2022 AUSTRALIA–MALAYSIA

PHD VIRTUAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

The 2022 Australia-Malaysia PhD Virtual Internship program is an initiative of the Australian Department
of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) in Malaysia to enable up to ten PhD scholars from Malaysian
public universities to undertake an 8-week virtual internship program in Australian higher education and
research institutions. This program recognises the Australian Government’s priority of strengthening
education cooperation, institutional partnerships and student and researcher mobility with Malaysia,
through partnership with the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), under the Comprehensive
Strategic Partnership (CSP). Assuming the success of the first cohort of ten PhD scholars, DESE and MOHE
could agree to undertake a second cohort of 10 PhD scholars in 2023.

The Australia-Malaysia PhD Virtual Internship is a merit-based program to facilitate research internships
for 2nd and 3rd year PhD scholars from Malaysia in the fields of social sciences, humanities and education.
Through virtual placements of up to eight weeks in Australian higher education and research institutions,
participating scholars will gain invaluable international experience in research, have the opportunity to
build collaborative partnerships with Australia early in their research careers and the chance to foster
ongoing collaboration between their Australian host and home institution.

Chosen scholars will also complete an initial 3-day orientation program before they commence their
internship with their host university in Australia. DESE will select an appropriate partner organisation in
Australia, such as the Australian Academy of the Humanities, to jointly develop and deliver the
orientation program. DESE will fund the orientation program and other ancillary costs of the PhD Virtual
Internship Program.

Background
The 2022 Australia-Malaysia Virtual PhD Internship programme is the first of its kind to be delivered
virtually and in South East Asia. The programme is part of a series that initially started between Australia
and US dating back to 2004. This program was co-organised between the Australian Academy of Science
and the US National Science Foundation (NSF) for US graduate students in science and engineering in
Australia.

In 2019 the Australia-Americas PhD Research Internship program was developed with partner countries
in Latin America and a total of twenty-four students from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico
participated in the program.

The primary objective of the research internship program has been to provide high calibre overseas
students with first-hand experience in an Australian research environment at host research institutions
and to help establish strong collaborative international research links with Australia.
Criteria
• MOHE would open a call for applications and a joint selection committee comprised of MOHE
and DESE representatives would assess the applications on a competitive basis with a
requirement to ensure balanced gender representation in the final selection of scholars.
• Scholars must be enrolled in the field of social sciences, humanities or education at one of the
20 public universities in Malaysia.
• Scholars must be an early career researcher i.e. in their final 2 years of PhD study, and is of no
more than 35 years of age. This program is designed for PhD students intending to undertake a
career in research either at an academic institution or in industry.
• The joint DESE-MOHE selection committee would also consider an appropriate mix of
geographic origin and discipline of study in the final selection of scholars.

Role of DESE
• Coordinate communication with host institutions and partners, selection of scholars, and
preparation for orientation and briefing/debriefing sessions.
• Assist successful scholars in identifying an appropriate host supervisor from an Australian
higher education or research institution prior to commencement of the program

Timeline:
December 2021 Advice to the Department of Education, Skills and Employment
January 2022 Partnership arrangements finalised
February - March 2022 Call for applications and evaluation processes
April 2022 Successful scholars are notified and preparation for commencement of the
program begins
May 2022 Virtual orientation and briefing sessions are held
May – June 2022 Scholars complete the PhD virtual internship
July 2022 Debriefing sessions take place and the program officially ends

The Department of Education, Skills and Employment offers the opportunity to consult on the program
and expectations in more detail with the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education.
 Attachment (A)

2022 Australia-Malaysia Virtual PhD Internship program

Project Description
The 2022 Australia-Malaysia Virtual PhD Internship program enables ten PhD scholars from
Malaysian public universities in their 2nd and 3rd year of studies in the fields of social sciences,
humanities and education to undertake an 8-week virtual internship at Australian higher
education and research institutions. The project builds on a program that had been running
with Latin America and the United States since 2016.

Successful student applicants will be expected to seek and secure their own supervisor from
Australian higher education or research institution, prior to start of program in July. In
support of this, DESE will notify Australian universities of the program and to anticipate the
inquiries from Malaysian PhD students seeking placements for their virtual internship
program.

Program briefings for participants will be facilitated by the Education Counsellor in Malaysia
starting with an orientation and concluding with a debriefing session, to be held at the
Australian High Commission, Kuala Lumpur and virtually (for those unable to travel).

