Research thesis topics
Health
Description: Vision-based biometrics and biomarkers are known to be robust and personalized indices of human performance and in the near future may be deployed to improve healthy and safety, or to monitor health and disease. However, multimodal indices that are sensitive and specific across a number of domains are yet to be developed. This project will draw heavily from the fields of vision science, cognition, and computer science to develop and validate robust ocular biomarkers of human performance deficits linked to fatigue, sleepiness, ageing, and state and trait factors. This project suits someone with a strong computational ability (e.g., background in computer science or neuroscience, good knowledge of Python/Matlab/C or similar programming language) with a strong interest in biomedical and biomarker device development.
Principal supervisor: Daniel Joyce
Principal supervisor email: Daniel.Joyce@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
- Master of Research (MRES)
- Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
- Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 11/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description: Sensory physiology is tuned to the statistical properties of the environments in which we evolved. Neuroplastic mechanisms further adapt us to the individual visual ‘colour diet’ that we consume. Sampling environmental colour is therefore an important but logistically challenging task. Satellite and remote sensing imagery is uniquely suited to sampling colour over large spatial and temporal scales. This project will analyse earth environments at scale to measure the cyclical nature of our colour and light environments, the limits of their encoding by the brain, and relations to mental and physical health and/or performance outcomes. This project suits someone with a strong computational ability (e.g., background in computer science or neuroscience) or with GIS experience.
Principal supervisor: Daniel Joyce
Principal supervisor email: Daniel.Joyce@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
- Master of Research (MRES)
- Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
- Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 11/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
The future of healthcare is shifting rapidly—from one-size-fits-all treatment to truly personalised, data-driven care. This research project invites students to be part of that transformation by developing intelligent systems that can predict diseases before they happen and assist clinicians with tailored treatment decisions.
Built on the foundations of P4 Medicine—Predictive, Preventative, Personalised, and Participatory—this project leverages advances in machine learning, knowledge engineering, and health informatics to build smart tools that support early diagnosis and precision care. You’ll work with large-scale, diverse biomedical data to train models that understand patient-specific risk factors, flag potential health issues, and recommend treatments grounded in real evidence—not just clinical intuition.
By blending artificial intelligence with real-world health data, this research will contribute to the next generation of clinical decision support systems—offering physicians and patients the tools they need to make better, faster, and more personalised choices. If you're excited about using AI to save lives and revolutionise healthcare delivery, this is your opportunity to make a real impact.
Principal supervisor: Xiaohui Tao
Principal supervisor email: Xiaohui.Tao@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 12/06/2025
Application closing date: 30/06/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information. Prior study outcomes can be found on:
* A survey of multimodal information fusion for smart healthcare: Mapping the journey from data to wisdom: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inffus.2023.102040
* Interrelated feature selection from health surveys using domain knowledge graph: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13755-023-00254-7
* Mining health knowledge graph for health risk prediction: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11280-020-00810-1
Description:
In recent years, there has been a growing concern about mental health, particularly with depression emerging as a significant threat among children and adolescents in Australia. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2022), nearly one in seven children and adolescents aged 4 to 17 years is estimated to have experienced a mental illness, making it the second leading contributor (24%) to Australia's non-fatal disease burden.
This study will utilize data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), which is a representative household study. LSAC collected comprehensive information on children, parents, and caregivers, including their health, socioeconomic status, and demographic characteristics. The study commenced in 2004 and consists of two cohorts: Cohort B, which includes children observed from under the age of two, and Cohort K, comprising children followed from the age of 4 or 5. The analysis will encompass all available waves of data, enabling a thorough examination of mental health disorders over time.
The research project involves conducting experiments using the Python 3.7.3 sci-kit-learn package. Various machine learning algorithms will be employed to develop AI models, which will then be evaluated based on their performance. The model with the highest performance will be selected. This process will be repeated for each mental disorder and wave, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of the data.
The developed algorithms will be integrated into a user-friendly web application using Streamlit, a powerful tool for creating interactive data science applications. This application can be designed as a single app or as age-specific apps to detect specific mental disorders based on observed signs, symptoms, and other characteristics. Additionally, the software will provide forecasts of the likelihood of developing specific mental disorders at different ages.
Principal supervisor: Enamul Kabir
Principal supervisor email: Enamul.Kabir@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 05/06/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Mental health conditions often go undetected until they reach critical stages, leaving individuals without timely support or intervention. This project aims to address this challenge through the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and brain informatics to enable precision psychiatry—personalised, data-driven mental healthcare tailored to individual needs. The proposed research will develop advanced computational models to analyse behavioural, linguistic, and neurological signals associated with mental health status. Leveraging state-of-the-art natural language processing and machine learning techniques, the project will mine online and multimodal data to detect early indicators of mental distress. Outlier detection and anomaly mining algorithms will be applied to identify individuals at risk, while preserving user privacy and ethical standards.
The research will contribute theoretically to our understanding of mental health from a computational perspective, and methodologically to the fields of AI, brain informatics, knowledge engineering, and data science. Ultimately, this work aspires to support a shift toward precision psychiatry—transforming mental healthcare through proactive, personalised, and technology-enhanced approaches.
