achievements

    Three awards will be granted in this category: early career researchers (less than 6 years’ experience); mid-career researchers (6 – 12 years’ experience) and senior career researchers (more than 12 years’ experience). Nominees will have accomplished an outstanding research achievement relative to career-stage.

Nomination criteria for Discovery Awards

(Except Graduate Research Supervision Award)

Nominators should provide evidence to support the nomination using the forms of evidence that best makes their case. These may include and are not limited to the following:

  • Research outcomes with demonstrated impact.
  • The membership of teams that contributed to the outcomes, including aspects such as inclusion of graduate researchers and early-career researchers and the presence of collaborators from diverse disciplines and organisations.
  • Evidence of testimony from beneficiaries of the research or activity.
  • Trajectories of research programs from conception to communication or deployment of outcomes.
  • Demonstrated alignment with Advancing Health 2030.
  • Demonstration and promotion of Advancing Health 2030 enablers of collaboration, innovation and nurture, and Faculty Values.

Nomination criteria for Graduate Researcher Supervision Awards

The specific nature of the award means that it relies on distinct kinds of evidence. Below are characteristics to consider in making a nomination, but these are only indicative, and nominators should select the forms of evidence that best makes their case.

  • Approaches to supervision that influence, motivate, and inspire candidates to excel.
  • Fostering of candidates’ development of critical thinking skills, analytical skills, scholarly values, capacity as communicators, and planning, design, and execution of projects.
  • Shaping of outstanding research outcomes for candidates as recognised by awards for theses, publications in leading venues, and appointment to competitive postdoctoral positions.
  • Approaches to feedback that foster independence and leadership and are reflective of the diverse needs and styles of individuals.
  • Support for the development of candidates as individuals, including their career development, induction into their global academic community, and engagement with users of their research.
  • Contribution to the development and practice of high-quality supervision practices and graduate research environments within faculties or for the wider University.
  • Demonstration and promotion of Advancing Health 2030 enablers of collaboration, innovation and nurture, and Faculty Values.
  • Evidence should be provided from diverse observers, such as committee chairs, independent colleagues, and graduates who have had significant postdoctoral experience, and can be supported by testimony from current and recent candidates.

How to apply