COVID-19 McKenzie Extension Requests

Submissions closed at 3:00PM 30 September 2020 (AEST).

The McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowships program is an internationally competitive scheme, designed to attract applicants with high potential for future research success. Successful completion of Fellowship project and outputs is critical to Fellows’ post-doctoral career transitions and pathways. COVID 19 and social distancing measures have, in some instances, caused interruptions, delays or variations to planned research activity. The McKenzie COVID extension is intended to mitigate the impact of COVID 19 on this Fellowship cohort.

Fellows who commenced in 2018, 2019, and 2020, and whose research programs have been substantially disrupted, delayed or varied as a result of COVID-19, are eligible to apply for an extension of Fellowship time and salary up to a maximum of 12 weeks. The Fellowship salary is provided by Chancellery at Level A.6-8, and Academic Divisions would need to cover any salary gaps during the extension period. The extension will not provide any additional project costs.

Applications for extension will be assessed by a committee against the following criteria:

  • Demonstration of hardship
  • Demonstration of delay, interruption or variation, in reference to progress of work to date
  • Evidence of Faculty or School support for the application
  • Proposed plan of how the Fellowship extension will allow the Fellow to achieve their research program.

If you wish to apply for this extension, you will need to apply via the request form on SmartyGrants by 30th September 2020. Please note if you wish to apply for an extension, you must be up to date on your yearly progress reports.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact mckenzie-application@unimelb.edu.au.