Principal supervisor: Xiaohui Tao
Principal supervisor email: Xiaohui.Tao@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 12/06/2025
Application closing date: 30/06/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information. Prior study results can be found on:
* Deep learning and machine learning in psychiatry: a survey of current progress in depression detection, diagnosis and treatment: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40708-023-00188-6
* Identifying predictive biomarkers for repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation response in depression patients with explainability: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2023.107771
* A novel genetic algorithm based system for the scheduling of medical treatments: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2021.116464
Description:
This research endeavour aims to explore into the intricate clustering of various maternal factors, encompassing aspects such as maternal health conditions, lifestyle patterns, and sociodemographic characteristics. These factors will be examined alongside early childhood health indicators, with a specific focus on their potential associations with mental health issues and obesity during later stages of life. By harnessing the rich dataset available through the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), the project endeavours to unravel the complex interplay between these factors and their cumulative impact on the health outcomes of children and adolescents.
In essence, this multidimensional investigation endeavours to shed light on the complex interplay between maternal factors, early childhood health indicators, and subsequent health outcomes, with the overarching goal of fostering a deeper understanding of the determinants of mental health and obesity in young individuals. Through rigorous analysis and insightful interpretation of LSAC data, the project aims to contribute valuable insights to the field of public health and pave the way for evidence-based interventions tailored to mitigate the impact of adverse health outcomes on the younger generation.
Principal supervisor: Enamul Kabir
Principal supervisor email: Enamul.Kabir@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 05/06/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
The health and well-being of children and adolescents, especially within Indigenous communities, are focal points for public health researchers. Despite extensive efforts to understand health determinants, there's a critical gap in adequately incorporating Indigenous populations into comprehensive analyses. This research aims to address this gap by utilizing the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC) dataset to predict health-related outcomes among Indigenous children, including infants, adolescents, and their primary carers.
Principal supervisor: Enamul Kabir
Principal supervisor email: Enamul.Kabir@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 05/06/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Lifestyle behaviours have predominantly been scrutinised in developed countries, often focusing on privileged cohorts that willingly participate in studies. Notably, participants in the UK Biobank are deemed healthier than the general population, introducing selection bias and distorting findings. Women, girls, and older women from low socio-economic backgrounds encounter diverse health challenges, and their lifestyle behaviours could play a crucial role in achieving better health outcomes.
This project centres on utilising cohorts from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH), with a specific emphasis on women and girls from low socio-economic backgrounds and older women with limited financial assets. The objective is to explore how lifestyle factors influence the cardiometabolic health of women from low socio-economic backgrounds compared to others.
The intention is to utilize all available ALSWH surveys, including the 1989-95, 1973-78 Cohort Surveys, MatCH (Mothers and their Children’s Health) Survey, and the 1946-51 and 1921-26 Cohort Surveys. This study is pivotal as limited research has been conducted on these specific cohorts, addressing their health outcomes within the context of lifestyle factors, socio-economic background, and health vulnerabilities. The anticipated outcomes will yield a comprehensive understanding of vulnerabilities among these cohorts, paving the way for exploring potential strategies to address these health issues.
Principal supervisor: Enamul Kabir
Principal supervisor email: Enamul.Kabir@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 05/06/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
This research aims to develop a comprehensive and intelligent medical imaging analysis framework. The following specific objectives guide the project:
• Develop an AI pipeline integrating segmentation, feature extraction, and graph construction from 2D/3D medical images.
• Implement and compare deep learning architectures for medical image classification, including CNNs, attention-based models, transformers, Graph Neural Networks (GNNs), and Graph Attention Networks (GATs).
• Explore the integration of quantum layers within the graph-based model to improve expressiveness and classification performance.
Principal supervisor: Shahab Abdulla
Principal supervisor email: Shahab.Abdulla@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 09/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description: New developments in sensory neuroscience have revealed specialized pathways that detect light to set how we think, feel, and act. Using novel lighting technology and computational methods, this project will measure how these attributes can be altered using targeted lighting interventions. This research will help transition lighting from a tool to a healthcare instrument and will ultimately support the health of disadvantaged and regional Australians.
Principal supervisor: Daniel Joyce
Principal supervisor email: Daniel.Joyce@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 11/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Currently, destructive behaviour among adolescents is a significant concern for both parents and communities. Recent studies indicate a rise in destructive behaviours across different states of Australia. The project's objective is to leverage the Young Minds Matter (YMM) and Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) to determine the demographic, mental health, and other relevant factors associated with predicting risky behaviours among adolescents aged 13 and above. Utilizing machine learning algorithms, the project aims to pinpoint the significant features correlated with risky behaviour. Additionally, the study endeavours to develop a user-friendly framework for a web-based online system designed to detect risky behaviour in young individuals. This tool will enable parents to identify potential risky behaviours in their children by recognizing signs and symptoms.
