Pathways back to industry

Article published in Issue 219 of ATSE's IMPACT magazine – Forging innovation across generations, a special 50th anniversary edition published in October 2025.

Academic options are obvious. The signs all point that way. Yet universities can be fickle places to work. Research positions are hard to come by, and postdoctoral postings can make for insecure and unpredictable employment. A different opportunity lies in the world of industry. 

In 2015, some leaders in Australian biotechnology conceived of a program to pull back the curtain on the careers available in industry for STEM graduates. Starting in their biotech sector and rapidly expanding to engineering and dozens of other disciplines, they worked with ATSE staff to create the Industry Mentoring Network in STEM (IMNIS), connecting practicing professionals in STEM businesses as mentors to early career researchers and graduates, and thereby fostering a culture of collaboration between industry and academia, Ten years in, more than 2500 mentor-mentee pairs have created a pipeline of talent bringing their skills to exciting and innovative businesses – businesses solving complex problems in drug design, sustainability, engineering, food systems and more. 

The founders of the program asked themselves at the very start, “What would it mean for Australian STEM for there to be hundreds of mentoring pairs every year, opening doors and showing pathways to invigorating careers outside the standard academic mould?” In the short term, mentees regularly share stories of the change IMNIS has made to their individual careers. And ten years in with more than 300 mentoring pairs and dozens of universities supporting their students and graduates to take part every year, the program’s long-term impact is coming into focus too. 

Professor Paul Wood AO FTSE was one of the founders and an original mentor in the program. His pride in IMNIS is evident. On top of an extensive career in vaccine development, medical technology and agricultural innovation, this program is an ongoing success story he has helped bring to the STEM sector in Australia. It has built careers, enabled global impact and changed lives. His contributions were recognised with the Eureka Prize for Outstanding Mentor of Young Researchers in 2022. In his words, “Mentors make it special. The magic has been scaling it to a bigger program, but the joy comes from showing someone new paths and expanded horizons.” 

A veritable family tree of mentorship has grown over the years, branches connecting and reconnecting in time. Where once a formal arrangement was in place, today these have turned to professional relationships. Once mentor and mentee, now simply colleagues. 

In its first year of the program, Paul mentored Nicholas Liau, a young corporate lawyer turning his interest to molecular biology and the world of biotechnology. With an interest in industrial applications but no clear path, mentoring showed him the avenues he could pursue. 

Nick tells of the way his career grew through this guidance: “It’s not always obvious in Australian medical research what exactly it means to pursue a ‘career in industry’. A key concrete piece of advice from Paul was to go and experience biotech in the US. This was certainly a ‘sliding doors’ moment in my career... The experiences I gained there have been important to every career move I’ve made since then.” 

He now works at WEHI Ventures, a leading pharmaceutical research and development fund in Melbourne with global impact of its own and its fair share of university graduates moving directly into the industry workforce. He is constantly on the lookout for people with pharmaceutical experience. Some bring with them industry experience, but more often he comes across people with academic backgrounds and an openness to other ways of working. 

A few years after Nick, Paul mentored Shadi Maghool, an Iranian genetics student who had moved to Australia to study a Masters and PhD. Curious about career paths outside of academia, Shadi joined the IMNIS program and learnt skills for work and for life that she carries with her to this day. 

She says, “Everyone’s career path is unique and that’s okay! The mentoring reminded me to stay true to what excites me, even if my journey looks different from others. Paul really opened my eyes to the different ways you can do meaningful, impactful research outside of academia.”  

Through her work as a Research Fellow and her ongoing personal development, Shadi’s impact continues to grow. Nearly a decade after she first met Paul, in 2018 he introduced her to Nick, who recently hired her as a Senior Venture Scientist into his R&D team. 

Shadi tells us that “You never know where one conversation or connection might lead! I still find it amazing that a mentoring introduction nearly 10 years ago has come full circle, with Dr Nicholas Liau and I now working together at Ventures WEHI.” 

The impact of the IMNIS program continues, with 350 mentor-mentee pairs through 2025. This year, Paul is working with Amanda Goonathilaka, a second-year student at Deakin University. In her words, “I’m honestly so grateful for the support, it’s been more than just career advice; it’s helped me grow into a more capable and self-aware version of myself. I joined hoping to learn how to break into industry from academia, and IMNIS has really opened my eyes. It’s made me more confident and excited about taking that path.” 

Since the program started back in 2015, thousands of mentees have become IMNIS alumni. With diverse careers in industry, research and everything in between, they are living proof of the value of the networks, mindsets and opportunities that this targeted mentoring allows. The best sign of all is that past mentees are now returning to the IMNIS program as mentors themselves, ready to pass on their experiences and extend the limbs of the IMNIS family tree even wider.