Industry and project-specific scholarships
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation is pleased to present a number of co-funded industry scholarships.
Community Bank Buninyong - Community Development Case Study
Scholarship details
Stipend: $40,000 per calendar year (paid fortnightly)
Project support: up to $2,000 per year
RTP Fee-offset Scholarship / Tuition Fee Scholarship: up to $32,000 per annum
Funding length: 3 years (PhD), 2 years (Masters) (only, no extensions permitted)
Location: Mt Helen Campus
Eligibility
Scholarship applicants must be eligible to undertake a PhD. Verify you can meet eligibility requirements outlined on the Graduate Research School website. If you are applying for ‘Honours equivalence,’ please ensure that you provide detailed information to support your case.
Applicants must submit the Community Bank Buninyong Scholarship form along with their HDR Application Form
Applicants will be accepted from Australian residents, permanent residents or international students with a valid visa currently studying onshore only.
If applicants have any queries, they should contact Associate Professor Jerry Courvisanos by email at j.courvisanos@federation.edu.au prior to applying.
Application closing date: Applications open until position filled
How to apply: Application information is included in the links below.
Commencement date: Applicants are required to start in timely fashion on receipt of an offer
Project title: Economic and social sustainability in regional community development
Communities in regional Australia are strongly dependent on organisations that build sustainability through projects aimed at increasing well-being. As a branch of Bendigo Bank, Community Bank Buninyong is committed to community engagement by funding economic and social sustainable projects which will ‘contribute to growth and prosperity of its communities’. Bendigo Bank’s Community Banking Model (called Model below) was established in 1998 to nurture and empower communities around Australia through a new approach to banking. This Model is recognised globally for its successful shared value initiative that brings together profit, community development and reputation.
This PhD project aims to examine the Model in terms of how the Community Bank Buninyong supports and invests in economic and social sustainability. Then to identify impacts on the community, associated benefits to the bank, and may suggest an approach to defining ‘community impact’, helping to replicate the process in other communities. Organisational management by the Bank itself and the community organisations that receive funding is critical for these projects; for it is how these organisations manage this funding that determines success.
This is a collaborative study with the Bank which takes a case study approach, using qualitative and quantitative financial, economic, and social data to address the research aim, with a view to developing recommendations about future improvements, and for learnings that could be applied to the Australia-wide Bendigo Community Bank network.
The successful candidate will be required to participate in an industry placement with Community Bank Buninyong during their candidature.
Industry Partner and Student Host:
Community Bank Buninyong
Supervisors:
Principal Supervisor
Dr. Jerry Courvisanos, Associate Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Institute of Innovation, Science and Sustainability
Supervisor information: Jerry’s research focuses on behaviour and processes of innovation and investment affecting expenditure, business cycles, sustainable development and long-term trajectory of businesses and the economy. This work informs applied research into innovation and entrepreneurial activity for regional development, along with mapping resilience to withstand shocks and crises in core and peripheral regions. Recent focus has been on how the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals have been implemented in Australia and Timor-Leste. He has also advised local councils, regional development boards and social service organisations on effective approaches to identifying economic strengths and establishing new activities.
Associate Supervisor
Dr. Alan Labas, Lecturer – Management, Global Professional School
Supervisor information: Alan's research interests are in Regional Australian, small business knowledge management and business advisor knowledge transference. Previously, Alan Labas was the Associate Dean (Engagement) in the Faculty of Business, Federation University Australia. He has also held the role of Director of Applied Degrees and has lectured in Business Communications, Marketing Communications and Project Management. Alan has held management positions in the advertising industry, manufacturing and education.
Industry Supervisor
Andrea Mason, Director, Buninyong & District Financial Services Ltd (Community Bank Buninyong)
How to apply
Some industry scholarships have expression of interest forms that must be submitted along with your candidature application. Please ensure you read the scholarship information carefully and complete all steps.
Directions on how to apply are available at Apply - Higher Degrees by Research. Please include the name of the scholarship for which you are applying on the Admission Form. All applicants should check their eligibility prior to applying.