Principal supervisor: Enamul Kabir
Principal supervisor email: Enamul.Kabir@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 05/06/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
The research aims to address critical challenges in ensuring the security and resilience of health data in cloud environments by focusing on quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms. The key aims of the project are:
1. To develop new cryptographic algorithms that are resistant to attacks from quantum computers, with a focus on healthcare applications.
2. To evaluate and benchmark the performance and security of both new and existing quantum-resistant cryptographic schemes, specifically in health cloud systems.
3. To identify and address the practical implementation challenges of integrating quantum-resistant cryptography into existing healthcare data systems and cloud platforms.
4. To contribute to global efforts in the standardization of quantum-resistant cryptographic protocols, providing both empirical data and theoretical analysis for future secure communication systems.
Principal supervisor: Shahab Abdulla
Principal supervisor email: Shahab.Abdulla@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 09/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), healthcare is experiencing significant transformation, especially in patient monitoring systems that offer real-time health care. This research represents a cutting-edge study on AI's role in these systems, highlighting advancements in federated learning, reinforcement learning, and the novel area of machine unlearning across settings like remote patient monitoring and mental health facilities. Findings underscore the power of AI in early anomaly detection and the innovative FedStack architecture's ability to provide individual insights. As the research tackles machine unlearning for data privacy, it acknowledges challenges in data scale and explainability, suggesting areas for future exploration. Overall, this research will showcases AI's potential to reshape healthcare, emphasising its future prominence in patient care enhancement.
Principal supervisor: Xiaohui Tao
Principal supervisor email: Xiaohui.Tao@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 12/06/2025
Application closing date: 30/06/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information. Prior study on this research can be found on:
* Remote patient monitoring using artificial intelligence: Current state, applications, and challenges: https://doi.org/10.1002/widm.1485
* A survey of multimodal information fusion for smart healthcare: Mapping the journey from data to wisdom: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inffus.2023.102040
* Exploring the Landscape of Machine Unlearning: A Comprehensive Survey and Taxonomy: https://doi.org/10.1109/TNNLS.2024.3486109
* FRAMU: Attention-Based Machine Unlearning Using Federated Reinforcement Learning: https://doi.org/10.1109/TKDE.2024.3382726
Agriculture and Environment
Description:
Fire is a key driver of ecological dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems. As such, understanding the effects of fire (and particularly different fire regimes) on ecosystem dynamics above and below ground is critical to ecosystem management. Fire has been used for millennia by Indigenous Australians for wildfire reduction and as part of caring for Country More recently, with colonization, we have seen significant shifts in the way we use fire to manage bushfire risk. The aim of this research will be to improve our understanding of vegetation and soil fungal community responses to different burning regimes in native savanna communities in the Brigalow Belt bioregion of Queensland and northern NSW.
Principal supervisor: Kathryn Reardon-Smith
Principal supervisor email: Kathryn.Reardon-Smith@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 13/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: This is an open call for candidates who may wish to conduct research in this area. We welcome all enquiries. Please contact Kate Reardon-Smith or Christina Birnbaum.
Description:
The rapid convergence of 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies is transforming the landscape of smart environments—ranging from homes and cities to healthcare and industrial systems. With this transformation comes a pressing need to address emerging privacy concerns stemming from the pervasive use of interconnected smart devices.
This research project explores innovative privacy preservation protocols tailored for IoT ecosystems. It will investigate the depth and diversity of smart device usage across common domains and identify vulnerabilities introduced by the enhanced connectivity and data throughput enabled by advanced networking technologies. Leveraging artificial intelligence, the project aims to develop intelligent, ontology-driven frameworks and tools that support dynamic, context-aware privacy mechanisms.
Expected outcomes include the construction of AI-powered tools and testing environments, the creation of a comprehensive knowledge base to guide future privacy research, and the establishment of inter-university collaboration networks. The project offers HDR students a unique opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research at the intersection of cybersecurity, AI, and next-generation communications.
Principal supervisor: Xiaohui Tao
Principal supervisor email: Xiaohui.Tao@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 12/06/2025
Application closing date: 30/06/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information. Prior studies can be found at:
* Exploring Causal Learning Through Graph Neural Networks: An In-Depth Review: https://doi.org/10.1002/widm.70024
* Causal integration in graph neural networks toward enhanced classification: benchmarking and advancements for robust performance: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11280-025-01343-1
* HebCGNN: Hebbian-enabled causal classification integrating dynamic impact valuing: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.knosys.2025.113094
Description:
This project aims to build a robust AI model using remote sensing indices and weather data to predict wheat yields in Australia. The outcome will support precision agriculture and early decision-making for farmers and policymakers.
Principal supervisor: Nawin Raj
Principal supervisor email: Nawin.Raj@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 04/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
A leading expert in Applied Economics, Prof Rahman's research interests include Environmental Economics, Energy Economics, Development Economics, Health Economics, International Economics, and Housing Economics. His dedication to scholarly endeavours is evident through an impressive publication record, comprising 251 works, among which 190 are peer-reviewed journal articles, with a significant number featured in top-quartile/Q1 SJR journals. He has also authored 44 conference proceedings, a scholarly book, a book chapter, and six reports, often taking the lead authorship.
