Research Program Unit Coordinator Guidelines

The Summer and Winter Research Programs aim to:

• provide an opportunity for students to participate in an educational research experience,
• provide an opportunity for students to enhance their employability through the development of new academic and professional capabilities,
• provide an opportunity for research staff to identify potential Honours and HDR candidates, and
• Provide an opportunity for research staff to gain experience in supervising and mentoring students.

To be eligible for the program, a student must

• be currently enrolled in an undergraduate, honours or postgraduate coursework program at UQ at the time of application; and
• maintain ongoing enrolment in a program of study at UQ for the entirety of the Research Experience Program; and
• be studying for a degree relevant to the research discipline; and
• have a high level of academic achievement during their undergraduate degree.

Things to consider about graduating students

• If a student indicates they are graduating in July or December and they are not transitioning to another eligible program of study at UQ the following semester, they will not be eligible to apply as enrolment will cease upon graduation.
• If a student is graduating in July or December and can demonstrate they are due to return to further study at UQ the following Semester, their application can be considered by the research unit.  In this situation, a research unit may choose to 'conditionally approve' an application on the proviso that confirmation of enrolment (CoE) in the new program of study is received prior to commencing the research program or that a seamless transition can be achieved whilst participating in the research program (i.e. no break between graduation and enrolment in the new program).

As of 2023, students participating in the Summer Research Program will receive a grant of $3,000 for a six-week engagement.  Students participating in the Winter Research Program will receive a grant of $2,000 for a four-week engagement.  This grant is to be paid in full by the research unit (RU).

Student Enrichment and Employability Development (SEED) supports the programs by offering to co-fund a selected number of grants for each RU under a 50:50 arrangement.  If this has been agreed upon, SEED will liaise with the unit coordinator to reimburse 50% of the grant amount after the program concludes.

Whilst SEED will make every effort to co-fund the number of grant positions the RU puts forth, we do hope that the RU will consider fully funding additional grants to provide as many opportunities as possible for researchers and students.

An Expression of Interest (EOI) process takes place in August and December each year for the Summer and Winter Research Programs respectively. An invitation to submit projects will initially be sent to the unit coordinators, Heads of School, Institute Centres/Directors and Associate Dean (Academic), who will then distribute to staff to gauge interest.

To indicate that a research unit will participate in the program and seek co-funding, the unit coordinator will need to submit an EOI form via StudentHub by the EOI deadline (See Key Dates).  A link to the form will be included in the initial invitation and will ask for the following details:  

• Expected number of grant positions to be offered in the program,
• Contact details of the unit coordinator and a backup contact within the research unit; and
• Link to the research unit’s website where the projects will be advertised.

EOI outcome

Within 2-3 weeks of the EOI deadline, all research units will receive an email confirming the number of grants to be co-funded by Student Enrichment and Employability Development (SEED). 

If the research unit would like to increase its request for co-funded grants, please contact SEED as soon as possible. Whilst SEED will try to accommodate additional requests, given the high demand for co-funding, SEED may not be able to guarantee additional co-funding. If additional funding can’t be provided, the research unit can opt to fully fund the additional grant/s.

The administrative and student-facing components of the Summer and Winter Research Programs are hosted in StudentHub.  unit coordinators will use StudentHub to submit an EOI to participate, review applications, issue letters of approval, monitor letters of acceptance, and run reports.

Each unit coordinator will need to gain Administrator Access to StudentHub to be able to perform the relevant functions.  To request access please complete the form available here.  

A StudentHub procedures document is available to support unit coordinators through the process of reviewing applications and issuing letters of approval.

The unit coordinator will be asked to send a completed Project Submission Template to Student Enrichment and Employability Development outlining specific details about the projects to be offered.  The information in this document will be used to generate the student application form and will be required by the Project Details deadline (see Key Dates)

The unit coordinator will need to arrange for projects to be listed on the RU's website prior to the start of the application period.

To assist unit coordinators in collating information for the project listings, a Web Project Listing Template is available.  This can be sent to research supervisors to complete and will require the following information:

• Project title;
• Project duration;
• Number of grant positions available for the project;
• Project description;
  • Pre-requisites and candidate suitability (what pre-requisites are required or looked upon favourably and what candidate qualities is the supervisor looking for?)
• Expected hours of engagement, learning outcomes, and deliverables;
• Supervisor name and contact details.  Please note that supervisors must be either UQ staff or Honorary Title Holders.  An Honorary Title Holder's role as a supervisor must be endorsed by the Faculty prior to submitting the research project. 

Please ensure that the research unit’s website also directs applicants to the centralised Summer and Winter Research website for more information.

Open/Close Period

Students must submit an application via StudentHub before the published closing date (see Key Dates).  Late applications are not accepted under any circumstances.

