Great White Shark
Credit: Andrew Fox / Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions

What is the best way to understand and try to mitigate the risks of swimming all the way across the Pacific Ocean? Misinformation around shark attacks, one of the risks of long distance ocean swimming, is pervasive.

The best way is to seek out information from an expert in the area, which is exactly what Ben Lecomte’s international citizen science team did with Associate Professor Charlie Huveneers, leader of the Southern Shark Ecology Group, College of Science and Engineering.

Ben is currently undertaking ‘The Swim’ an extensive long distance swim across the Pacific Ocean.  He and his team were concerned about managing shark attack risk during the swim. Coincidently, a member of his team is the sister of a Flinders undergraduate student enrolled in a topic taught by Charlie.

Charlie integrates his research and findings into his lectures enabling the student to share this knowledge with his sister. When Ben’s team discussed the risks of possible shark attack, she made the team aware of Charlie and his research and the US-based team got in touch. Charlie was able to advise on species likely to be sighted and whether they were potentially dangerous; and what devices have been scientifically proven to reduce the risk of shark attack.

“By helping Ben’s team to better understand the risk of shark attacks and how to mitigate those risks, I hope that others will learn that the risk of having a negative encounter with a shark is extremely small (even when spending many hours in the water every day), but that if risks need to be reduced, it is important to use devices that have been scientifically shown to reduce risks of being bitten,” said Charlie.

Charlie and his research were an integral part of an episode of "The Swim" - the digital series from leading online science publisher, Seeker that is capturing Lecomte's journey - ‘This is the Only Proven Way to Deter a Great White Shark’

This research was first released in May 2018 and within days the Western Australian government included the recommended deterrent to their personal shark deterrent rebate program.

In 1998, Ben became the first person to swim across the Atlantic Ocean in 73 days, raising funds for cancer research. In this new swim, he is raising awareness about the dangers of plastic pollution and its impact on the state of our oceans, while also taking samples and data, including dropping a hydrophone into the ocean each night to create the first sound postcard of the Pacific Ocean.

Working with Ben and his team, Seeker has a dedicated website where his swim can be tracked and recurring short-form video updates are released via the website, Facebook and YouTube through Seeker.

Seeker is a digital media network (youtube, facebook and their own website) that brings science, technology and culture stories to young audiences. Seeker originally was created as part of the Discovery, Inc. A feature length documentary on The Swim is planned to be released in 2019 in partnership with Nomadica Films.

The Flinders University Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee (SBREC) has released a revised Human Ethics (non-clinical) Application Form.

These revisions have been made to the application form to ensure that SBREC can meet annual reporting requirements of Governance, Legal and Risk at Flinders University and to improve the useability of the form for applicants.

Remember to download the ethics application form from the Guidelines, Forms and Templates SBREC web page every time a new application is to be submitted to ensure that the correct form is used.

If you are currently submitting an application on the previous version of the Application Form, additional information will be requested before it is submitted to the Committee for consideration.

The 2019 SBREC meeting dates have now been released on the Applying for Human Ethics Approval webpage.

Did you miss these news items on research from the Flinders' Newsdesk?

Exploring new research links in France - Six new grants will support research collaborations in France ranging from colonial exploration in the Pacific to an exchange of Flinders University expertise in groundwater management.

Review of child abuse systems in SA - Social work experts at Flinders will lead a major new review of South Australian child protection systems to tackle child abuse and neglect.

When did hunters kill off Madagascar megafauna? - Prehistory hunters on the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar are thought responsible for the eventual extinction of megafauna such as giant lemurs, hippos and elephant birds.

Exchange of new ideas with France - Leading French and Australian researchers have met in Paris to discuss the future of industry innovation.

Innovation award for MND crusader - Mary-Louise Rogers’ quest to beat the scourge of Motor Neurone Disease has seen her named one of South Australia’s 2018 ‘Winnovation’ winners.

Clues to earlier diagnosis of deadly lung disease - Flinders researchers have found proteins in lung fluid that could hold the key to diagnosing pleural mesothelioma months or even years before a tumour is visible on imaging scans.

If you have some exciting research news to share, please contact the Newsdesk at newsdesk@flinders.edu.au or us at inspiring.research@flinders.edu.au.

Ienrol research lists all training and development opportunities related to developing skills core to the research process and doing research at Flinders University. You can book to attend workshops, information sessions, and/or seminars that aim to facilitate the ongoing development of all researchers.

