Through a partnership involving the Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing, the University of Melbourne, the Australian Postgraduate Research Internship Program (APR.Intern) and partner organisations including Mind Australia and cohealth, PhD candidates worked alongside services to support quality improvement and strengthen outcomes for people accessing care.

The projects addressed practical challenges facing the mental health and wellbeing system, including analysing outcomes data from community mental health and residential recovery services, developing new approaches to partnering with families, carers and supporters, and translating complex datasets into practical recommendations for service improvement.

These projects produced more than academic outputs. They generated practical tools, frameworks and recommendations that organisations can use to strengthen care and inform future decision-making, while providing emerging researchers with valuable experience working at the intersection of research, practice and service delivery.

One project, undertaken with cohealth, developed an evidence-informed framework to strengthen how mental health staff engage and partner with families, carers and supporters. Developed through collaboration with consumers, carers, staff and subject matter experts, the framework provides a foundation for more inclusive, person-centred practice and has the potential to be extended across the organisation.

Eleanor Shao said the internship helped build the skills and confidence needed to translate research into practical change.

"My internship with cohealth strengthened my development as a researcher by helping me apply research skills in a real-world setting, particularly in stakeholder collaboration and co-design. I worked closely with a steering group and facilitated focus groups with cohealth workers, consumers, and carers, building skills in engaging diverse perspectives.

I learned how to move beyond theory and translate research into practical tools that can be used by practitioners. This experience strengthened my ability to apply research to real-world problems and to work across academic and practice contexts, adapting my communication to align with diverse stakeholders, while ensuring research insights remained accurate and meaningful. Overall, the experience increased my confidence in conducting applied, interdisciplinary research."

At Mind Australia, internships focused on using outcomes data to better understand the impact of community mental health and residential recovery services and identify opportunities for improvement.

Jooa Kwon reflected on the importance of connecting data, research and service delivery.

"My internship with Mind Australia gave me a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of research, data and mental health service delivery. It was rewarding to contribute to a project that used real-world outcomes data to better understand the impact of subacute residential mental health services and identify opportunities for improvement.

The experience was valuable because it showed me how my data analysis skills can contribute to work that supports real people in our community. Working on this evaluation helped me appreciate the complexity of translating research into practice, and the importance of making findings meaningful for service providers, consumers, families, carers and supporters. I hope this work will contribute to ongoing service development and support better mental health outcomes for the people who use these services."

Pyae Phyo Maung said the internship strengthened a commitment to using research and evaluation to support positive social change.

"My internship with Mind Australia was a transformative experience that allowed me to apply and strengthen my research and evaluation skills in a real-world setting. Through evaluating one of Mind's largest community mental health programs, I gained valuable experience translating service users' outcome data into actionable insights that support decision-making and service improvement. This deepened my understanding of how research and evaluation can contribute to better outcomes for people accessing mental health services.

 

What made the experience particularly meaningful was the supportive culture fostered by the Research and Evaluation team and colleagues across Mind Australia. It gave me the confidence to contribute meaningfully while continuing to learn and grow. The internship strengthened both my professional capabilities and my commitment to using evaluation research to promote positive social change. I am deeply grateful to Mind Australia, the Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing, the Australian Postgraduate Research Internship Program, and the University of Melbourne for this invaluable opportunity."

Laura Hayes, Research and Evaluation Manager at Mind Australia, said the placements brought significant value to the organisation.

"Mind really valued the contributions from our interns – they brought their own personal passion to the job and we treasured them as team members. They learnt a lot about mental health, about the value of Lived Experience in our sector and applying research insights to improve services."

The internships provided students with opportunities to work alongside practitioners, service leaders and people with Lived and Living Experience, helping build the skills needed to translate evidence into meaningful change.

With growing interest from additional organisations in hosting future placements, these partnerships demonstrate the value of strengthening connections between research, practice and service improvement across Victoria's mental health and wellbeing system.