Student Enrichment and Employability Development (SEED) will continue to accept new projects for inclusion in the application form up until two weeks before student applications are due to close (See Key Dates). It is important to note that late projects usually receive fewer applicants.

Exemptions to these due dates will not be granted, as it is essential that all students have equitable access to project information and sufficient opportunity to apply.

Projects that have not been officially advertised through the summer or winter research program website and been included on the application form will not be eligible for consideration.

Initial Review

Once the application period has closed, unit coordinators will be able to run customised reports in StudentHub to review the applications received for each project.

When initially reviewing applications, unit coordinators should check the application data to ensure the following elements of the application are correct:

• Nominated researcher and project are within your research unit; and
• The student meets the eligibility criteria.

After this initial screening, the unit coordinator can download and share the applications with the research supervisors for short-listing.

Selection Process

How the selection process is conducted will be at the discretion of the research unit.  Some research units form a selection panel to review all applications whereas others may ask the research supervisor for each project to make their own selection.  Irrespective of the project, all projects should be awarded on a competitive basis taking into account:

• student eligibility
• the academic merit of the applicant
• reasons provided for wanting to participate in the program
• suitability of the applicant’s capabilities and attributes.

Students who have participated in a previous summer or winter research program are eligible to participate again at the discretion of your unit. If the number of applicants exceeds available projects and funding, please give preference to those who have not previously participated in the program.

Letters of Approval

After the selection process is complete, the unit coordinator will be responsible for either accepting, declining, waitlisting or conditionally approving the applications via StudentHub. Please refer to the StudentHub procedures for further instructions.

Students will receive an automated email notifying them of the outcome of their application.  If approved, the student will be prompted to complete an acceptance form via StudentHub and to read and agree to the Conditions of Participation.

All applicants should be notified of their outcome by the deadline (see Key Dates).

Finalising Approvals

Once all application outcomes have been distributed to students, the unit coordinator will need to monitor the acceptance forms in StudentHub for their unit to see which students have accepted or declined by the due date.

It is important that the process of finalising all the acceptances is completed by the deadline (see Key Dates) so SEED can confirm how many students will be participating and can send them an invitation to the welcome event and skills training sessions.

As per the Conditions of Participation, grant payments will cease from the date of termination/withdrawal from the project, and if paid in advance will need to be returned for the equivalent full weeks yet to be completed on the project. In the case of termination or withdrawal, the unit coordinator must notify Student Enrichment and Employability Development (SEED) so there is a formal record of the change and the next steps can be discussed.

If a student needs to refund part of the grant, the unit coordinator will need to calculate the refund amount and then send a request to the student to complete an online Income Deposit Form so they can make the payment online. In doing so, the unit coordinator will also need to include the following details in the email to the student so they can include them on the form: 

• Refund amount*
• Unit Finance Officer’s Name
• Finance Officer’s Email
• Type of GST - GST Free supply
• Operational unit
• Site Code
• Fund Code
• Function Code
• Account Code
• Project Code
• UQ GL Code

It will be the responsibility of the research supervisor to administer and record Student Intellectual Property and Confidentiality Deed Polls, as required.  For more information visit the Student IP assignment and confidentiality deed webpage.

Any UQ student is covered by UQ insurance while undertaking UQ authorised activities. Please visit the University’s Public Liability Insurance website for more information or the Insurance for Students Fact Sheet. Further to this, all research activities must be completed at a UQ-controlled entity.

Employability is a set of capabilities and personal attributes that empower graduates to perform effectively in the workplace, generate opportunities, and create positive social and economic impact. At UQ, we encourage students to enhance their employability by engaging in a range of experiences to help them develop capabilities and mindsets to be successful in any path they choose.

Seeing as research supervisors are in a position to create a meaningful research experience that further supports learning and employability development, we have provided a range of activities to help them enhance the employability of their student/s. Please refer to the Research Supervisors Guidelines.

Employability Award

Participation in either the summer or winter research program can be counted as a Supplementary Activity toward attainment of the Employability Award so long as the student hasn’t received course credit for their involvement.

Find out more about the Employability Award

Participating students who wish to apply for a digital badge must complete the research experience in its entirety and submit a research report to Student Enrichment and Employability Development by the advertised date.  Information on how to complete and submit the report will be communicated to students at the end of the program.

Research Supervisors and unit coordinators can request a copy of this report.  

Some research units may offer their summer and winter research projects for credit. Students are advised to seek academic advice from their faculty regarding recognition for participation in the summer and winter research program.

Participating students are strongly encouraged to submit a research completion report (i.e. reflective survey) to Student Enrichment and Employability Development (SEED) after the research experience concludes. This report will be sent to students by SEED separately.

Both unit coordinators and research supervisors may also be invited to provide feedback for future program improvements.