For further information contact Associate Professor Jerry Courvisanos at j.courvisanos@federation.edu.au or by telephone on 5327 9417
Measuring the value of Independent Assurance of ESG Disclosures through the eyes of Investors
Federation University is pleased to partner with Bureau Veritas to offer a PhD scholarship in Sustainable Development (in relation to Environmental, Social, and Governance- ESG)
Scholarship details
- Stipend: $ 33,000 per annum
- RTP Fee-offset Scholarship/Tuition Fee Scholarship: Up to $32,000 per annum covered by a Research Training Program Fee-Offset Scholarships (domestic students) or a Federation University Tuition Fee Scholarship (international students).
- Funding length: 3 years
- Internship Opportunity: Successful applicants may have the opportunity to participate in an industry-based internship.
- Selection Process: The selection will be based on the applicant’s prior research training and publication, and interview score. The applicant must have an Enivronmental Science background.
- Location: Mount Helen
Eligibility
- Australian citizens, permanent residents, and international residents
- Scholarship applicants must be eligible to undertake a PhD. Verify you can meet eligibility requirements outlined on the Graduate Research School website. If you are applying for ‘Honours equivalence,’ please ensure that you provide detailed information to support your case.
Applicants must submit the Bureau Veritas Application Form along with their HDR Application Form
Applicants may contact AYON CHAKRABORTY (a.chakraborty@federation.edu.au) for information related to the Project, prior to submitting an application.
Application closing date: Applications open until position filled
How to apply: Application information is included in the links below:
Commencement date: To be confirmed once appointed
Research project outline
Project title: Measuring the value of Independent Assurance of ESG Disclosures through the eyes of Investors
The proposed research project aims to measure the extent to which institutional investor’s value independent assurance of ESG disclosures and sustainability reports and seeks to determine whether independent assurance is more or less of a contributing factor in their investment decisions. This is of special significance to the current sustainable and environment-aware developments currently planned in regional Victoria. The PhD candidate working on the project would have access to existing data collected in recent years to establish a baseline and then compare new primary data which will be collected for this project in regional areas to compare and contrast with the existing data sets. These data would then subject be to quantitative analysis in order to identify trends and report on findings.
Industry Partner and Student Host: Bureau Veritas and Federation University
Supervisors:
Principal Supervisor: Dr. AYON CHAKRABORTY
Associate Professor, Institute of Innovation, Science, and Sustainability, Federation University, Mt Helen, Victoria 3353.
Associate and Co-Supervisors
Co-Supervisor: Dr. IBRAHIM SULTAN
Associate Professor, Institute of Innovation, Science, and Sustainability, Federation University, Mt Helen, Victoria 3353.
Co-Supervisor: Dr. ANDREW MORTIMORE
Vice President – I&F Pacific Region, Bureau Veritas Australia Pty Ltd.
Manna Institute - Regional Mental Health
Federation University is pleased to partner with the Manna Institute to offer a PhD scholarship to explore the mental health needs of Regional Australians.
This three-year PhD Scholarship is identified for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidate.
The successful candidate will join the Manna Institute in engaging in research projects under the following thematic areas of importance to regional mental health.
Scholarship details
Stipend: $33,000 per annum
RTP Fee-offset Scholarship: $26,400 per annum
Funding length: 3 years (only, no extensions permitted)
Location: Mt Helen
Eligibility
Scholarship applicants must be eligible to undertake a PhD. Verify you can meet eligibility requirements outlined on the Graduate Research School website.
Applications will be accepted from Australian residents and permanent residents only. Additionally, selection will also depend on the applicant’s ability to meet the following desired criteria:
* Enrol full-time however candidates can be on campus or remote from the campus.
* Able and willing to work in a research team environment.
* Integrate and contribute to the research team.
* Work or research experience in regional, remote, and rural locations in Australia
Applicants should review the Manna Institute website before submitting an application.
