Australian Sustainable Agriculture Scholarship

Transcription

1 AGRICULTURE AND FOOD Australian Sustainable Agriculture Scholarship Program guidelines March

2 Elite scholarship CSIRO s Agriculture and Food and the University of Tasmania, via the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA), have developed a scholarship program for PhD candidates to support research training in sustainable agricultural systems. Candidates qualifying for Research Training Program or equivalent base scholarships are invited to apply for $7,500 per year for 3 years to be used as an elite (top- up) or to co-fund a stipend. The scholarship also includes an additional $9,166 per year for 3 years available for research, operating and travel. Full scholarships have a value of $49,998 and partial scholarships will also be considered. Contact officer Candidates are expected to discuss their application with potential supervisors before formally applying and are encouraged to direct questions to the Contact Officer, who can answer general questions and link the applicant with potential supervisors. An expression of interest is encouraged prior to full application (see application section of these guidelines). The Contact Officer for the scholarship program is: Dr Karen Barry Senior Lecturer Private Bag 98 Hobart Tasmania 7001 Australia Telephone or karen.barry@utas.edu.au Lodgement of applications All applications should be sent in electronic format (pdf) to: karen.barry@utas.edu.au Due date Applications can be received at any time throughout the year. 2

3 Elite Australian Sustainable Agriculture Scholarships CSIRO s Agriculture and Food and the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) operate an Australian Sustainable Agriculture Scholarship (ASAS) to provide scholarships for candidates undertaking a PhD in agricultural systems research. Agricultural systems include the natural resources, production systems, communities, industries and policy environment within which food and other agricultural products are produced, processed and consumed. Eligible research under these scholarships will expand multi-disciplinary knowledge of the interactions and trade-offs between the biophysical, social, economic and institutional components of agricultural and food systems, and how these interactions contribute to sustainability. Preferred research projects will: involve applied research framed from the perspective of endusers or next-users; use methods and outputs that are co-developed using participatory processes; and integrate research solutions across academic disciplines and research institutions. Research projects in this program will focus on issues of national significance to Australia, and can involve local, regional or international issues in Australia and countries that are the focus of Australian development assistance. Relevant research topics could include, but are not limited to: On farm: increasing productivity and improving economic viability; the adoption of sustainable farming practices and strategies for sustaining agriculture s natural resource base; on-farm emissions abatement, energy efficiency, climate change adaptation and their interactions with agricultural productivity; benchmarking frontiers of production and resource use efficiency; innovation in on-farm food processing and marketing; and the contribution of farming to rural livelihoods and regional development. Landscape, industry and community: natural resource management for sustainable production; climate change adaptation and mitigation and their relationship with sustaining agricultural productivity; innovation in agriculture, food processing and marketing throughout value chains; profitability and environmental performance; and the contribution of agriculture to the sustainability, adaptability and resilience of rural communities and regional economic development. National and international: interactions between policy and sustainability in national agricultural and food systems; changes in international comparative advantage and Australia s competitiveness associated with climate change, market shocks and trade policy; interactions between agricultural productivity, food security and trade; and impact of innovations in global food systems on sustainable agriculture systems. 3