Prof Rahman successfully supervised 17 doctoral students to completion at 91原创, and mentored and supported new academics, early and mid-career researchers, including a post-doctoral research fellow. He is also the recipient of the 91原创-School of Business Supervision Award 2024. Currently, he is actively supervising five PhD students and welcomes prospective PhD students who possess analytical skills and have publication experience in his areas of interest.
Principal supervisor: Mafiz Rahman
Principal supervisor email: Mafiz.Rahman@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 30/06/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Fungi and yeasts have many applications in drug production, food processing, fermentation (beer, wine and bread), biological control agents, and enzyme technology. However indigenous Australian fungi have rarely been considered or applied to industrial applications.
The aim of this project is to collect, identify and classify Australian fungi and yeasts that may be screened for their potential use in novel industrial applications. The number of known species of yeasts worldwide has doubled in the past decade as gene sequences now allow the easy and rapid identification of species. Yeasts will be isolated from leaf surfaces from a range of locations and plant species. These isolates will be grown in pure culture and identified using phylogenetic analysis of gene sequences. Novel species will be formally described in the scientific literature.
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Extreme events cause widespread environmental and agricultural damage in Australia, and improved prediction of their intensity can significantly mitigate impacts. This project will integrate historical data with atmospheric and oceanic parameters using machine learning models to provide accurate and reliable forecasting.
Principal supervisor: Nawin Raj
Principal supervisor email: Nawin.Raj@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 04/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Coastal zones and Wetlands provide critical ecosystem services, but are under increasing threat from urban expansion, agriculture, and climate change. This project will develop a deep learning model using Landsat and Sentinel satellite imagery to detect and predict wetland degradation in coastal Queensland. The results will help inform conservation strategies and policy decisions.
Principal supervisor: Nawin Raj
Principal supervisor email: Nawin.Raj@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 04/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Using Satellite imagery, this project applies machine learning and change detection techniques to identify patterns of climate-induced landcover change in Australia. The model will be validated with ESA WorldCover and ground truth datasets.
Principal supervisor: Nawin Raj
Principal supervisor email: Nawin.Raj@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 04/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Geotechnical engineers frequently face substantial uncertainty when designing the stability of soil structures, such as retaining walls, foundations, and slopes. These uncertainties arise due to the inherent variability of soil properties, measurement errors, and the limitations of available data. Traditional deterministic approaches, which replace design parameters with single mean values, may oversimplify the complexity of soil behavior and fail to capture the full spectrum of potential outcomes.
To address these challenges, Monte Carlo Simulations (MCS) provide a robust alternative by incorporating probabilistic methods to account for parametric uncertainty. Through repeated random sampling and statistical modeling, MCS can evaluate the impact of variable soil properties on the stability of geotechnical structures. This enables engineers to predict a range of possible outcomes and assess their likelihood, thereby facilitating more informed design decisions.
This study aims to provide a comprehensive probabilistic framework for analyzing the stability of spatially variable soils. By integrating stochastic methods and finite element limit analysis, the proposed approach considers the heterogeneity and anisotropy of soil properties, offering deeper insights into failure mechanisms and safety margins. Probabilistic stability results are compared with those published in renown literature, and comprehensive sets of design contour charts to determine the probability of design failure (PF) are developed for a practical range of deterministic factors of safety. The extensive results reported in this study would be of great interest to engineering practitioners since the framework aims to improve risk assessment, optimize design strategies, and enhance decision-making under uncertainty in geotechnical engineering practice.
Principal supervisor: Jim Shiau
Principal supervisor email: Jim.Shiau@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 30/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Natural ecosystems play a key role in supporting agricultural production systems through a range of ecosystem services, including carbon storage, soil health, hydrological function (e.g., water infiltration, flood mitigation), and pest and pollination services. Research undertaken to date in cropping landscapes has increased our understanding of the contribution that natural ecosystems on and around farms make in providing these important services. It has identified and quantified individual services and investigated best management practises to enhance their value. However, rarely does this research focus on the flow of services (and dis-services) between agricultural and natural elements within landscapes or the increased resilience that ecological theory predicts will ensue from integrated management of agri-ecological landscapes. Decision making (from farm level to industry and policy level) in the face of projected increases in climate variability and growing pressure on the natural resource base is also increasingly complex and subject to significant uncertainty (e.g. Brady et al., 2012, 2019).
This research will investigate the interactions between natural environments and crop production systems in agricultural landscapes and develop an integrated systems framework to support decisions aimed at enhancing both environmental and agricultural productivity outcomes at a range of scales from property to landscape level under a range of probable climate and land use/land cover futures.
Principal supervisor: Kathryn Reardon-Smith
Principal supervisor email: Kathryn.Reardon-Smith@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 13/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Potential research students interested in developing a project proposal in this field are invited to contact us to discuss their ideas.
