Industry and project-specific scholarships

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.

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

1. Desktop based assessments (mapping and analyses) using existing PA data and other sources of information 
2. 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 Nathan Robinson,

Dr Ben Fest,

Dr Kirsten Barlow (Precision Ag)

Federation University is pleased to partner with St John of God Berwick Hospital to offer PhD scholarships for nurses, midwives and other allied healthcare professionals who have an interest in conducting research relevant to their field.

Scholarship details

Stipend: $40,000 per annum
Project support: between $6,000-$ 9,000 depending on project
RTP Fee-offset Scholarship / Tuition Fee Scholarship: up to $26,800 per annum
Funding length: 3 years (only, no extensions permitted)
Location: Berwick, Victoria

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 resident or permanent resident.

Preference will be given to applicants with a registered nursing or midwifery background.

Applicants should contact Associate Professor Mimmie Watts Phone: 03 5327 9750 or email: mc.watts@federation.edu.au prior to submitting an application.

Application closing date:  10 March 2024

How to apply: Applicants must submit their application with all necessary documents by completing the HDR Candidature application form.

Commencement date: as soon as possible

Research Fields:

• Midwifery & Maternity Care
• Workforce Models of Care
• Digital and Mental Health Care
• Public Health and Allied Health Care

Federation University is pleased to partner with East Wimmera Health Service to offer a PhD scholarship in social science/humanities/regional development.

Scholarship details

Stipend: $33,000 per annum
Top-Up: $5,500 per annum
RTP Fee-offset Scholarship / Tuition Fee Scholarship: $24,780 per annum
Funding length: 3 years (only, no extensions permitted)
Location: Wimmera Campus
Internship: the opportunity to undertake a 3-month internship at East Wimmera Health Services.

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.

Knowledge/background in health services will be an advantage.

Applications will be accepted from Australian residents and permanent residents only.

Applicants should contact Dr Cathy Tischler, Team Lead, Future Regions Research Centre Horsham Hub c.tischler@federation.edu.au prior to submitting an application.

Application closing date: position open until filled

How to apply: Applicants must submit their application with all necessary documents by completing the HDR Candidature application form

Commencement date: By negotiation

Research project details

Project title: East Wimmera Health Service Primary Care Transition

Grounded in regional health policy, the doctoral project will have flexibility of scope, but will likely investigate models of care at East Wimmera Health Service. Research focus will involve delivering a detailed analysis relating to models of care or some element of care that requires significant new learning.

The range of investigation and the scope of the project will be designed in conjunction with East Wimmera Health Service. There will be a supervision team of four people - 3 from Federation University Australia and 1 from East Wimmera Health Service. East Wimmera Health Service will nominate a member to be on the supervisory panel.

Industry Partner and Student Host: East Wimmera Health Service

Supervisors:

Principal Supervisor: Professor Keir Reeves

Professor Keir Reeves is Co-Director of the Future Regions Research Centre at Federation University Australia. Keir’s current research works at the intersection heritage, cultural tourism, regional studies and history. Prior to joining Federation University his previous teaching and research positions were at the University of Melbourne and Monash University. He has also held visiting research fellowships/professorships at King’s College London, Clare Hall Cambridge, Ghent University, Utrecht University, University of Highlands and Islands and Wakayama University.

Keir has been a past chair of the University Professoriate, and he is particularly interested in enhancing the postgraduate research experience, and also mentoring early career researchers. Keenly interested in themes of regionalism and rurality, he works closely with the FRRC Horsham Research Hub based at the Wimmera Campus and the Ararat Jobs and Technology Precinct initiative.

Keir is currently an editorial board member of the Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development and the Journal of Heritage Tourism. Keir has been a APDI or Chief Investigator on seven Australian Research Council (ARC) funded projects. He was also an ARC funded PhD student on the Mount Alexander Diggings project.

Associate and Co-Supervisors:

Associate Supervisor: Professor Fergal Grace

Fergal Grace is a Professor of Clinical Exercise Science at the School of Health Science & Psychology, Federation University Australia. Broadly, Fergal's research is within the domain of Clinical Exercise Physiology with a focus on cardiovascular and metabolic function during ageing. He also contributes to the field of endocrinology, endocrinology and clinical oncology.

Associate Supervisor: Dr Cathy Tischler

Dr Cathy Tischler has a doctorate from Federation University in rural social justice and regional development. Dr Tischler researched the ideologies, values and behaviours reinforcing power dominated by prestige leadership in the Wimmera Southern-Mallee, with implications for understanding change and resistance in regional communities. Cathy regularly conducts research in a rural setting, working in the fields of rural and regional development, social justice and practice change.

External Industry Supervisor: Mr Trevor Adem

Mr Trevor Adem is Chief Executive Officer, East Wimmera Health Service.