Ignite your future with the UNSW Scientia Program
Unlocking opportunities and shaping the future of research and innovation.
Expression of Interest: UNSW Scientia Program – Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Researchers
The UNSW Scientia Program aims to attract, support, and retain exceptional researchers with outstanding track records. UNSW is seeking researchers motivated by success on a trajectory to become leaders and mentors. Join a thriving community of stellar researchers, with opportunities for mentoring and collaboration.
Since the establishment of the Scientia Program in 2017, UNSW has supported over 165 researchers on the Program, of whom 56% are female and 9% Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
Scientia Program academics enjoy:
- Tenure track contracts with the possibility of converting to a continuing position;
- A generous annual fund to use to further research, travel, collaboration and development;
- Individualised support;
- Professional development;
- Collaboration opportunities;
- A thriving community of supportive peers.
Career development is a distinctive feature of the Scientia Program. All Scientia academics will have access to a range of development opportunities tailored to their level of experience across research, teaching, and leadership.
Join a diverse workforce and vibrant community with a culture of research excellence.
Message from the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research)
UNSW is a top 20 global university that improves lives through excellence in impactful research and education, and the advancement of a just society. UNSW’s next strategy centres our intention to be an international exemplar in equity, diversity, and inclusion. A key aspect of this is the UNSW Indigenous Strategy, which takes a holistic approach to Indigenous engagement and advocacy, as well as to research and education. We strive to create a university environment where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples thrive and are empowered. A central pillar is “Grow Our Own”, aimed at developing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers and academics who will make an impact in communities across the nation. We now seek Scientia academics who share this vision.
UNSW focusses on addressing the sort of local and global issues that keep us awake at night, harnessing disruptive approaches and drawing together diverse disciplines, teams, and institutions to undertake research that will change our world for the better. Scientia researchers are at the forefront of tackling these issues. The UNSW Scientia Program, established in 2017, has to date appointed over 165 outstanding researchers whose work positively impacts our environment, health, and society. The Program aims to attract and support exceptional academics with outstanding track records. UNSW is currently seeking Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates for appointment to the Program who are motivated by research impact and on a trajectory to become leaders and mentors in their fields.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers have so far been appointed across the Faculties of Law and Justice, Medicine and Health, Science, Art Design and Architecture, and would be welcome across the full range of disciplines at UNSW. Scientia academics serve to enhance the culture of research excellence, mentoring, career development and leadership at UNSW, and we encourage you to join this diverse and vibrant workforce and community. To learn more, I invite you to watch the following videos on the work of Dr Laura Parker, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences and Dr Kevin Lowe, School of Education.
Professor Dane McCamey
- Position summary
- Express your interest
- Culture and benefits
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The UNSW Scientia Program aims to attract, support, and retain exceptional researchers with outstanding track records. UNSW is seeking Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander researchers who are motivated by success on a trajectory to become leaders and mentors. Successful applicants will join the Faculty aligned to their discipline.
Career development is a distinctive feature of the Scientia Program. All Scientia academics will have access to a range of development opportunities tailored to their level of experience across research, teaching and leadership.
Join a diverse workforce and vibrant community with a culture of excellence. UNSW’s next strategy highlights our aim for the University to be recognised as an international exemplar in equity, diversity and inclusion. A key aspect of this is the UNSW Indigenous Strategy, Education & Research which takes a holistic approach to Indigenous education, research, engagement, and advocacy. We strive to create a university environment where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples thrive and are empowered, and we are seeking a Scientia academic who shares in this vision.
Find out more about our Scientia Program.
Employment Type: The program has flexibility for part time employment, and research breaks for participants to pursue other studies, engage with industry or to follow other interests.
Duration: 2 year tenure track contract with the possibility of converting to a continuing position.
Eligibility: The Scientia Program targets academics at levels B (Lecturer) and C (Senior Lecturer) across any discipline. Candidates with compelling track records will be considered at levels A (Associate Lecturer) and D (Associate Professor).
UNSW has an exemption under section 126 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) to designate and recruit professional and academic positions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons only, to fulfil UNSW’s goal of a representative workforce rate.
Location: Kensington NSW
- Our next strategy is driving a period of transformation for UNSW. Help us make it happen.
- Work with some of the best minds in your field and explore interdisciplinary collaboration.
- Here, you’ll have the support to ensure you can share your work with the wider community.
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To be successful you must have:
- PhD in relevant area of strength at UNSW.
- Demonstrated track record in research with outcomes of high quality and high impact with clear evidence of the desire and ability to continually achieve research excellence as well as the capacity for research leadership.
- Demonstrated ability and willingness to deliver high quality and innovative teaching and student experience to both undergraduate and postgraduate students.
- A track record of significant involvement with the profession, community, government and/or industry.
- High level communication skills and ability to network effectively and interact with a diverse range of students and staff.
- Demonstrated ability to work in a team, collaborate across disciplines and build effective relationships.
- Ability and capacity to implement required UNSW health and safety and knowledge of equal opportunity principles.
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We will offer the successful candidate a salary package commensurate with the position responsibilities and the candidate’s skills, qualifications and experience.
All of our employees (excluding casuals) are entitled to receive 17% employer superannuation contributions. New employees are entitled to select their preferred superannuation fund or UniSuper, the industry fund for the Tertiary Education sector.
Our salary-sacrificing initiatives allow you to pay some or all of the offering before tax.