Application closing date: Applications open until position filled
How to apply: Applicants must submit the Manna Institute Application form along with submitting their HDR Candidature application
Commencement date: To be confirmed once appointed
Research project outline
Project title: Regional Mental Health
Candidates must develop a project that aligns with one of four Manna Institute Research Collaboratives, described below:
Research collaborative 1 – existing and emerging mental health workforce. Projects in this collaborative will focus on ways to support current workforce needs in regional Australia to strengthen future awareness of how to attract and retain workers. At the core of this research collaborative is inclusivity, through collaboration with both the professional and peer workforces across community health, allied health and policy and service delivery staff.
Research collaborative 2 - Individuals’ health and wellbeing. Projects in this collaborative will focus on the psycho-social-behavioural factors that impact individual health and well-being in regional and rural Australia across their lifespan.
Research collaborative 4 - The impact of changing environmental conditions on mental health. The natural world has an enormous impact on mental health and wellbeing. Opportunities to interact with nature can reduce mental illness and facilitate optimum mental wellbeing. Projects in this collaborative will focus those that consider direct and indirect impacts of the changing climate on rural, regional, and remote communities.
For further information (including supervision advice) please contact:
Associate Professor Dixie Statham - Federation University
Email: d.statham@federation.edu.au
or Professor Myfanwy Maple - Manna Institute Director
Email: mmaple2@une.edu.au
Supervisors, Associate and Co-Supervisors
Supervisors will be sourced through both Federation University and the Manna Institute. Bios of potential supervisors are listed on the Manna Institute website.
Replacing petroleum based carbon black in batteries: Producing battery electrodes and other advanced nanostructured carbons from lignite chars
Federation University is pleased to partner with Australian Carbon Innovation (ACI), Environmental Clean Technologies (ECT) and GrapheneX to offer a Masters by Research scholarship in advanced carbon materials.
Scholarship details
Stipend: $34,000 per annum
Project support: Technical assistance and project costs included in accompanying $250,000 research project funded by Australian Carbon Innovation (ACI), Environmental Clean Technologies (ECT) and GrapheneX
RTP Fee-offset Scholarship / Tuition Fee Scholarship: $26,800 per annum
Funding length: 1.5 years (only, no extensions permitted)
Location: Gippsland campus, Northways Rd, Churchill VIC 3842, Australia.
Eligibility
Scholarship applicants must be eligible to undertake a Masters by Research and verify that they can meet the eligibility requirements outlined on the Graduate Research School website. If you are applying for ‘Honours equivalence,’ please ensure that you provide detailed information to support your case.
Applicants must be an Australian resident or permanent resident.
Additional Information
Successful applicants will be required to reside in or relocate to the Gippsland region and study on campus and on location with their industry partner for the duration of their project.
Exceptional candidates may have the opportunity to transfer to a fully-funded PhD program.
Applicants should contact Dr Surbhi Sharma, Associate Professor of Hydrogen Technologies (surbhi.sharma@federation.edu.au, +61 03 5122 6435) prior to submitting an application.
Application closing date: Applications open until position filled
How to apply: Applicants must submit the ECT-ACI scholarship application form along with their HDR Application Form
Application information is included in the links below.
Commencement date: To be confirmed once appointed
Background (broader perspective and relevance):
Federation University’s Future Regions Research Centre (FRRC) and recently established Centre for New Energy Transition Research (CfNETR) are focused on identifying opportunities to develop and lead new green energy technology, ensuring the maximum utilisation of Victorian resources and promoting circular economy in the region. This scholarship is an excellent opportunity to work as part of a research team including the Carbon Technology Research Group (CTRG) on an industry-supported project focused on transforming a char by-product in high-value activated carbons.