This regular posting in Inspiring Research will update you as to what’s on offer in the coming month, listing current opportunities that you can participate in and book into now. Click on the links below to view the course details.

Research Grants:

Top tips for writing successful ARC Linkage Proposals - by GR Steed & Associates, Thursday, 22 November 2018

Getting the ROPE section right in ARC research proposals - by GR Steed & Associates, Friday, 23 November 2018

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods:

IBM SPSS - Advanced: Linear Mixed Models, Tuesday, 20 November 2018

IBM SPSS - Advanced: Longitudinal Data Analysis – Mixed and Latent Variable Growth Curve Models, Wednesday, 21 November 2018

IBM SPSS - Advanced: Scale Development, Thursday, 22 November 2018

IBM SPSS - Advanced: Structural Equation Modelling using AMOS, Tuesday, 27 November 2018

IBM SPSS - Advanced: Complex Sample Survey Design / ABS and DSS Confidentialised Datasets, Wednesday, 28 November 2018

IBM SPSS - Advanced: Programming in IBM SPSS (Syntax, Macros, Custom Dialogs and R programmability extensions), Thursday, 29 November 2018

Seminars for HDR Supervisors:

Complaints about PhD Supervision: What, How, Why, Thursday, 8 November 2018

This interactive workshop will focus on the Key Selection Criteria and proposal sections for ARC Linkage grants. The workshop will be held on Thursday 22 November, from 12:30 - 2:00 PM in Room 0006, Anchor Court, Physical Sciences Building. Register at ienrol.

This workshop will also address what is crucial to success in developing a Linkage proposal and how to avoid the most common reasons for a poor assessment.

Real examples of top class Linkage Projects will be used. Discussion is encouraged throughout the workshop and participants are encouraged to share their own experiences for feedback and advice.

Bring your Linkage Project ideas to make the most of this session.

Dr Graham Steed, Director G R Steed & Associates Pty Ltd, is a Research Management Consultant for research intensive Universities, Government and Industry investors and R&D providers. He specialises in improving research funding proposals to increase the chances of obtaining funds. Graham has over 10 years hands-on experience working with CIs and their research teams to develop high quality, successful ARC and NHMRC research proposals including Linkage, Discovery, Centres of Excellence (both ARC and NHMRC), Future Fellows, Laureates, Partnerships, Development and Program grants.

Government research schemes place a strong emphasis on the track record of people applying for their grants.

The Research Opportunity and Performance Evidence (ROPE) section of these grants can certainly cause both success and failure for a researcher and research teams.

This interactive workshop will focus on the "Dos and Don'ts" of writing your ROPE sections. Participants are encouraged to seek feedback on their own personal experiences with assessor reports. The workshop will be held in Room 0008, Anchor Court, Physical Sciences Building on Friday, 23 November from 12:30 - 2:00 PM. Register at ienrol.

Bring along your ROPE to annotate and refine, based on the discussed principles.

Dr Graham Steed, Director G R Steed & Associates Pty Ltd, is a Research Management Consultant for research intensive Universities, Government and Industry investors and R&D providers. He specialises in improving research funding proposals to increase the chances of obtaining funds. Graham has over 10 years hands-on experience working with CIs and their research teams to develop high quality, successful ARC and NHMRC research proposals including Linkage, Discovery, Centres of Excellence (both ARC and NHMRC), Future Fellows, Laureates, Partnerships, Development and Program grants.

The Masters of Education (Leadership and Management) attracts a significant number of International students. They travel to Australia for two years, usually with a deeply held desire to learn about how they might improve the lives of colleagues, and communities, in some way, when they return home.

Four years ago, when teaching within that program, I began to question the assumed unproblematic nature of the presentation of Western leadership and management theories/models to diverse students without understanding the diversity.

As it turns out, the expectations, by International students, that overseas study is designed to facilitate the transport of Western theory to their country, as the solution, makes the indigenous knowledge they bring, struggle to appear. Few students question transferability, yet the transference of Western-based theories may actually be of limited value to the real concerns and issues associated with the management of organisations in other countries and other cultures.

Over the last four years, I have redesigned a topic within the Masters of Education (Leadership and Management) course through a number of phases of both conceptual and pedagogical research, which builds on the ideas of Raewyn Connell (Southern Theory) and the Portuguese intellectual and sociologist Boaventura de Sousa Santos (abyssal thinking, cognitive justice and intercultural translation).

