RACP Trainee Research Awards
Applications open 1 July to 11:59pm AEST Sunday, 16 August 2026.
All Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand trainees are invited to submit abstracts for oral presentation for the RACP Trainee Research Awards (TRAs). Those selected will present at competitive local events being held in Australian States and Territories and Aotearoa New Zealand.
Trainees who take out top honours at their jurisdictional event will be invited to present alongside recognised researchers at the TRA Symposium in Sydney in 2027. Jurisdictional top honour trainees may also be invited to have their abstracts published in an RACP supplement of the Internal Medicine Journal or Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Eligibility
You must be:
- an RACP trainee* actively training in any of the College Divisions, Faculties or Chapters, or
- a New Fellow actively undertaking formal Post-Fellowship training with the RACP, provided you were admitted to Fellowship on or after 1 July 2025.
An applicant on a formal Interruption of Training may be accepted, provided that the Interruption does not exceed 12 continuous months at the time of application.
Overseas Trained Physicians undertaking RACP training are ineligible to apply.
In your application, choose the category that best fits your topic. For example, if your research involves pregnancy, select Adult Medicine if it focuses on the mother, or Paediatric Medicine if it focuses on the baby.
Works or projects included in the submission that are unpublished or were published on or after 1 July 2025 will be considered.
Prize
Members will be selected as winners at each Australian State Office and Aotearoa New Zealand event. They will receive the opportunity to present alongside recognised researchers in-person at the prestigious Trainee Research Awards Symposium in Sydney in 2027. Further details to be advised.
To enable selected Trainees to present their research at this event, they'll receive:
- return economy domestic or trans-Tasman airfares to Sydney from the closest major airport in the jurisdictional they're representing
- accommodation
- official acknowledgement and a certificate
Award recipients may be invited to publish their abstracts in a supplement of the Internal Medicine Journal or the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Apply
Read the terms and conditions for awards and prizes valued up to $5000 before you apply.
Your abstract should conform to the prescribed Trainee Research Awards Abstract Guidelines. Abstracts that do not conform to these guidelines will not be accepted.
All applications must be submitted through the online application portal. You may submit as many abstracts as you like in separate applications, however, only one of your abstracts may be selected for presentation.
Your research may have been undertaken anywhere in Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand or overseas. However, you must apply under the region in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand that you will be residing in at the time of the jurisdictional events.
The College Conflicts Of Interest Policy and Privacy Policy apply to the applicants and recipients.
Apply
Jurisdictional Presentations
Jurisdictional events are generally held between October and December each year.
The following events are confirmed:
| Jurisdictional | Adult | Paediatric |
|---|
| NSW/ACT | Date: Wednesday, 11 November 2026
Location: RACP Sydney Office - 1 O'Connell Street |
| SA | Date: Saturday, 19 September 2026
Time: 5 - 8pm (ACST) at the SA/NT Regional Office
Location: 257 Melbourne Street, North Adelaide |
| NT | Date: Thursday, 22 October 2026
Location: Flinders University, Royal Darwin Hospital |
| QLD | Date: Wednesday 4 November 2026
Time: 6 - 9pm AEST at the RACP Queensland Office
Location: Unit 20, Level 3, 17 Bowen Bridge Road, Herston |
| TAS | TBC |
| VIC | TBC
|
| WA | TBC | Date: Friday 13 November 2026 (as part of the Paediatric Research Symposium) |
| Aotearoa New Zealand | Date: Rāapa 14 Whiringa-ā-nuku 2026 | Wednesday 14 October 2026
Time: 4 – 6pm
Location: RACP office Te Whanganui-a-Tara | Wellington
| Date: 9-12 Whiringa-a-rangi | November as part of the Paediatric Society of NZ ASM
Location: Te Whanganui-a-Tara | Wellington |
Selection criteria (jurisdictional events)
- You must have contributed strongly to the concept and execution of your abstract and presentation, with preference given to primary authors.
- Presentations are assessed on:
- content — originality, significance and importance
- presentation — clarity of verbal communication, use of visual aids
- how well they contribute to the discussion
- Works or projects included in the submission that are unpublished or have been published within on or after 1 July 2025 submission will be considered.
Presenting advice
Presenting is an intimidating but invaluable aspect of research. For trainees presenting their work or considering submitting their work in the future, previous adjudicators have provided their reflections that may assist you in communicating your research findings effectively.
Bolster your conclusion
While every clinical study needs a primary outcome, it's valuable to see an attempt at looking at this in another way. It can be tempting to associate cause and effect but also easy for consumers of research to discount associations as meaningless. However, appropriate use of statistical methods like a multivariate logistic regression can strengthen audience confidence in the presented conclusion.
Understand your stats
Much clinical research nowadays is conducted with a statistician as part of the team. As statistical methods increase in complexity, it can be difficult for trainees without formal statistics training to convey the statistical methods of their presented research. As the presenter of the work, it's essential that you at least understands why the employed statistical methods were selected over others and attempt to present the statistical analysis in a conventional manner rather than having to fall back on describing consultation with a statistician.
Describe the relevance
The purpose of clinical research is to improve the quality of medical care in terms of effectiveness, access or cost. Understanding the ‘point’ of a research project is what audiences are trying to do in any research presentation. Making this easy for them improves the quality of a presentation. If clinical research has resulted in a change in practice or has made a difference in lives of people, it should be described in the abstract.
Basic science research may not have a clear link back to patient benefit, which makes it even more important to describe its relevance. This can take the form of suggesting the type of clinical research that should now be undertaken as a result of the benchtop work or what benefits patients may expect from continued work along the line of inquiry.
Explain your role
Research in the 21st century is a team sport and most clinician-researchers generally fall on the modest side of the personality spectrum. When presenting an abstract, particularly in a forum such as the Trainee Research Awards, describing your role personalises the work and makes it much easier for your audience to engage with you and your work.
Selection process
- The selection panel assesses all abstracts to ensure they meet the required standard to fulfil the selection criteria.
- Selected applicants will be invited to give an oral presentation of their abstract at their jurisdictional event.
- Each presenter is allocated 10 minutes maximum for their presentation and 2 minutes for questions and answers.
- A judging panel can select up to 2 trainees in each jurisdiction — 1 trainee per category (adult medicine or paediatric medicine).
- The judging panel reserves the right not to select a representative from their jurisdiction if presentations meet an acceptably high standard.
Contact
If you have any enquiries about award eligibility and application requirements, contact the RACP Foundation.
For enquiries about jurisdictional presentations, contact your local RACP office.