Activated carbons (ACs) are widely used in electrodes for energy storage (batteries, supercapacitors). Australia imports much of its activated carbon (AC) requirements (approx. 10k tons per annum). There is a significant understanding about steam activation and KOH-mediated activation of carbonaceous wastes. The project team will extend this knowledge to develop improved and tailored high-value carbons by upcycling char by-products. It presents an opportunity to prepare tailored carbons suitable for inclusion in electrode formulations. The project will also include initial studies for developing low-cost solutions for preparing other high-value carbons for the green economy.
Success of this project will enable the production of high-value carbons (graphene oxide hybrids, mesoporous carbon anode materials) tailored to environmental and energy storage applications. It will assist the transition of the Latrobe Valley’s coal-fired power generation industry to high-value manufacturing in the new energy economy. Additionally, exploratory studies on synthesising graphene oxide hybrids from lignite offer an excellent opportunity to develop cost-effective methods for producing nanostructured carbons. These materials can find multiple uses within the circular H2 economy, including H2 production, storage and energy generation via fuel cells, and other applications such as water filtration membranes, biosensors, and gas sensors.
Masters project title: Replacing petroleum based carbon black in batteries: Producing battery electrodes and other advanced nanostructured carbons from lignite chars
The Masters by Research project will focus on the lab-scale preparation and characterisation of porous, activated carbon products using the lignite chars supplied by ECT. It will investigate the development of a practicable method for recycling potassium to enhance the cost-effectiveness of the process. The project will involve extensive material characterisation studies to understand the chemical, physical electrical and electrochemical properties of the synthesised materials. Other preliminary studies could include the use of hydrothermal and/or supercritical processes for upcycling and upgrading the low-value chars into nanostructured carbon materials.
Industry Partner and Student Host: Environmental Clean Technologies (ECT) Ltd
Supervisors:
Principal Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Surbhi Sharma
Surbhi completed her PhD (University of Ulster, 2011) and has extensive experience in synthesising, characterising and utilising graphene oxide and other nanostructured carbon hybrids for various electrochemical applications. She also has extensive experience in using characterisation techniques such as XPS, XRD, SEM, TEM, TGA, Raman, UV-Vis and FTIR spectroscopy techniques.
Prior to moving to Federation University Australia in 2022, she was based at the Centre for Doctoral Training in Hydrogen and Fuel Cells, and the School of Biosciences within the University of Birmingham, UK. Here, she delivered on a number of national and international projects (funded by EPSRC, Science without borders-Brazil, EU and DSTL-MoD, UK) in the field of low temperature hydrogen fuel cells (PEMFCs, DMFCs), developing supported electrocatalysts, proton conduction membranes, corrosion resistant coatings, and exploring the use of microbes for catalyst development.
Associate and Co-Supervisors
Dr Wei Xie (Industry Supervisor, ECT)
Wei, Research Manager at ECT, completed his PhD in 2013 from the University of Newcastle Australia. He currently works in brown coal up-gradation and Hydrogen production using Coldry technology. He has 10+ years of experience in coke making (2009-present), coal pyrolysis, gasification and combustion, low emission coal technologies, such as CO2 capture, hydrogen rich energy and high value products, mercury removal, and 5 years of experience for high temperature coal gases desulphurization (H2S) (2004-2009).
Dr Alicia Reynolds
Alicia completed her PhD in 2015 and works at the Carbon Technology Research Group (CTRG) at Federation University’s Gippsland campus. Her current research uses organic analytical chemistry to understand and troubleshoot industrial processes with a focus on responsible uses of Victorian brown coal.
Alicia's core interests include statistical methods for reducing large datasets to useful information, advanced analytical chemistry, and using research methods to solve real-world problems. Her current research includes increasing the robustness of local coal-to-other products and facilitating development of bio-refining processes in the Latrobe Valley.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8719-7357
Assoc. Prof. Vince Verheyen
Assoc. Prof. Verheyen has managed the $2.3M carbon laboratory and Carbon Technology Research Group at Federation University’s Gippsland campus since 2015. His >35 years’ experience with the characterisation and analysis of a wide range of complex organic substances using advanced analytical techniques such as GC/MS, HPLC, C13 NMR, FTIR and UV spectroscopy brings important experience to the project. He has played a significant role in the development and commercialisation of new humic and carbon products from lignite.