Santos (2016) argues that, in aiming to transform the world in some way, we benefit from a diversity of perspectives, which exceeds a limited Western understanding of the world. Rather than subscribing to a single, universal and abstract hierarchy among knowledges, cognitive justice favours context dependent hierarchies of knowledges.

For International students to contemplate social transformation in their home country, we need to prepare the ground for students thinking about the knowledges they bring, and the importance of unique contextual and cultural factors. Such a dialogue with students, learns from local knowledges without conferring lower status because of differences and the assumption of one universal Western worldview. Intercultural translation allows for dialogue and interpretations across cultures, at the same time as raising the awareness of reciprocal incompleteness of knowledges –“one foot in one culture and the other in another” (Santos, 2016, p. 219). Through such a dialogue, non-Western and indigenous understandings have a place and a voice.

To read about the topic re-design and future plans, exploring cognitive justice and rethinking the teaching of educational leadership with International students, please see my paper which was published in the Journal Studies in Continuing Education.

Dr Bev Rogers

Dr Bev Rovers is a Lecturer in Leadership and Management within the Masters of Education program at Flinders University. Bev was previously a secondary principal in both country and disadvantaged areas of Adelaide, and Director of Teaching and Learning within the Department of Education and Child Development, prior to joining Flinders University in 2014. Her research interest is in rethinking and challenging current dominant and culturally limited Western models of educational leadership. Her current research focuses on the impacts of professional learning on leaders’ practice and exploring culturally sensitive leadership interactions in diverse contexts.

T: 8201 3445
E: bev.rogers@flinders.edu.au
Campus: Bedford Park
College: Education, Psychology and Social Work
Role: Lecturer/researcher in Educational Leadership

This is a feature for Inspiring Research where we profile Flinders’ Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in our ECR Spotlight. This initiative appears regularly and aims to connect our research community and strengthen research communications within the University. You will get insight into who our ECRs are and how their research and achievements are making a difference.

The featured ECRs welcome dialogue, debate, and conversation and we hope that it may shape future intra-, inter- and/or trans-disciplinary collaboration with Flinders’ colleagues. Please feel free to comment on their spotlight, and/or contact them directly. Also, you can contact the ECR Spotlight coordinator, Dr Marina Delpin, with your queries and comments.

Dr Andrew Vakulin, Dr Lynda Norton, Robert Trott, and Dr Sinead O'Connell (left to right)

How can one access and share international perspectives on how to bring science to market in a face-to-face forum? Flinders researchers and staff had this opportunity at the 6^th International Summer School on Technology Transfer in Life Sciences, Dresden, Germany, 17 to 21 September.

Flinders’ Dr Sinead O’Connell, Dr Lynda Norton, Dr Andrew Vakulin and PhD students Robert Trott and Ahmed Alshehri, participated in the Summer School that focused on preparing researchers for the technology transfer process.

Experts in intellectual property, business, marketing, technology transfer and fund raising helped participants identify the innovative potential in their research and provided valuable insight into the various ways that inventions in the Life Sciences could be brought to the market.

Sinead presented two lectures on pitching to investors and negotiation, and drew on her 10 years’ experience working in technology transfer at Flinders.

Lynda presented the Exercise Science Toolkit(EST), an online software program incorporating a suite of ~40 interactive analytical, graphing and application tools for exercise and health science students and allied health professionals.

The EST was designed to facilitate opportunities to conduct analyses on empirical data collected in laboratories or in clinical practice and also has the capacity to generate an unlimited supply of virtual people (VP) in real-time simulations, designed specifically for distance or online programs.

“Participating in this Summer School provided invaluable exposure to business and marketing expertise on how to get your technology beyond the development stage and into the commercial market. This should be a core component of PhD programs,” said Lynda.

Andrew described his research in Sleep Disorders and his recent work with industry partners to develop online sleep health decision support algorithms and systems. Sleep problems and disorders have an enormous health burden on the community and these novel online technologies will help to screen, identify and provide tailored solutions for sleep disorder sufferers.

“The sleep health decision support algorithms have broader applications in clinical and operational settings, including the shift work industry, transportation, health insurers and defence,” said Andrew.

A bioengineering sensor designed by Robert was one of six Life Science technologies put through the incubator process during the week-long forum. This novel angle sensor has been designed for use in a Controller in Stroke Rehabilitation Robotics. The angle sensor improves on existing devices by offering an ultra-compact form factor while preserving accuracy. The controller seeks to improve Gait Rehabilitation outcomes following stroke.

