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Masters Elevate Scholarship - CQUniversity and Whitsunday Regional Council (External)

This scholarship provides a student the opportunity to work with Whitsunday Regional Council (WRC) to develop a Smart Council Strategy (SCS) and design the framework/network structure for deployment over time. A SCS is one of WRC’s priorities under their Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Application Roadmap. The roadmap is part of the Council’s high-level strategy on becoming a Smart Region. Based on analysis, WRC has identified around 100 potential use cases for ICT which need to be further discerned and prioritised as part of the next iteration of their Applications Roadmap and strategic plan. The Council would like a student to assist in refining the list to around 20 priority use cases for potential research engagement and trials and collating a SCS.

The objectives of this study are: a) Development of a Smart Council Strategy and the specific framework/network structure to enable scalable and economic deployment; b) based on the developed framework, identify 20 priority projects to enable hyper-connected communities (“Any device, anywhere, anytime”) for cross-regional collaboration and economies of scale; c) Identify and test specific technologies to benefit cross-council collaboration and identified communities in a smart city setting within the Whitsunday Council Region.

Scholarship Value: $30,000 Stipend p.a. ($60,000 Total) plus additional Project/Travel Support Funds

Length of Scholarship: 2 years

Number Available: 1

Opening Date: 28 July 2022

Closing Date: 30 September 2022

Study LevelPostgraduate (Research)
Year of StudyFuture; First year
CitizenshipPermanent Resident
EthnicityAny
Study RegionAll
Study ModeOn-campus
Study LoadFull time
GenderAny

The successful applicant must:

a) be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or permanent resident of Australia, and

b) Commence in their Research Higher Degree Program in 2022

To be considered for this opportunity, please address the following in your application:

  1. Describe your knowledge and experience in LoRaWAN and NBloT,
  2. Describe your knowledge on specific frameworks or networks used in development of smart city/network/council strategies,
  3. Explain how you see yourself as a team player in a multidisciplinary team,
  4. Confirm if it is easy for you to get to the Whitsundays and if you are willing to travel as required for the study

WRC is part of the Greater Whitsunday Alliance (GW3) of Whitsunday, Isaac and Mackay Councils. The GW3 have a digital roadmap focuses on creating hyper-connected communities. WRC sees opportunity in collaborating with other local governments and GW3 on the Smart Cities journey. This could be an avenue for stronger LGA engagement for CQU students and may provide exposure to a wider range of industry and technology.

WRC have partnerships with Telstra and utilise the NBIoT (Narrow Band) network.  The student will have exposure to these and other technologies and will need to consider economies of scale in purchasing and models for offering ratepayers cost-plus monitoring devices as part of their planning for smart technology adoption (eg. with automation for water quality monitoring in council and private bores). Other use cases for the community may be smart building sensors and tourism monitoring uses.

Applications must include all necessary supporting documents. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Applicants will need to supply the following supporting documentation:

  • Written submission, including response to selection criteria
  • CV
  • Certified copies of any qualifications
  • Transcript

Completed applications can be emailed to Dr Biplob Ray at b.ray@cqu.edu.au. Dr Ray can also be contacted with any queries.

The selected Candidate will be notified via email to their nominated email address.
CQUniversity and Whitsunday Regional Council