Description:
Anaerobic digestion is a complex multi-stage bioprocess involving various types of bacteria and methanogens for the conversion of organics to methane gas which can be harvested for clean energy production. Some recent evidence showed that the addition of some nanoparticles had positive impacts on some microbial communities which resulted in increased methane production during anaerobic digestion, but very little is known about how this happens and why. We have a gas chromatograph to analyze methane, HPLC to analyze various intermediates and a gas chromatograph coupled with mass spectrometry available in our laboratories to carry out this research.
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Microplastics and nanoplastics are now everywhere. This research project will investigate a novel process for removing these pollutants from water using electrochemical oxidation and adsorbents such as biochar, graphite, graphene and carbon nanotubes. The laboratory on Toowoomba campus has a wide range of analytical equipment including Total Organic Carbon Analyzer that can be used in this research.
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
In this project, we will investigate the production of enzymes from organic waste such as food waste using a filamentous fungi. Tests will involve the fermentation in liquid or solid state cultures in our laboratory. The mixture of enzymes will be evaluated for their efficiency to hydrolyze organic waste and sludge which will improve current processes.
We have all the equipment and resources to carry out this research including: autoclave, 5L Sartorius automated fermenter, GC for gas analysis and HPLC for analysis of chemicals in the fermentation broth.
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Sea level rise poses a significant risk to coastal communities. This project will use historical tide gauge, meteorological, and oceanographic data to forecast sea level trends using advanced hybrid deep learning models with signal decomposition techniques.
Principal supervisor: Nawin Raj
Principal supervisor email: Nawin.Raj@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 04/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
This project aims to investigate the combination of the anaerobic baffled reactor and the submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor to treat domestic wastewater. By combining both types of reactors and their advantages it is expected that synergistic effects would result in better performance and concurrent energy production. The project aims to investigate and compare the use of microfiltration membrane and forward osmosis membrane.
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Agricultural environments are generally large and have unpredictable ground surfaces. As such, mobile robots have great difficulty in navigating and localising in such environments. However, these environments also have many properties that are ideal for navigation, such as their uniformity and structure. This research attempts to trade off such advantages to create a robust mobile robot that can operate in agricultural environments. Students will require skills in field work robotics, sensor technologies, and computer algorithms.
Principal supervisor: Tobias Low
Principal supervisor email: Tobias.Low@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 06/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of organic compounds of widespread presence in the environment. They are recalcitrant, ubiquitous, prompt to bioaccumulation, and potentially carcinogenic. Effluent for Wastewater treatment plant (WWTPs) constitute a major source of PFAS into water bodies and their presence should be closely monitored, especially considering the increasing applications of potable and non-potable reuse of treated wastewater worldwide. Modelling PFASs’ fate and distribution in WWTPs is a valuable tool to overcome the complexity and cost of monitoring and quantifying PFAS. In this project, the PhD candidate will build a mechanistic model to evaluate the fate of PFAS in both water and sludge lines of a local WWTP.
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are present in househould products and foam that were used in Australia for several decades. Several cases of contamination were recently reported in the news. Some firefighting foams contain two PFAS – perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) – that improve the ability of the foam to smother fire. These chemicals will persist in the environment due to their non-biodegradability. This project will look at a novel electro-chemical process to oxidize and breakdown these compounds. Adsorption of PFAS will take place using graphite flakes and regeneration of graphite will take using low electrical current.
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Food waste is a problem worldwide due to the volume generated by rich countries and the environmental threat that it represents. Food waste has a strong potential to be transformed into valuable by-products. This research will investigate the hydrolysis of food waste to generate a novel fermentation medium containing sugars, amino acids and essential minerals. Sugars can then be converted by fermentation to biofuels (bioethanol, biodiesel or biogas) or platform chemicals (succinic acid, lactic acid and many others).
We have all the equipment and resources to carry out this research including: autoclave, 5L Sartorius automated fermenter, GC for gas analysis and HPLC for analysis of chemicals in the fermentation broth.
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Sinkholes can be formed by human activities such as underground mining, tunnelling, and underground utilities pipes in urban areas. Occurrence of sinkhole and roadway depressions can result in serious issues such as lane and road closures, disruptions to the public’s usual way of life, and loss of assets and human lives.
On 11th February 2020, burst water main on Ann Street in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley is causing significant peak hour traffic delays, and on 14th June 2021, a fire truck has become stuck in a sinkhole on Juliette Street in Greenslopes after the road caved in. These two recent events highlight the importance of sinkhole detection, analysis, and repair.
This project aims to achieve the following objectives:
• To explore the feasibility of developing a portable drone mounted GPR based experimental study.
• To develop advanced numerical models for analysis of the sinkhole problem.
• To develop sinkhole repair design: Using the advanced numerical analysis, several sinkhole repair design options will be proposed, and a design recommendation be developed for practical uses.
