CQUniversity and Life Buoyancy Institute (LBI) Foundation Elevate PhD Scholarship (External)

Status

Closed

Scholarship Value

$45,000 Stipend per year ($135,000 Total)

Length of Scholarship

3 Years / 3 EFTSL

Number Available

1

Funding Type

Research

Do you want to help enhance wellbeing in the youth residential care system? Join a cutting-edge research team at CQUniversity’s Appleton Institute in Adelaide, tackling the challenges facing the youth residential care industry. This fully funded PhD scholarship offers the chance to work alongside leading researchers in residential care, systems thinking, and worker wellbeing at a world-class institute. You will contribute to ensuring that the training Australian residential care workers receive is grounded in evidence and best practice and collaborate with leading industry stakeholders to drive real-world impact in residential care. Your research will develop an evaluation framework that will enable residential care providers to identify and capture key outcome metrics of their involvement in the IMPACT program, with the overall objective of improving staff outcomes and providing evidence-based, supportive care to children and adolescents. The IMPACT Program is a flexible capacity building program that equips and empowers children, adults, families, and communities to understand and intentionally apply the science of wellbeing, intentional practice, trauma, resilience and growth for themselves, and across all supporting relationships. The successful candidate will be part of the vibrant research community at the Appleton Institute, with access to strong academic mentorship, peer support networks, and a collaborative, interdisciplinary research environment.

Eligibility Requirements:

  • Completed a Bachelor’s Degree with Honours I or IIA, a Master’s Degree, or an equivalent qualification, in a relevant field (psychology, social work, public health, etc.).
  • Australian or New Zealand citizen, or permanent resident of Australia.
  • Able to be approved for admission to a Doctor of Philosophy program at CQUniversity.
  • Able to enrol full-time as an internal candidate at CQUniversity’s Adelaide campus.
  • No prior Commonwealth or CQUniversity-funded research scholarship, unless terminated within six months.
  • Not receiving an equivalent award or scholarship that provides more than 75% of the stipend rate.

Desired Skills:

  • Strong writing and communication skills.
  • Interest in or openness to systems thinking, implementation science and/or community capacity building.
  • Excellent planning and organisational skills with the ability to work independently and in a team, meet deadlines, and prioritise tasks.
  • Willingness to travel for data collection or conferences, potentially nationally or internationally.
  • Living in Adelaide or willing to relocate.

Submit your Expression of Interest (EOI) via email to Dr Madeline Sprajcer at m.sprajcer@cqu.edu.au as soon as possible. Please feel free to reach out to Dr Sprajcer if you would like more information. Join our collaborative and innovative research team and contribute to impactful worker wellbeing research!

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by email.

Send a brief CV and a 250-word statement about your interest in the scholarship to m.sprajcer@cqu.edu.au.

In Australia, over 46,000 children are currently in some form of out-of-home care. Most of these children have been removed from their parents or guardians as a result of maltreatment, neglect, or abuse, and approximately 3,000 are living in residential care facilities. Workers who look after children and adolescents in residential care can play a significant role in providing stability, in addition to emotional, practical, and developmental support. However, a range of work-related factors introduce complexity to the role of a residential care worker. These include potential exposure to vicarious trauma, challenging behaviours, high workloads, and shift work. Despite these critical challenges facing residential care workers, there is limited evidence addressing how these workers may best be supported and/or trained.