Scholarship details
Study levels
Research and PhD
Student type
Future students and Current students
Study area
Business, Creative industries, Creative practice, communication and design, Education, Health, Information technology, Justice, Science, technology and engineering and mathematics
Eligibility criteria
Indigenous Australian, From regional, rural or remote areas and Women
Citizenship
Australian or New Zealand
Application dates
- Applications close
- 1 March 2025
What you'll receive
You'll receive a stipend scholarship of $40,000 per annum for a maximum duration of 1.75 years while undertaking a QUT MPhil. The duration includes an extension of up to three months if approved for your candidature. This is the full-time, tax-free rate, which will index each year.
As the scholarship recipient, you will have the opportunity to work with a team of leading researchers, to undertake your own innovative research in and across the field.
Eligibility
- You need to meet the entry requirements for a QUT Master of Philosophy, including any English language requirements.
- The successful student will have a bachelor degree in a relevant discipline with some research experience.
- It is essential that the successful student is interested in health and climate change.
- The project will involve some quantitative and qualitative analysis and geospatial mapping, so it is preferable if the student has some skills in these areas or an interest in developing the skills during their candidature.
- The student will work with a team of researchers and will be encouraged to participate in visits to communities, so they will need strong communication skills as well as an ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
- The project is open to domestic and international candidates.
- Although all eligible candidates are welcome to apply, preference will be given to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates, or applicants from rural and remote regions.
- The applicant may be able to undertake this project externally.
How to apply
- Apply for this scholarship at the same time you apply for admission to a QUT Master of Philosophy.
- The first step is to email Professor Kerrie Mengersen detailing your academic and research background, your motivation to research in this field and interest in this scholarship, and include your CV.
- If supported to apply, you will then submit an expression of interest (EOI) following the advice at how to apply for a research degree.
- In your EOI, nominate Professor Kerrie Mengersen as your proposed principal supervisor, and copy the link to this scholarship web page into question two of the financial details section.
About the scholarship
This project, led by Dr Veronica Matthews (University of Sydney) in collaboration with researchers at QUT and other organisations, seeks to combine Western and Indigenous knowledges to learn about the impact of climate change on the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are at the forefront of climate-related environmental changes: sea-level rises and ocean acidification, hotter days and longer dry seasons, and increased frequencies of cyclones and intense bushfires, all of which impact on health, energy, food and water security. These extreme environmental challenges are compromising healthy connection to culture and Country, fundamental determinants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing. There is growing recognition of the importance and value of bringing together Western and Indigenous knowledges to inform climate change mitigation and adaptation. To strengthen climate change adaptation and community resilience, bottom-up, place-based, whole-of-systems approaches are required.
This PhD or MPhil project will help to create interactive story-data maps that combine community knowledges and stories with environmental and health data for broader knowledge exchange. The student will work with Warumungu (Tennant Creek NT); Bundjalung (Northern Rivers NSW); and Whadjuk Noongar (Perth WA) communities and in a knowledge sharing process, will strengthen data/data visualisation capabilities of Aboriginal community project team members. The story-data maps will be used to co-design and implement mitigation and adaptation strategies embedded within local community resilience plans.
The candidate will sit within the QUT Centre for Data Science. This centre includes around 150 researchers across the university and includes a large, multidisciplinary research student cohort.