Melbourne joins forces with Jülich Research Centre

The University of Melbourne and Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH (Jülich Research Centre) in Germany have formed an international research training group which provides a cohort of graduate researchers with the opportunity to undertake a joint PhD project at Melbourne and at Jülich.

As a member of the Helmholtz Association, Jülich Research Centre is among the major interdisciplinary research centres in Europe.

The first cohort of the Jülich-University of Melbourne Postgraduate Academy (JUMPA) will support 19 graduate researchers across multidisciplinary areas of plant sciences, agriculture, neuroscience, medical imaging, civil safety research, structural biochemistry, and physics of nanoscale systems.

“We are delighted that such substantive joint Jülich-Melbourne research activities have developed so quickly since signing our German-Australian Science Bridge Agreement last year," said Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor James McCluskey.

Professor Sebastian M. Schmidt, member of the Jülich Board of Directors, added that "JUMPA strengthens research activities by allowing talented graduate researchers to undertake a series of exciting projects at both Jülich and Melbourne".

Professors Ute Roessner and Michelle Watt, JUMPA's academic leads from the University of Melbourne and Forschungszentrum Jülich, respectively, said that the establishment of the program builds on existing research collaborations between the two institutions.

"JUMPA will not only develop multidisciplinary collaboration but will also provide rich international experiences to the involved Joint PhD students."

Details about JUMPA can be found at jumpa.research.unimelb.edu.au