4 Accelerate your research career The CSIRO-TIA scholarship is a prestigious award designed to accelerate the research careers of top students in fields contributing to agricultural systems research. The scholarships are an invitation to elite students to begin their research careers working with CSIRO and TIA in the fields of agricultural research at which our organisations excel. This includes issues of state, national and international significance such as the local through to global drivers of agricultural productivity, food security, greenhouse gas abatement, sustainable farming systems and sustainable agricultural communities and industries. Successful applications to this scheme will be jointly supervised by world leading scientists from CSIRO and TIA and may be based at any Australian university. They will enjoy the benefits of being embedded in teams of professional researchers working with communities and industries to tackle new and emerging opportunities to improve the sustainability of agricultural systems and the communities and industries that depend on them. These benefits include the extensive national and international networks created and maintained by the researchers they will be working with in CSIRO and TIA. Selection criteria All research topics will be aligned with the research priorities of CSIRO s Agriculture and Food, and require a letter of support from the CSIRO Supervisor outlining how the PhD research is aligned. Selection of students by the Steering Committee will be based on: potential of the research topic to expand knowledge of, and ability to manage, agricultural and food systems; innovative development or application of methods for generating this understanding of agricultural systems; and potential benefits of the research to one or more clearly defined groups of end or next users. Eligibility Domestic and international candidates eligible for Research Training Program scholarships or other equivalent scholarships are encouraged to apply. Applicants must meet the eligibility of requirements of the enrolling university. Enrollment and supervision structure may take either of the two options below: About CSIRO AGRICULTURE AND FOOD CSIRO Agriculture and Food aims to be a catalyst for transforming productivity, profitability and sustainability in Australia s food and fibre industries and a leader addressing the global response to food and nutritional security for the world s growing population. With over 1100 people and an annual budget in excess of $200M, it tackles problems at scale and drawing from skills across CSIRO can bring multidisciplinary teams together. It is in the ISI top 10 globally in Agricultural Science citations and sites 12th in Plant and Animal Sciences. CSIRO Agriculture and Food is structure in 9 programs that span the value chain from gene to global food systems. Work from these 9 programs delivers to six impact areas: 4

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6 About Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture The Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) was established in 1996 as a partnership between the University of Tasmania and the Tasmanian Government. TIA performs an important role in guiding the future economic and environmental sustainability of Tasmania s agriculture industries through priority-driven research, development, extension and education. TIA is part of the School of Land and Food (SLAF) which incorporates expertise from the disciplines of Agriculture and Food Systems with Geography and Spatial Sciences. A close collaboration between TIA and the School ensures that the latest industry-relevant research is integrated into worldclass teaching. TIA s organisational structure is based around four commodity centres that have responsibility for conducting industry-driven research, development, extension and education in areas of strategic importance to Tasmania. These centres are Food Safety and Innovation, Horticulture, Dairy and Grazing, and Agricultural Systems. The University of Tasmania, through TIA, was ranked as Australia s top agricultural research university by a national review of Australian universities (ERA 2015). TIA received the highest possible rating of 5 (well above standard) in the areas of agriculture, land and farm management and horticultural production. The University of Tasmania has ranked among the top 100 universities in the world for agriculture (QS World University Rankings by Subject) for the last two years. This strong global performance in agriculture reflects the research excellence across the whole Institute. It is a credit to the hard work and dedication of our researchers and support staff who are delivering world-class benefits to Tasmania s agricultural industries. CSIRO-TIA partnership CSIRO and TIA have complementary research and extension capabilities enabling collaboration to tackle emerging issues in agriculture. For more than a decade, CSIRO and TIA have worked together through joint appointments and collaborative projects. The world-leading systems analysis and modelling approaches developed by CSIRO globally have been developed and applied to Tasmanian agriculture by TIA. Both CSIRO and TIA recognise the need to frame research on agricultural productivity within a broader program that includes value chains, food systems, markets and trade, as well as the social and institutional issues affecting agriculture and food. 6

7 Application Expression of interest Prior to making a full application, please provide an expression of interest to Karen.Barry@utas.edu.au which includes: * Your name and contact details * The intended enrolling university and primary supervisor * The intended CSIRO and TIA supervisors * A brief outline of the intended project * Whether you have applied for or hold a base scholarship, or have alternative means of support. Full application The full application will be provided to applicants who meet the program requirements. The full application includes: * A description of the proposed research topic (maximum 2 pages) * An outline of how the research meets the scholarship program priorities (maximum 2 pages): - How will the research expand knowledge and ability to manage agricultural systems? - Why is the proposed method or its application innovative? - Who are the end or next users, and how will they benefit from this research? * A description of how this PhD project aligns with CSIRO research priorities (maximum half page) * Attach a letter of support from the CSIRO Supervisor confirming this alignment * Attach a draft CSIRO Student Agreement Form Expressions of interest can be made at any time. Full applications will be accepted at any time until the Scholarship quota is filled. 7

8 The current partnership between CSIRO and TIA is managed by Dr Michael Battaglia and Dr Karen Barry. CSIRO Agriculture and Food Dr Michael Battaglia Deputy Director t e michael.battaglia@csiro.au Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture Dr Karen Barry Senior Lecturer t e karen.barry@utas.edu.au 8