Principal supervisor: Jim Shiau
Principal supervisor email: Jim.Shiau@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 30/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Succinic acid is a significant, small chemical building block or platform chemical used in the manufacture of polymers, resins, food and pharmaceuticals, among other products. Fossil fuel-derived succinic acid was considered a speciality chemical, but as a result of price competiveness and renewable feedstocks, bio-based succinic acid is now addressing a larger volume commodity market. The global succinic acid market is about 90,000 tpa, of which two thirds is expected to be produced from renewable feedstocks. Demand for bio-succinic acid, driven by applications such as intermediates, solvents, polyurethanes, and plasticizers and coatings, is anticipated to grow strongly. The addressable market for bio-succinic acid could be worth up to US$7.5 billion in new and existing applications, and production capacity has been expanding from 3,000 tpa in 2011 to 50,000 tpa in 2013. This project will investigate the production of succinic acid from local food waste and agri-resources which can reduce national dependence on imported petrochemical energy and plastics, as well as stimulate regional economies.
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
This area explores the environmental and economic performance of agri-forestry value chains with a focus on carbon, water and energy. Potential PhD topics include: (1) Green Value Chain Analysis, assessing emissions, water use and energy flows across key stages to identify sustainability opportunities; (2) Climate-Smart and Resource-Efficient Chains, examining how low-carbon practices and clean technologies improve resilience and market access; and (3) Comparative Analysis of Traditional vs. Commercial Crops, exploring how smallholders can upgrade and benefit within diverse value chains.
Principal supervisor: Tek Maraseni
Principal supervisor email: Tek.Maraseni@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 19/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/08/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information. Also accepting applications in three more areas:
1. Examination of community-based forest management systems
2. Various aspects of carbon trading, REDD+ and carbon farming initiatives
3. Assessing the economic value of ecosystem services
Space and Defence
Description:
Traditionally, autonomous mobile robots utilise active-based sensors such as laser and sonar system for obstacle detection and avoidance. However, many mobile robots are incorporating vision systems for more complex tasks in image recognition and localisation. Visual information obtained from a camera image, and moreover multiple camera images can theoretically provide (under certain conditions) complete 3D structure of a scene. This ultimately makes active sensors redundant, an observation also evident in biological animals. This project looks to develop a visual-based technique for the task for autonomous robots. Students should have skills and interest in developing and implementing computer-vision algorithms, alongside developing control aspects of the mobile robot platform, such as a quadcopter, or ground-based mobile robot, or even a walking robot Spot Mini.
Principal supervisor: Tobias Low
Principal supervisor email: Tobias.Low@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
- Master of Research (MRES)
- Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 06/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
This project aims to develop high-performance germanium telluride-based thermoelectric materials by microstructure engineering and band engineering, which will accelerate the drive for eco-friendly energy technology. The outcomes can result in innovative strategies for maximising thermoelectric performance in broader materials and lead to significant progress in knowledge of materials science, solid-state physics, and chemical science. Thermoelectric devices assembled from as-obtained high-efficiency materials can be used for recovering waste-heat in mining industries and harvesting the waste-heat from engines to improve fuel consumption efficiency, which will strategically boost Australia's energy industry, environment, and economy.
Principal supervisor: Min Hong
Principal supervisor email: Min.Hong@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 30/06/2025
Application closing date: 12/08/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes.ARC DECRA Project PhD Scholarship as part of this award.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
This project aims to develop electrochemical conversion technologies to convert carbon dioxide into global needed chemicals. It targets the bottleneck issues in managing the gas-liquid-solid reaction sites and improving the conversion efficiency of reactor, through the synthesis of advanced electrode materials, understanding of mass transfer and the engineering design of a reactor. The project expects to develop new electrochemical catalysts, to optimise the structure of electrodes and ultimately improve carbon dioxide conversion efficiency and reaction selectivity. The expected outcomes of this project will provide an efficient and economically viable electrochemical technology to convert carbon dioxide to a valuable product such as formic acid or syngas, with the potential to significantly reduce the emission of carbon dioxide from steel-making processes and coal-fired power plants.
Principal supervisor: Lei Ge
Principal supervisor email: Lei.Ge@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 30/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Regional Development
Description:
Contemporary educators require professional knowledge and skills for teaching children from diverse cultures, languages and backgrounds. Researchers in multicultural and intercultural education explore ideas for improving educational equity, cultural understanding and critical consciousness. Topics include migrant and refugee education, teaching Pasifika students, intercultural communication, language teaching and learning and teacher professional development in these areas.
Principal supervisor: Eseta Tualaulelei
Principal supervisor email: Eseta.Tualaulelei@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 01/07/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information. Applicants should have a background in the field of education and previous research experience (Honours/Master's).
Pragmatic and qualitative methodologies are encouraged including, but not limited to:
- action research
- participatory action research
- critical ethnography
- culturally-based research approaches and methods (Kakala, Talanoa, Yarning, etc.)
Description:
In recent years, the far right has become a resurgent force across the globe. Australia has a long history of fascist and far-right groups. This research aims to examine this history of fascism in Australia. Research may relate to how groups have attempted to situate themselves within the wider settler colonial political landscape and/or how groups have linked into globalised anti-communist and white supremacist networks. Grounded in historical research and based on the analysis of primary sources in traditional and digital archives, there is scope to develop the research from specific vantage points based on individual access to archival materials.
