Interdisciplinary Research at RMIT: Systems, Infrastructure and Support

This page provides specific, verifiable examples of how interdisciplinary research is operationalised across the institution.

The evidence presented below demonstrates how RMIT:

• Measures interdisciplinary research activity and performance using institutional data systems and analytics  
• Provides physical and digital infrastructure that enables collaboration across disciplines  
• Delivers administrative and operational support to facilitate cross-disciplinary research teams  
• Recognises interdisciplinary contributions within academic promotion and career progression frameworks  

RMIT monitors interdisciplinary research through data-driven systems and structured reporting mechanisms that track collaboration, outputs, and impact across disciplines. 

RMIT’s Research Capability Discovery dashboard analyses 4-digit Field of Research (FoR) code combinations across:

• Peer-reviewed publications
• Externally funded research projects

This enables the identification of:

• The proportion of outputs involving multiple FoR codes
• Cross-disciplinary co-authorship networks
• Emerging interdisciplinary research clusters and themes

RMIT Research Centres, which bring together researchers from diverse disciplines, provide annual reports capturing:

• Number and value of multi-disciplinary funded projects
• Publications involving researchers from multiple disciplines
• Higher Degree by Research (HDR) supervision across Schools/Colleges
• HDR completions linked to interdisciplinary topics

These reports provide structured, institution-level evidence of interdisciplinary activity.

RMIT undertakes institution-wide research analytics integrating internal systems and external datasets to evaluate interdisciplinary performance, including:

• Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) for interdisciplinary outputs
• External research income linked to multi-FoR projects
• Classification of research by FoR combinations and thematic keyword groupings

These analyses inform strategic investment, capability development, and identification of emerging interdisciplinary strengths.

RMIT’s impact case study development process provides documented evidence of interdisciplinary research translating beyond academia. Each case study captures:

• Cross-disciplinary collaboration
• Engagement with industry, government, or community partners
• Measurable societal, economic, or environmental outcomes

RMIT’s Library delivers training in research analytics tools (including SciVal and InCites), enabling researchers to:

• Analyse collaboration networks
• Identify interdisciplinary publication opportunities
• Benchmark performance across disciplines

Participation in these programs indicates researcher engagement with interdisciplinary methods and analytics tools.

RMIT’s research ecosystem is designed to enable interdisciplinary collaboration through shared digital platforms, co-located facilities, and cross-disciplinary research precincts.

RMIT’s Digital Research Infrastructure Platform provides shared access to:

• High-performance computing (HPC)
• Graphics Processing Units (GPU)-enabled environments
• Cloud-based data and AI/ML platforms
• Technical expertise supporting cross-disciplinary research

Indicator: The platform supports research teams across Colleges, enabling shared computational resources for interdisciplinary projects.

The DRI Platform has supported interdisciplinary collaboration in globally recognised research competitions.

A cross-disciplinary team from:

• School of Computing Technologies (SCT)
• School of Design and Creative Practice (DSC)
• ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S)
• RMIT Vietnam

Achieved:

• 1st place – Special Interest Group on Information Retrieval (SIGIR) 2025 International Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) Competition
• 1st place – NeurIPS 2025 Massive Multi-Modal User-Centric Retrieval-Augmented Generation (MMU)-RAG Challenge (open-source category)

This work was enabled through shared access to:

• GPU infrastructure
• Large Language Models (LLMs)
• Collaborative digital research environments

The Advanced Manufacturing Precinct provides co-located facilities supporting collaboration between:

• Engineering
• Design
• Business

Facilities include:

• Additive manufacturing (3D printing)
• Prototyping and testing environments
• Industry-engaged research spaces

Examples of interdisciplinary activity:

• Engineering + Architecture: additive manufacturing applications in built environments
• Engineering + Business: techno-economic modelling of manufacturing systems

Indicator: Projects within AMP involve multiple disciplines and Colleges working within shared facilities.

RMIT’s broader research ecosystem includes theme-based centres and shared research spaces that:

• Co-locate researchers from different disciplines
• Provide access to shared infrastructure and expertise
• Enable collaborative project development

These environments are designed to reduce disciplinary silos and increase cross-disciplinary interaction.

RMIT provides structured administrative and operational support for interdisciplinary research through dedicated roles, institutional platforms, funding schemes, and coordinated research services.  

Administrative support for interdisciplinary research is guided by:

• RMIT’s Knowledge with Action strategy
• RMIT’s Decadal Aspirations – Enabling research and innovation for impact
• The University’s six desired ‘Futures’ research priorities
• HR Excellence in Research principles, including support for interdisciplinary mobility and career development

These frameworks underpin a coordinated approach to scaling interdisciplinary research, partnerships, and translation.

RMIT’s eight Enabling Impact Platforms (EIPs) are the primary institutional mechanism supporting interdisciplinary research.