In Australia, there are approximately 50,000 new cases of stroke each year and currently, around 400,000 stroke survivors. Globally there are 17 million new stroke cases annually, of which a third will result in death. The remainder will experience varying symptoms affecting numerous cognitive and motor faculties, and 80% of survivors will experience some unilateral weakness. In particular, paralysis of one leg profoundly limits participation in activities of daily living and is the single post-stroke deficit with the greatest impact on quality of life. It is hoped Robert’s sensor will assist those affected.

In support of the research objectives in The 2025 Agenda: Making a Difference, and to provide an improved experience for researchers and research support staff, Flinders is investing in new digital technologies that support the research community.

The investment will lead to replacement of our ageing ResearchMaster and associated RePortal environments with a new state of the art research management system and introduction of a streamlined Ethics approval process supported by a new digital solution.

As such, Flinders has recently signed two major contracts with leading research management technology providers:

• Elsevier for their Pure product for research management
• Infonetica for their ERM product for ethics process management

The signing of these contracts represents the start of an exciting journey for Flinders to modernise and streamline our research management technologies and processes.

An extensive consultation process, including product demonstrations, was undertaken with the research community to reach this point. Professor Robert Saint, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), would like to thank members of our research community, Digital Research Services (DRS) and Research Development and Support (RDS) staff and others who have contributed to date.

Implementation of Pure and ERM will be managed by the Research Management Project team, comprising representatives from DRS, RDS and the Library. The project will be governed by a Project Steering Committee and a Project Governance Committee, both of which include researcher representatives from each College and wider representation from the Flinders research support functions.

The next stages of the project are as follows:

• Replacement of the current Publications functionality in ResearchMaster with that provided by the Pure application
• The launch of Flinders Researcher Profiles through the Pure Portal which will provide an enhanced Researcher Profile, building on information already presented on our Staff Profile pages
• Implementation of the Infonetica ERM application for ethics application management, informed by an RDS-led review of the University's Ethics processes.

Replacement of the remaining functionality provided by ResearchMaster and RePortal will commence early 2019.

More information will be shared after detailed project planning has been completed, and further engagement across our community will commence shortly. You can keep up to date with high level progress on these initiatives by visiting the DRS website here, or by contacting any member of the project team via the Research Management Project mailbox.

Applications for the Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia) are now open.

Through the Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia), the Australian Academy of Science conducts 3-6 activities and events annually to support Australia’s early- and mid-career researcher (EMCR) community. The purpose of these activities is to provide tangible benefits to EMCRs to support their careers and ultimately further scientific discovery.

Activities can be held anywhere in Australia and may take any format (meetings or conferences, training opportunities, incentives or mechanisms to engage EMCRs in existing activities or events, etc). Previous project examples can be viewed in the Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia) event page, however please note that proposed projects are not restricted to those activity formats.

Applications close on 11 November 2018. For more information, please see the Australian Academy of Science website.

Flinders University defines a Mid Career Researcher (MCR) as 9 – 15 years post PhD conferral.

Are you an MCR?

If so, please forward this email with your PhD conferral date to researcherpd.rds@flinders.edu.au.

In 2019 Flinders will be running an increased number of programs and initiatives to foster, support and develop our MCR community.

Contacting us will ensure that we can get communications to you regarding upcoming opportunities in relation to your development, prizes, awards and funding.

The amazing Tonsley Innovation District plays host for a standout event, engaging researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs, and connecting with professionals, managers, investors and potential partners.

Over a drink and a bite to eat, you’ll hear updates on the future of  innovation and Tonsley from our VIP speakers, and each "Icebreaker" will make 20 new contacts, with a short speed networking session, followed by open networking with food and drinks available for purchase.

The New Venture Institute has been working closely with leading edge data scientists, SpiralData to deliver an Icebreaker event that raises the bar on the value that it delivers. Your ticketing information plus a follow up survey will be the basis for our matching you to your table (don't worry, it's a really short survey). 

This event will be just a little more intimate than the first Icebreaker, and focused on the matching process. The space will be warm and inviting, making sure that it is easier to hear not only your matches, but also some great speakers. And to sweeten this pot even a little more, Flinders staff have access to discounted tickets.

Click on the link below and use code FlindersUniversity to unlock a 20% discount!

Innovation...meet enterprise. This is Icebreaker18.

We will see you there!