Principal supervisor: Jayne Persian
Principal supervisor email: Jayne.Persian@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 05/06/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
There are significant amounts of organic waste being produced by farmers in the Toowoomba and Lockyer valley regions of Queensland. A central facility would create a huge opportunity to capitalize on these resources for the production on energy in the form of heat and/or electricity for the community. This topic will explore the co-digestion of organic waste to ensure a smooth process while optimizing the production of biogas and methane. Our laboratory has all the equipment required including: COD, BOD, GC-TCD, GC-MS, Biochemical methane potential tests, TOC and TN analyzer, AAS for heavy metals analysis and digesters (5 L CSTR, 2L UASB and 10L Anaerobic baffled reactor).
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
As AI tools generate essays, responses, and feedback in seconds, what happens to authenticity in school-based assessment?
This PhD project explores how teachers, students, and schools are redefining academic integrity in an era of generative AI. It investigates shifting expectations, practical challenges, and the ethics of learning when boundaries between original work and machine assistance are increasingly blurred.
The study could include interviews with teachers and leaders, analysis of school policies, or case studies of AI-integrated assessment tasks. It offers opportunities to examine equity, trust, and judgement at the heart of evolving assessment practices.
Ideal for candidates passionate about educational justice, ethical innovation, or policy development, this project contributes to both research and practice in one of the most pressing issues facing education systems today.
Principal supervisor: Nicole Brownlie
Principal supervisor email: Nicole.Brownlie@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 23/06/2025
Application closing date: 30/04/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
AI tools can now draft feedback, rewrite rubrics, and generate assessment ideas in seconds—but what happens to teacher judgement in the process?
This project explores how teachers are using AI in school-based assessment: when it helps, when it hinders, and how they draw the line. You’ll investigate how teachers balance innovation with integrity, and how they protect what’s most human about teaching—relationships, ethics, and responsiveness.
Using qualitative methods like interviews or small case studies, you’ll have the freedom to focus on feedback, task design, or reporting—whatever aspect of AI-supported assessment interests you most. This is your chance to contribute to a fast-moving conversation about technology, trust, and professionalism in education.
Perfect for those passionate about educational change, teacher voice, and what it means to teach well in an AI age.
Principal supervisor: Nicole Brownlie
Principal supervisor email: Nicole.Brownlie@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
Application open date: 23/06/2025
Application closing date: 30/11/2025
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
For decades, landfilling has been the preferred method for disposing of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in Australia. While the management is kept at low cost, the way we treat our waste is not sustainable due to increasing fees and increasing amount of waste despite recycling strategies in place. Landfills contribute to air, soil and water pollution while space is becoming scarcer to build new landfill sites. Waste buried in landfill still has a calorific value which represent an untapped resource and commercial opportunity while cleaning our environment and rehabilitating landfill sites at the same time. This multidisciplinary project involves an external company and the research using state-of-the-art facilities at Toowoomba and Springfield campus will assist to develop a small scale commercial process to turn waste into electricity.
Principal supervisor: Antoine.Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
What does “future-ready assessment” look like in an AI world—and who gets to design it?
This PhD project invites you to work collaboratively with teachers, school leaders, or pre-service educators to co-design assessment tasks that responsibly integrate AI. It explores how we can maintain rigour, relevance, and relationality while embracing the possibilities of automation and augmentation.
Using participatory design or design-based research, you’ll investigate how ethical, flexible, and inclusive assessment can be built with—not just for—educators and learners. The project has potential to generate practical tools, frameworks, and policy guidance, with direct impact on curriculum and teacher education.
Perfect for someone interested in assessment reform, digital pedagogies, or practice-based innovation, this project contributes to reshaping how we assess learning in a rapidly changing world.
Principal supervisor: Nicole Brownlie
Principal supervisor email: Nicole.Brownlie@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 23/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/08/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
What happens to teacher judgement when AI begins generating feedback, designing tasks, or writing reports? This project invites you to investigate ethical augmentation—the idea that AI should enhance, not replace, human expertise in education.
You’ll explore how teachers navigate the use of AI in school-based assessment, and what it means to act ethically in this emerging space. Questions of workload, professional identity, responsibility, and relational practice sit at the heart of this study.
There’s scope to shape the project to your interests—whether that’s through qualitative research, case studies, or participatory design. The work is highly relevant to teachers, policy-makers, and systems grappling with rapid technological change.
This is a chance to contribute to the future of ethical, values-led innovation in education—by putting teacher voice and judgement at the centre of the conversation.
Principal supervisor: Nicole Brownlie
Principal supervisor email: Nicole.Brownlie@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 23/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2025
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Natural gas, made up mostly of methane (CH鈧�), is a key energy source and a raw material for many industries. It is valued for its relatively low carbon footprint. However, before natural gas can be used, impurities such as carbon dioxide (CO鈧�) must be removed. If left untreated, CO鈧� can cause corrosion in pipelines and reduce the efficiency of the gas. Traditionally, amine absorption has been the primary method for CO鈧� removal due to its high selectivity. However, this technology has significant drawbacks, including high energy consumption, large equipment size, and environmental concerns.
