Scholarship details
Study levels
Research and PhD
Student type
Future students
Study area
Engineering
Eligibility criteria
Academic performance
Application dates
- Applications close
- 31 October 2023
What you'll receive
You'll receive a scholarship, tax exempt and indexed annually of $32,500 per annum for a period of three years, with a possible 6 month extension, subject to satisfactory progress.
If you're an international student, you will also receive either:
- an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) fees offset (International)
- a QUT research degree (HDR) tuition fee scholarship.
International students will also be covered for a single Overseas Health Cover (OSHC).
Eligibility
To apply for this scholarship, you must meet the entry requirements for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at QUT, including any English language requirements for international students.
Applicants are expected to commit to full-time, internal enrolment.
How to apply
You must submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) for consideration prior to applying for this scholarship.
How to apply for a research degree
The EOI must include:
- an up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV), including recent IELTS or equivalent score for international applicants
The EOI must include a link to this scholarship page at question 2 in the Financial Details section. It also must have Dr Dave McCarthy nominated as your potential supervisor
What happens next?
Applicants will be contacted directly with an outcome of their Expression of Interest.
For questions about the research project, please contact Dr Dave McCarthy.
For questions about the application process, please email hdr@qut.edu.au.
About the scholarship
Water-based recreation is an iconic part of the Australian lifestyle, contributing to the liveability of our cities, the health and well-being of our inhabitants, the tourism industry and the business sector.
Communities in each Australian city value their recreational waters at over $1 billion per annum[1] and reduced swimmability due poor water quality is estimated to be valued at $100 million per year in each city. Indeed, recreational waters near urban centres are categorically impaired by high levels of faecal contamination, which includes pathogens that cause disease when contacted, resulting in health advisories which prevents water-based recreation.
According to the EPA, many beaches are graded as poor/very poor due to faecal contamination, requiring beach warnings and closures and hence reducing the city’s liveability. To manage our recreational waterways and safeguard them against faecal contamination, we must:
- identify and understand risks to assess whether they are below agreeable levels and thus whether mitigation is required, and to have a baseline to evaluate the efficacy of our future mitigation
- assess options to reduce risks by first understanding the high risk sources of faecal microbes, then determine methods available to reduce these to acceptable levels and finally build business cases to balance the community costs and benefits of each option
- implement controls and monitor how these have successfully reduced the identified risks.
This research program will focus on the first two of these steps, in particular through the development of new molecular methods to detect faecal pollution and new high throughput sequencing methods for understanding their sources (i.e. microbial source tracking).
The student will have the opportunity to work closely with existing industry partners. The position will come with paid research trips to domestic and international conferences.