Project Objective
The program aims to provide high calibre Malaysian scholars opportunities to hone critical
skills in academic research with an international setting, the opportunity to build
collaborative partnerships with Australia early in their research careers and the chance to
foster ongoing collaboration between their Australian host and home institution.

The program will be delivered under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between
the Australian Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) and the Malaysian
Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE). The Australia-Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic
Partnership (CSP) further recognises the bilateral commitment and priority to strengthen
education cooperation, institutional partnerships and student and researcher mobility.

Deliverable
A launch of the program followed by an orientation briefing for participating scholars will be
jointly delivered by MOHE and DESE prior to commencement of the internship period.
Participating scholars will complete a progress report at the midpoint as well as submit a
final report at the end of the internship.

Additionally, at the completion of the internship program, DESE and MOHE will jointly host a
mini symposium to provide a platform for participating scholars to share and showcase their
internship experiences and outcomes.
 Attachment (A)

Candidate Selection
Since the internship will only be open to public university students, DESE requests MOHE’s
assistance in distributing the program flyer through its network to all the public universities
in Malaysia. MOHE will also open the call for application on its portal, guided by the
candidate criteria shared by DESE (see Attachment B).

MOHE will then undertake the initial shortlisting of applications, up to 60 candidates, at

which point a joint DESE-MOHE selection panel will convene to further shortlist to 20
candidates. The 20 shortlisted candidates may then undergo an interview (virtual, 1 hour
max.) with the selection panel, before 10 candidates are finally chosen to participate in the
internship.

Future Editions
The program will undergo in-depth evaluation, consisting of feedback from participating
scholars, home and host institution supervisors, as well as DESE and MOHE at the end of the
program to determine the level of success of the program.

Key indicators will be:

- Student satisfaction (according to survey responses). Example questions:

o Did the program enrich your PhD experience? Did you have a positive
experience with an Australian supervisor and team?
o Do you anticipate further or ongoing collaboration with your Australian
institution?
o Do you anticipate producing any publications/presentations together with
your Australian supervisor, as a result of this internship?
o Were you able to establish or expand your professional/research links with
organisations outside your host institution?
o Do you think the research/activities undertaken during your internship period
has helped strengthen the relationship between your home institution in
Malaysia and host institution in Australia?
o Would you recommend your fellow Malaysian PhD scholars to participate in
future editions of this program?
- Supervisor satisfaction (according to survey responses)
- Intention and feasibility to deliver another round by DESE and MOHE

Upon success of the pilot program, an in-person internship program may be commissioned
in addition to the virtual internship variety, subject to available funding.
 Attachment (B)

2022 Australia-Malaysia Virtual PhD Internship program

Candidate Criteria
Enrolled in one of Malaysia’s public universities (20) √
Is a 2nd or 3rd year PhD student √
Is completing a PhD in either humanities, social sciences or education √
Is less than 35 years of age √
Agrees to independently seek and secure their own Australian supervisor upon successful selection √
Able to commit to 8 weeks of virtual internship with an Australian institution √
Agree to complete a mid-internship progress report and final report upon completion of internship √
Agree to participate in all briefings, including orientation and debriefing/closing sessions √

Notes

1. Applicants should be requested to produce their Student ID number, supervisor name, home
institution, PhD project title, project abstract/summary, email and contact details in the
application form.
2. Applicant may attach a CV (but not required).
3. If shortlisted, applicants may be subject to an interview by a joint committee comprised of
MOHE and DESE representatives.
4. Applications will be assessed on a competitive basis with a requirement to ensure balanced
gender representation in the final selection of scholars.
5. The joint DESE-MOHE selection committee would also consider an appropriate mix of
geographic origin and discipline of study in the final selection of scholars.
 2022 AUSTRALIA-MALAYSIA
VIRTUAL PHD INTERNSHIP

10 Malaysian PhD
students will be
selected to complete
an 8-week virtual
internship at an
Australian institution.

Eligibility Criteria Fields of Study

Enrolled in a Malaysian Public University Humanities
In their 2nd or 3rd year of PhD studies Social Sciences
Less than 35 years of age Education

Program Objectives
to provide high calibre Malaysian scholars with first-hand experience in research
with Australian institutions
to nurture critical skills for young scholars pursuing a career in academic
research
to promote the opportunity to build collaborative partnerships with Australia early
in their research career

PLEASE VISIT HERE TO APPLY APPLICATION DEADLINE

https://www.mohe.gov.my/ 15 APRIL 2022