Wednesday, 21 November, 5.00-8.00pm

Tonsley Innovation District

Tickets $35 - includes welcome drink and shared platter

Link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/icebreaker18-tickets-35804941544?aff=FlindersMarketing

Health Translation SA is holding a forum on Friday 9 November 2018 to showcase ten exciting rapid applied research translation projects.

During 2018 these projects worked collaboratively with health services, consumers and other stakeholders, to translate medical research into solutions that will improve the health of South Australians. Associate Professor Niranjan Bidargaddi, Associate Professor of Personal Health Informatics, College of Medicine and Public Health, and Academic Status holders at Flinders Dr Dan Worthley and Dr Carolyn Astley will be showcasing their successful projects at the Forum.

Conducted as part of the 2018 Rapid Applied Research Translation Program, supported by the Medical Research Future Fund, each of the project teams will provide a short 10-minute presentation highlighting the key outcomes and the impact of their research on South Australian health services.

Where: SAHMRI Auditorium, Ground Floor, North Terrace

When: Friday 9 November 2018, 9:00am to 12:00pm

For further information, please visit the SA Academic Health Science and Translation Centre website.

Over the past 15 years, Australian Centre for HIV and Hepatitis Virology Research (ACH2) has supported translational research in the areas of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and now human TLymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1). In 2019, ACH2 will continue to support translational research into these four viruses.

Funding is available from 1 January 2019 to 30 September 2019 for grants up to $100,000. One EoI per chief investigator (CI)-A will be considered. Expressions of Interest close at 5:00 p.m. AEDT on Monday 5 November 2018. The Flinders internal closing date is 12 noon, Thursday 1 November 2018. For application advice and assistance, please contact Gareth Rees, Senior Research Officer (NHMRC, MRFF, & Health).

ACH2 is seeking expressions of interest (EoI) in applied research from qualified scientists to fund research projects aimed at:

• developing vaccine candidates for HIV, HBV subtypes, HCV or HTLV-1;
• developing preventatives such as HIV microbicides and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP);
• cure and treatment interventions for HIV, HBV, or HTLV-1,
• novel diagnostics and prognostics for HIV, HBV, HCV, HTLV-1 or hepatitis B/C/HIV/HTLV-1 co-infection;
• molecular tools for tracking epidemics caused by these viruses; and
• development of new tests for supporting vaccine and antiviral trials.

Basic research is not eligible, and grants aimed at development of new direct-acting antivirals against HCV are also not eligible.

Further details, eligibility criteria of this funding, and the EOI application template is available at www.ach2.org.au/apply.

World expert, Professor Maggie Watson, Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious international Psycho-oncology Journal will present a thought provoking lecture, 'Keeping it all together. Why mental health in cancer matters' at Flinders.

The lecture is part of the Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer (FCIC) Public Lecture Series 2018, Cancer Insights. The lecture will be held on Tuesday 6 November 2018 from 6 PM to 7:30 PM in the Ground Floor Function Room, FCIC, Flinders Medical Centre.

Cancer Insights is a free public lecture program for the community hosted by FCIC.

Dr Lisa Beatty, FCIC, will follow Professor Watson's lecture with a summary of the challenges and steps involved in developing complex psychosocial web-based interventions, to support women with metastic breast cancer.

Maggie will focus on how Psycho-oncology focuses on improving mental health and quality of life for people affected by cancer. Recently, the question of why mental health services are still not easily or widely available within hospital and community based cancer care services, has arisen. Is there more needed to build bridges between cancer and mental health services? Where are we at present? What’s available, what’s missing and what are the costs of providing cancer services that don’t include adequate quality mental health care? Is there more that can be done at the structural level of health service organisation to provide patients with comprehensive cancer care that takes account of the physical, social and psychological costs experienced? She will finish with how to translate research achievements into care progress.

Maggie was Head of Psychological Medicine at the Royal Marsden Hospital and led a comprehensive psychological and psychiatric service for oncology patients. She founded the British Psychosocial Oncology Society in 1982 and is past President of the International Psycho-Oncology Society. She is Editor-in-Chief of the Psycho-oncology Journal. Maggie’s research interests in the area of psycho-oncology include psychological Intervention, cancer genetics, cancer and families. She is currently a Professor in the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology, Institute of Cancer Research, UK, and a Visiting Professor, Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, UK.

RSVP to Michelle Cox on 8404 2842 or email michelle.cox@flinders.edu.au.