Investigation into soil and carbon management levers for farming systems optimisation
Federation University is pleased to partner with Food Agility CRC and Precision Agriculture to offer a Food Agility CRC PhD scholarship in Digital Agriculture
Scholarship details
Stipend: $35,000 per annum
Top-Up: NA
Project support: $10,000
RTP Fee-offset Scholarship: $26,800 per annum
Funding length: 3 years (only, no extensions permitted)
Location: Mt Helen, Ballarat
Eligibility
Scholarship applicants must be eligible to undertake a PhD. Verify you can meet eligibility requirements outlined on the Graduate Research School website. If you are applying for ‘Honours equivalence,’ please ensure that you provide detailed information to support your case.
Applicants must be an Australian or permanent resident
Applicants should contact Dr Birgita Hansen prior to submitting an application.
Application closing date: Applications open until position filled
How to apply: Complete the HDR Candidature application and provide a 300 word statement that describes, in your own words, the area of the proposed research and include your interpretation of the problem, proposed solution, and potential impact. Please note, a separate research proposal (as outlined on the application form) is not required.
Commencement date: To be confirmed once appointed
Research project outline
Project title: Investigation into soil and carbon management levers for farming systems optimisation
The agricultural sector is trying to balance increasing production with addressing soil health, soil carbon sequestration and farm sustainability via changes in soil amendments and management practices. Actions focused on carbon sequestration and emissions reduction will be increasingly more important over time as global markets demand carbon neutral products and evidence of carbon neutrality claims. Actions focusing on soil health amelioration techniques and improvement need to factor in productivity while also meeting market expectations around sustainability. A wide range of potentially interacting factors will influence soil health, profitability and other on-farms outcomes. Therefore, farmers will require better information for supporting decision-making on soil amendments to improve soil health and soil carbon, and the linkages between these actions to help prioritisation of farm management and respond to shifting markets.
Other related elements:
- Soil health reporting and soil properties that are key indicators
- Soil carbon gap mapping (on-farm and regional) and relationships with on-farm management. Building the on-farm evidence to support carbon neutral claims
- Where are the greatest sources of variability in soil properties and soil carbon at the farm scale, and how do these vary with climate, landscape and management practices?
Research questions
What is driving variation in soil properties and constraints, and how does this relate to soil carbon and soil health management actions at multiple scales?
What (if any) are the management levers for optimising soil amendments for multiple outcomes (soil carbon, soil health, productivity)?
Proposed structure of research
- Desktop based assessments (mapping and analyses) using existing PA data and other sources of information
- Field-based assessment to target key knowledge gaps identified in step 1, particularly in relation to (a) carbon gap mapping and (b) variability and benchmarking.
Industry Partner and Student Host: Precision Agriculture; Food Agility CRC
Supervisors
Principal Supervisor: Dr Birgita Hansen
Associate and Co-Supervisors:
Dr Kirsten Barlow (Precision Ag)
An investigation into the risk of macro litter on birdlife in the Greater Melbourne and Port Phillip region
Federation University is pleased to partner with Department of Environment, Environment and Climate Action and RMIT to offer a MSc scholarship in Environmental Management and Monitoring.
Scholarship details
Stipend: $33,000 per annum
Top-Up: $10,000 per annum
Project support: $5000
RTP Fee-offset Scholarship / Tuition Fee Scholarship: $26,800 per annum
Funding length: 1.5 years (only, no extensions permitted)
Location: Mt Helen, Ballarat
Eligibility
Scholarship applicants must be eligible to undertake a MSc. Verify you can meet eligibility requirements outlined on the Graduate Research School website. If you are applying for ‘Honours equivalence,’ please ensure that you provide detailed information to support your case.
Applicants must be an Australian resident or permanent resident.
Applicants should contact Birgita Hansen b.hansen@federation.edu.au prior to submitting an application.
