We are seeking a PhD candidate to join a multidisciplinary project focused on improving water quality in regional communities through trust-building and collaborative action.
Water quality management is a sensitive issue, intersecting with agricultural productivity, environmental and community health. Yet, progress is often hindered by distrust and fragmented efforts. This project aims to develop approaches that support constructive engagement and shared understanding of water quality risks and opportunities at a landscape level.
Key elements include: (1) investigating drivers and barriers to trust and engagement across places and stakeholder groups; and (2) piloting a collaborative program in selected sites to enhance environmental, social, and economic outcomes.
Living embedded in an agrarian community and working closely with industry partners, the successful candidate will integrate knowledge from natural sciences and social sciences to co-create practical and impactful, locally grounded solutions.
The candidate must be able to grasp system approaches to complex problems and communicate technical concepts, such as pollutant flows and catchment-scale risks, while also working confidently with social science frameworks and methods for effective community engagement, data gathering and analysis.
Candidates with these skills can come from a variety of disciplines, including environmental, sustainability or agricultural science, human geography and community development, project management and public policy, or communication and social marketing.
Supervisor
Associate Professor Petr Matous.
Research location
Synopsis
Offering:
A 3.5 year scholarship with the option of a 6 month-funded internship with an industry partner or equivalent part-time employment. The opportunity provides a stipend of $41,753 (2025 rate) and additional operational costs, in addition to opportunities for travel, including potential international conferences.
Successful candidates:
- Must have a have a Bachelors degree (1st class honours or equivalent) or a Master’s degree
How to apply:
To apply, please email petr.matous@sydney.edu.au the following:
- a detailed CV, including academic qualifications, research experience and publications
- academic transcripts
Want to find out more?
- Interested in this opportunity? Want to know what to do next? Find out all you need to know about the application process including how to approach a potential supervisor via email and how to develop a research proposal.
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- Contact us to find out what’s involved in applying for a PhD. Domestic students and international students.
Opportunity ID
The opportunity ID for this research opportunity is 3706
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