ICT4D News

Two PhD scholarships at The School of Information Systems within the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research (TIAR) at the University of Tasmania

The School of Information Systems and the Rural Social Research Group within the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research (TIAR) at the University of Tasmania have TWO PhD scholarships available for commencement in early 2009.

Two scholarships, each with a stipend of $30,000 per annum (tax free), will be for the study of social issues associated with the adoption of advanced Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) in agriculture.
One scholarship is specifically for research in the Tasmanian DAIRY industry, the other for research in the Tasmanian VEGETABLE industry.
Students from any relevant background (e.g. information systems, computing,business management, geography, environmental studies, social science,environmental psychology, agriculture) interested in innovation and adoption research, social issues associated with ICTs, rural sociology or social aspects of agriculture, are encouraged to apply. These scholarships are offered with support from CSIRO's Tasmanian ICT Centre and with support from TIAR's Vegetable Centre and Dairy Centre. The supervisors of this research will be Professor Frank Vanclay (Professor of Rural Sociology in TIAR) and Professor Peter Marshall (Professor of Information Systems in the School of Computing and Information Systems).

In addition to the stipends, each project has ample operational funding to cover all fieldwork costs as well as conference funding and training costs. Both projects have close connections to industry and each student will be embedded in larger programs with ample support.

One of the ICT scholarships is in the form of a "top-up" scholarship.
This means that the student would need to be successful in securing an Australian Post-Graduate Award (APA or University scholarship).These Scholarships are available only to Australian citizens. Students will be expected to have received (or expect to receive) first class Honours or upper second class Honours. In addition to academic merit, students will also be selected on the basis of their 'fit' with the project and their interest in the research topic.

The scholarships will be available until filled by an appropriate person. However, the nominal deadline for completed applications in the first instance will be 31 October 2008, especially as this is the closing date for university scholarships and APAs.
Please discuss your intentions with Professor Peter Marshall or Professor Frank Vanclay early on. In addition to the normal University of Tasmania
(UTAS) application forms, applicants will be requested to write a short
1-2 page proposal to assist in the selection process.

Information about the Rural Social Research Group is available on my website http://www.agsci.utas.edu.au/vanclay.htm