Application closing date: open until position filled
How to apply: Complete the HDR Candidature application and provide a 300 word statement that describes, in your own words, the area of the proposed research and include your interpretation of the problem, proposed solution, and potential impact. Please note, a separate research proposal (as outlined on the application form) is not required.
Commencement date: Semester 2, 2023
Research project outline
Project title: An investigation into the risk of macro litter on birdlife in the Greater Melbourne and Port Phillip region
Litter pollution is a matter of international, national and local concern, and links to several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Litter pollution in the Port Phillip and Greater Melbourne region is a focal point for policy and management by the Victorian Government Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) and by Melbourne Water (Greater Melbourne’s water authority). Reducing litter loads to Port Phillip Bay is a key strategy of DELWP’s Environmental Management Plan 2017-2027. Marine debris (including plastic pollution) is listed as a key threatening process under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The impact of macro litter (>5mm) on wildlife has been identified as a threat with insufficient data to assess impacts. The Melbourne Water Healthy Waterway Strategy (HWS) 2018 identifies litter as a key threat affecting water quality, impacting aquatic and marine life, and reducing amenity. The HWS also identified nine key values of which one is birdlife. Research by RMIT indicates that that there may be linkages between macro litter pollution and birdlife health, and habitat and food resources, which requires further investigation. Overall, there is a lack of information and data to undertake any risk assessment of these impacts, and a lack of knowledge about the magnitude and nature of the litter-birdlife problem.
This Masters project will investigate the influence of litter on birdlife in the Greater Melbourne / Port Phillip region. It will be conducted in a staged manner using both desktop and field-based research.
A desktop-based literature and data review will identify the types of impacts of macro litter on birdlife (e.g. ingestion, entanglement, loss of nesting or roosting areas). This will be complemented with observational / survey-based field research to determine if there are relationships between birdlife and certain litter types and densities at key urban wetland and riverine sites. A risk assessment will be undertaken based on the findings from these surveys and evidence of litter types that appear to pose greater risks than others to birdlife. Finally, the investigation will test if high risk litter types are associated with certain land uses, and what monitoring and management interventions might be most appropriate to understand and reduce the risk of macro litter on birds.
Industry Partner and Student Host:
Department of Environment, Environment and Climate Action, Kimberley Macdonald
Supervisors:
Principal Supervisor: Dr Birgita Hansen
Associate and Co-Supervisors
Dr Jackie Myers (RMIT)
Image Sensing and Analytics
Federation University is pleased to partner with Agriculture Victoria Research to offer a PhD scholarship in Information Technology in Horticulture Production Sciences.
Scholarship details
Stipend: $33,000 per annum
Top-Up: $3,000 per month during 3-month internship
Project support: $6,000 over 3.5 years
RTP Fee-offset Scholarship / Tuition Fee Scholarship: $23,600 per annum
Funding length: 3 years + 1 x 6 month extension
Location: Agriculture Victoria Research, Tatura SmartFarm, 255 Ferguson Rd, Tatura 3616 VIC
Eligibility
Scholarship applicants must be eligible to undertake a PhD. Verify you can meet eligibility requirements outlined on the Graduate Research School website. If you are applying for ‘honours equivalence,’ please ensure that you provide detailed information to support your case.
Applications will be accepted from Australian residents, permanent residents, and international applicants.
Applicants should contact the principal supervisor prior to submitting an application.
Application closing date: 30 June 2023
How to apply: Applicants must submit their application with all necessary documents by completing the HDR Candidature application
Commencement date: August 2023
Research project outline
Project title: Image Sensing and Analytics
Project outline: The project will involve field testing the accuracy of sensors (e.g., fluorescence spectrometer) on a harvesting platform to measure fruit quality (sweetness, maturity, firmness, skin colour, blemish, sunburn, shape, internal disorders, and size) and potentially grade and pack fruit in the orchard. It will also develop and evaluate automated bin tracking systems on a platform harvester and associated downstream data capture.