The NHMRC has advised that Grant guidelines for the first tranche of funding under the MRFF Million Minds Mission will be made available in late 2018

The Million Minds Mission grant opportunity aims to support multidisciplinary teams of researchers to undertake collaborative, patient-focused research that is transformative, scalable and demonstrates the greatest impact on health outcomes and translation into policy and/or practice.

This grant opportunity will provide up to $25 million over five years to support three initial priority areas for research:

• eating disorders
• mental health of children and young people
• mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Research Development and Support will provide updates as soon as more information becomes available.

The Million Minds Mental Health Research Mission (the Mission) was announced in the 2018-19 Budget by the Federal Government. By supporting innovative and ground-breaking mental health and suicide prevention research, the Mission aims to assist up to one million people affected by mental illness.  For more information, please visit the

MRFF website.

Are you or your team planning to submit an application in the 2020 round or beyond? This session, presented by Professor Jim Mitchell, CSE, and Maya Roberts, Senior Research Grants Officer (ARC), will step through the process for submission and how we can support you.

The session will be held in Lecture Theatre 2, Flinders Medical Centre on Wednesday 21 November from 12:30 - 1:30 PM.

Join this session to learn:

• key considerations when preparing your application
• selection criteria
• assessment process
• tips for success
  

Jim is Chief Investigator on DP, LE and LP grants & is a previous ARC College of Experts member.

There will be an opportunity for questions and discussion.

The session will also be livestreamed.

Enquiries to Kirsty de Reuyter, Researcher Professional Development.

Flinders University has purchased the Idea Puzzle® software for all staff and students to use when designing and planning their research.

The Idea Puzzle® software is a visual decision-making tool for integrative research design based on Philosophy of Science (Morais & Brailsford, 2018). In particular, it integrates the theory, method, data, rhetoric, and authorship of a research project to focus an academic text such as a research proposal, a thesis, or a journal article. The Idea Puzzle® software asks 21 questions, helps answer them, and allows the self-evaluation of each answer. The sequence of 21 questions follows a funnel logic to help focusing the research design.

The output of the Idea Puzzle® software is a research design with around 2000 words, an overall score and a coloured jigsaw puzzle, based on the 21 answers and the respective self-evaluation (examples: Design; Engineering; Management; Medicine; Psychology). The estimated time to complete a research design is of one working day, ideally six months after enrolling in a PhD.

For further information and instructions, please watch the video below.

The main benefits of the Idea Puzzle® software are the coherent design and defence of a research project from the point of view of Philosophy of Science (Morais, 2010). In 2016, the Academy of Management Learning & Education (4.235 5-Year Impact Factor) considered the Idea Puzzle® software "a very useful tool for research across a multitude of disciplines, not only for PhD students as they learn about all of the elements of research project design, but also for reviewers and research project teams" (Parente & Ferro, 2016, p. 645). To date, the Idea Puzzle® software has helped design more than 4,000 research projects worldwide.

You can access the Idea Puzzle® software exclusively online, without installation on the computer upon registration with your Flinders email address. All Flinders students and staff members have access to the software.

Please contact Dr Dani Milos, HDR Education Coordinator, Office of Graduate Research, if you have any queries about Idea Puzzle.

The NHMRC has provided an update on their ongoing development of their new grants management solution, Sapphire.

Recent testing has identified some additional complexities that require resolution. As a result, the NHMRC has decided to defer the planned October pilots to avoid any potential for disruption to applicants.

NHMRC’s cautious approach also reflects advice received from the research sector to minimise potential distractions from the implementation of the new grant program.

All new and existing grant schemes will be managed through RGMS until further notice. This includes CREs, Development Grants, TCRs and Investigator Grants.

Your researcher CV and Profile will continue to be managed through RGMS until further notice and all potential applicants are recommended to ensure that their CV and Profile are up-to-date.

For more information about Sapphire, please visit NHMRC’s website.

Join Gareth Rees, Senior Research Grants Officer (NHMRC, MRFF & Health) and Rebecca Cook, Senior Research Support Officer (CMPH), from Research Development and Support at the upcoming information session on NHMRC Investigator Grants, A guide to preparing an application.

NHMRC has now released the "Investigator Grants 2019 Guide to Applicants on Preparing an Application". This information session will step through this guide explaining aspects of the new scheme, how to prepare your application and how we can support you.

The session will be held on Wednesday 14 November, from 12:30 - 1:30 PM in Lecture Theatre 2, Flinders Medical Centre. The session will also be livestreamed.

There will be an opportunity for questions and discussion.

Enquiries to kirsty.deruyter@flinders.edu.au.