We also offer the option to salary package a fully maintained vehicle under a lease known as a novated lease. Car parking is available on campus with the ability to pay via fortnightly payroll salary sacrifice deductions.
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Your employment is conditional upon the completion of all required pre-employment or background checks. In addition, your ongoing employment is based upon the satisfactory maintenance of all relevant clearances and background check requirements.
All offers of employment will be subject to prior submission of satisfactory proof of Aboriginality.
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Please follow the link below to submit your expression of interest.
Please note expressions of interest will only be accepted online and should not be emailed to the contacts listed below.
Contact for enquiries:
For queries regarding submission, contact Merita O'Connell, Talent Acquisition Consultant, merita.oconnell@unsw.edu.au.
For queries about the Scientia Program, contact Evelyn Mike, Senior Scientia Advisor, evelyn.mike@unsw.edu.au.
UNSW aspires to be the exemplar Australian university and employer of choice for people from diverse backgrounds. UNSW aims to ensure equality in recruitment, development, retention and promotion of staff, and that no-one is disadvantaged on the basis of their gender, cultural background, disability, sexual orientation or identity. We encourage everyone who meets the selection criteria to apply.
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UNSW isn’t like other places you’ve worked. Yes, we’re a large organisation with a diverse and talented community; a community doing extraordinary things. But what makes us different isn’t only what we do, it’s how we do it. Together, we are driven to be thoughtful, practical and purposeful in all we do.
Taking this combined approach is what makes our work matter. It’s why we come to campus each day.
We make it as easy as possible for our staff to have a rich and balanced life at work and home. As part of our approach to flexible working, we have introduced greater flexibility across location, hours, full-time equivalents, schedules and job sharing.
In terms of other benefits, we offer various types of leave, lifelong learning, discounts, entitlements, health and wellbeing support. Further information can be found on Jobs@UNSW.
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As places of great inspiration and innovation, Australian universities are crucial intellectual environments where knowledge is created, communicated and challenged. In partnership with government and business, academic research and technologies help to develop vital industries. In addition, Australian universities provide students with the skills to compete in increasingly global workplaces and are ourselves major employers.
Universities are key to Australia’s economic success. In 2018, Australian universities contributed $41 billion to the economy and supported a total of 259,100 full-time jobs. In addition, 1,426,594 students studied at Australia’s 39 universities in 2018. Of these, 71 per cent (or 1,014,027) were domestic students and the remaining 29 per cent (or 412,567) were international students. In the same year, 325,171 students completed their degrees.[1]
When it comes to world university rankings, Australia has a strong, proven track record. Across all global ranking systems, criteria and fields of study, Australia ranks highly for quality of education, student satisfaction and global reputation. The latest ranking shows more than eight Australian universities are ranked in the top 200 universities and almost two-thirds of Australia’s 39 universities are in the top 500.[2] In addition, Australia consistently ranks highly in the Universitas 21 Report – in 2020, it ranked ninth.[3]
Australian university students pursue a wide range of academic disciplines, from health and education to engineering and information technology. While the majority of students study full-time, others balance a part-time load with family or work responsibilities and, in the current environment, many combine on-campus and online study for maximum flexibility.
International education is Australia’s fourth-largest export and the largest services export industry. In 2019, the industry generated $40.3 billion in export income. The higher education sector contributed around 70 per cent (or $27.8 billion) of international education export income in 2019.[4]
The 2018 Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) national report, which provides information of the quality of research undertaken by Australian universities, assessed that more than 90 per cent of Australian university research was performing at, or above world standards in 2018.[5]
UNSW is a founding member of the Group of Eight (Go8), a coalition of Australia’s leading research-intensive universities, and the prestigious Universitas 21 international network. In world rankings Go8 universities are consistently the highest ranked in Australia. Seven of the Go8’s members are in the world’s top 100 universities and all Go8 members are ranked in the world’s top 150 universities: in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the Times Higher Education Rankings (THES) and the QS World University Rankings (QS).[6]
[1] 2020, Universities Australia 2020 Higher Education Facts and Figures
[2] 2020, Universities Australia 2020 Higher Education Facts and Figures
[3] 2020, Universities Australia 2020 Higher Education Facts and Figures
[4] 2020, Universities Australia 2020 Higher Education Facts and Figures
[5] 2018 Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) 2018 report, produced by the Australian Research Council (ARC
[6] Group of Eight, Australia
Dr Laura Parker: Building Resilient Oysters
Dr Laura Parker is an Indigenous Scientia Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences. She's interested in understanding and overcoming the impacts of climate change and environmental stress on marine organisms and her research focuses specifically on building resilience in marine molluscs to current (e.g. salinity, food availability) and future (e.g. ocean warming and acidification) stressors and understanding the underlying physiological, molecular and epigenetic mechanisms involved.
Associate Professor Kevin Lowe: Culturally Nourishing Schooling Project
Associate Professor Kevin Lowe is an Indigenous Scientia Associate Professor at UNSW working on a community and school focused research project on developing a model of sustainable improvement in Aboriginal education. Kevin has had experience in education as a teacher, administrator and lecturer. He has expertise in working with Aboriginal community organisations on establishing Aboriginal language policy and school curriculum implementation. Recently Kevin has worked with colleagues to review research across key areas of schooling and established the Aboriginal Voices a broad-base, holistic project which is developing a new pedagogic framework for teachers.