• Established in 2016 (renamed in 2022 to emphasise impact)
• Each Platform is led by a full-time Director and supported by a dedicated Platform Operations Officer
• Embedded within the Research & Innovation Capability unit (17 additional staff)

Scale and activity indicators:

• 1,500+ affiliated researchers across disciplines
• 50+ Enabling Impact Networks supporting interdisciplinary collaboration
• In 2025:
• 49 active networks
• 30+ funded interdisciplinary translation projects
• 70+ collaboration and partnership events

EIPs provide structured support through:

• Platform Activity Fund – enabling engagement and industry collaboration
• Strategic Impact Fund – supporting interdisciplinary pathways to societal, environmental, and health impact
• Capability Mapping – identifying and connecting interdisciplinary expertise
• Technical support for funding applications (e.g. SmartyGrants)

RMIT supports interdisciplinary research centres through embedded professional roles and administrative structures.

For example:

• The Centre for Cyber Security (collaboration between College of Business and Law and STEM) is supported by:
• A Centre Manager
• A Project Coordinator
• Additional administrative support within the Research & Innovation portfolio

These roles enable coordination, reporting, and cross-disciplinary collaboration at centre level.

Support for interdisciplinary leadership and talent

RMIT provides targeted administrative support for interdisciplinary leadership roles, including:

• Enabling Impact Platform Directors
• Supported in role definition, recruitment, and ongoing operations
• Operate as a virtual interdisciplinary leadership cohort across Colleges
• Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellows (VCRF)
• End-to-end recruitment and talent management support
• Fellows are embedded within interdisciplinary research teams and initiatives

Research development and collaboration support

RMIT provides end-to-end research services to support interdisciplinary collaboration, including:

• Coordination of multi-disciplinary funding proposals
• Pre-award and post-award support
• Contracting and partnership facilitation
• Research governance and compliance processes

In addition, programs such as:

• High Impact-Potential Initiatives (HIPI) – co-design model bringing together interdisciplinary teams and external partners
• Transfix training – preparing teams for interdisciplinary collaboration
• Research Impact Development programs

support capability building and collaboration across disciplines.

RMIT supports interdisciplinary research through established centres and institutes, including:

• Regenerative Futures Institute
• Integrates research, education, and industry engagement
• Supported by Director, Research Director, Education Director and professional staff
• Post-Carbon Research Centre
• Combines expertise across engineering, design, planning, social science, and geospatial science
• Centre for Human-AI Information Environments (CHAI)
• Brings together computing, design, social sciences, and humanities

Together, these structures provide coordinated, scalable administrative support for interdisciplinary research, from project development through to impact delivery.

RMIT recognises interdisciplinary research through its academic promotion framework, fellowship programs, and evolving policy settings aligned to institutional strategy.

RMIT’s Academic Promotion Framework (Educator and Researcher) is structured across three domains:

• Research
• Education
• Engagement

Performance expectations for Levels C, D and E explicitly recognise interdisciplinary contributions, including:

• “Recognition as a current authority within a discipline or interdisciplinary field”
• “Sustained contributions to academic practice and administration within an organisational unit and/or interdisciplinary team”

This ensures that interdisciplinary research is formally assessable within promotion criteria.

Academic staff may demonstrate interdisciplinary research through:

• Publications spanning multiple disciplines or FoR codes
• Participation in interdisciplinary grants and research teams
• Contributions to research centres, platforms, and networks
• Documented research impact arising from cross-disciplinary collaboration

This enables interdisciplinary work to be evaluated alongside discipline-specific outputs.

Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellowship (VCRF) Program

RMIT’s Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellowship (VCRF) Program was reshaped in 2023 to prioritise transdisciplinary research addressing complex global challenges.

Priority areas include:

• Regenerative Futures
• MedTech Innovation
• Digital Innovation

Fellows are supported through:

• Integration into interdisciplinary research teams
• The PIXEL leadership and career development program, focused on impact-led research and innovation

This program demonstrates how interdisciplinary research is recognised and supported as a pathway for career progression and leadership development.

Alignment with institutional strategy and policy development

RMIT’s Academic Promotions Policy Suite (policy, process, and criteria) is currently under review, with Phase 2 explicitly considering alignment with:

• RMIT’s Knowledge with Action strategy
• The University’s commitment to transdisciplinary research and impact

This ensures that promotion frameworks continue to evolve to:

• Better recognise interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary contributions
• Align career progression with impact-focused research priorities

Supporting interdisciplinary career development

RMIT’s commitment to interdisciplinary research is reinforced through:

• HR Excellence in Research principles supporting interdisciplinary mobility
• Leadership and capability development programs aligned to cross-disciplinary collaboration
• Institutional recognition of research impact, engagement, and collaboration

Together, these frameworks ensure that interdisciplinary research is formally recognised, assessed, and supported within academic career progression at RMIT.

RMIT’s approach to interdisciplinary research is underpinned by integrated institutional systems, dedicated infrastructure, coordinated administrative support services, and formal recognition frameworks. 

Together, these elements demonstrate that interdisciplinary research at RMIT is systematically embedded, actively supported, and continuously monitored across the research lifecycle—from capability development and collaboration through to impact and career progression.