The candidate should hold a research degree (Honours or Masters) from an accredited university in computer science or equivalent field, with strong foundation in data analytics and visualization. A demonstrated skill in computer programming and excellent written and oral communication skills are required. Some experience of publishing in peer-reviewed articles and working with agriculture electronics will be viewed favourably.
Industry Partner and Student Host: Agriculture Victoria Research – Tatura SmartFarm
Principal Supervisor: Prof Shyh Wei Teng
Associate and Co-Supervisors
Associate Supervisor: Dr Linh Nguyen
Agriculture Victoria Supervisor: Dr Mark O'Connell
Digital Traceability – Data-driven life cycle classification in fruit trees and orchards
Federation University is pleased to partner with Agriculture Victoria Research to offer a PhD scholarship in Information Technology in Horticulture Production Sciences.
Scholarship details
Stipend: $33,000 annum
Top-Up: $3,000 per month during 3-month internship
Project support: $6,000 over 3.5 years
RTP Fee-offset Scholarship / Tuition Fee Scholarship: $23,600 per annum
Funding length: 3 years + 1 x 6 month extension
Location: Agriculture Victoria Research, Tatura SmartFarm, 255 Ferguson Rd, Tatura 3616 VIC
Eligibility
Scholarship applicants must be eligible to undertake a PhD. Verify you can meet eligibility requirements outlined on the Graduate Research School website. If you are applying for ‘honours equivalence,’ please ensure that you provide detailed information to support your case.
Applications will be accepted from Australian residents, permanent residents, and international applicants.
Applicants should contact the principal supervisor prior to submitting an application.
Application closing date: 30 June 2023
How to apply: Applicants must submit their application with all necessary documents by completing the HDR Candidature application
Commencement date: August 2023
Research project details
Title: Digital Traceability – Data-driven life cycle classification in fruit trees and orchards
Project Outline: The project will define the lifecycle of tree fruit yield in stages by summarizing literature knowledge & practical experience, and standardize the fruit production digital sensing practices, to the criterion of maximum explainable harvest productivity (both quantity and quality). It will also explore data integration that captures fixed and mobile orchard sensing data to the lifecycle of tree fruit yield, and test standards by predicting harvest productivity (fruit yield) from pre-harvest sensing of tree stress and the orchard environment.
The candidate should hold a research degree (Honours or Masters) from an accredited university in computer science or equivalent field, with strong foundation in data analytics and visualization. A demonstrated skill in computer programming and excellent written and oral communication skills are required. Some experience of publishing in peer-reviewed articles and working with agriculture electronics and IoT will be viewed favourably.
Industry Partner and Student Host: Agriculture Victoria Research – Tatura SmartFarm
Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Paul Pang
Associate and Co-Supervisors:
Associate Supervisor: Professor Joarder Kamruzzaman
Agriculture Victoria Supervisor: Dr Alessio Scalisi
How to apply
Some industry scholarships have expression of interest forms that must be submitted along with your candidature application. Please ensure you read the scholarship information carefully and complete all steps.
Directions on how to apply are available at Apply - Higher Degrees by Research. Please include the name of the scholarship for which you are applying on the Admission Form. All applicants should check their eligibility prior to applying.
Applications should include all relevant supporting documentation and Federation University must receive completed referee report forms by the scholarship closing date. As part of their application, prospective Higher Degree by Research applicants are also required to provide:
- Application for Admission Form
- Transcripts of all tertiary level academic study
- Australian citizens must provide a copy of their birth certificate or passport
- Permanent Residents must provide a copy of their visa and passport
- List of published work with URL links and/or copy of each publication
- Copy of honours or masters thesis abstract
- Evidence for Australian honours equivalency, if applicable.
- Any awards or accolades
- Any other evidence of research performance
Federation University partners with local industry to provide research opportunities and regional innovation. If your company or organisation has a project suitable for research and wish to sponsor a higher degrees by research candidate then contact us at research.degrees@federation.edu.au.