Membrane-based technology has emerged as a promising alternative to amine-based systems due to its energy efficiency, flexible design, smaller operational footprint, and eco-friendliness. Despite these advantages, current organic polymer membranes face a fundamental trade-off between permeability and selectivity, while inorganic membranes suffer from scalability and cost challenges.
To overcome these limitations, hybrid membranes, known as Mixed Matrix Membranes (MMMs), have been developed. MMMs consist of a dispersed molecular sieving phase (filler particles) embedded in a continuous polymer matrix, combining the strengths of both materials. Various fillers, such as zeolites, mesoporous silicas, activated carbons, carbon nanotubes, and Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), have been incorporated into polymers to enhance separation performance. Among these, MOFs stand out due to their tunable porosity, high surface area, and compatibility with polymers, attributed to their organic moieties integrated into the linkers.
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
AI tools promise faster, more personalised feedback—but are they delivering on that promise in real classrooms?
This project explores how teachers are using AI to support (or reshape) the way they give feedback to students. You’ll investigate the opportunities, tensions, and workarounds that emerge when technology meets the deeply relational act of responding to student learning.
This research might focus on teacher perceptions, student reactions, or the impact of AI-assisted feedback on workload and wellbeing. You’ll design and shape the study using qualitative methods such as interviews, feedback artefact analysis, or reflective journaling.
Perfect for educators or future researchers interested in the intersection of innovation, ethics, and teacher voice. This project contributes to a growing field focused on supporting teachers to use AI in ways that are effective, equitable, and sustainable.
Principal supervisor: Nicole Brownlie
Principal supervisor email: Nicole.Brownlie@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
Application open date: 23/06/2025
Application closing date: 30/11/2025
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
The significance of this research lies in its comprehensiveness to address several sustainability issues by aligning with sustainable development goals (SDGs) particularly Responsible Consumption and production (SDG 12), Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7) and Climate Action (SDG 13). In this way, this study promotes resource efficiency, reduction of carbon emissions and renewable alternatives to fossil fuels consumption. By addressing these aspects and this study will contribute to establishing HTC as sustainable and feasible food waste management strategy.
The research findings regarding HTC biofertilizer will demonstrate its ability to boost soil fertility while supporting sustainable agricultural practices. The environmental assessment will evaluate HTC effects together with its contribution to mitigating climate change. The economic feasibility analysis will serve as a foundation for decision-making by food waste management policy makers and industry stakeholders when implementing HTC technology into their systems. The research will examine HTC technology through detailed assessments of the technical, economic and environmental elements to fill existing knowledge gaps. The research will lead to major implications for waste management practitioners and researchers and policymakers through its successful demonstration of HTC scalability and sustainability as a waste recycling method.
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Typical supernatant from anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge and primary sludge contains 100-200 mg/L COD, 300-400 mg/L ammonia and 80-100 mg/L phosphorus. After dewatering, this supernatant is normally recycled to the head of the wastewater treatment plant which puts an additional load on the waste activated sludge process. An alternative to this is to concentrate the supernatant using forward osmosis membrane which is a natural process requiring no energy input. An increase in concentration of soluble ammonia and phosphorus by a factor of 10 will facilitate without any doubts their recovery via precipitation as struvite or apatite. Recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus as solid fertilizer is a great concern worldwide as these elements are highly valuable in agriculture.
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
One of the problems faced by the wine industry is the high sugar content of grapes which results in excessive ethanol content in wines. There is currently an increasing demand for low and non-alcoholic beverages for several reasons, one of which is health. It has become very common to obtain grapes with high sugar content which results in excess ethanol content in wine. One of the solutions is to dilute grapes and juice with water, but the problem is the added cost of water and potentially dilution of essential wine flavours and aroma. It is therefore important to develop novel and environmentally friendly approaches to reduce the sugar content prior to ethanol fermentation. One of the key challenges is to find ways to decrease the sugar concentration so that the final ethanol content is lower. There is also a push to develop premium new products such as no ethanol or low ethanol wines (also known as NoLo wines). This is important because currently, there is no way to reduce the sugar content, apart from harvesting the grapes earlier, but this would not be practical because the grapes will not have time to develop flavours and aroma. This project will carry out fermentations tests using filamentous fungi (A. awamori and oryzae) and test their ability to consume excessive sugars in grapes prior to fermentation.
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
The project will look at hydrogen production from waste in an anaerobic bioreactor. Anaerobic conditions promote the growth of methanogens which consume hydrogen and CO2 to produce methane gas. We will be looking at ways to inhibit hydrogenotrophic methanogens to optimize hydrogen production.
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
How can central constitutional courts deliver objectively consistent judgments as future conflicts oscillate between defending centralism and extending rule-based decentralisation, while subsidiarity, the acknowledged driver of change, remains underdeveloped? Methodology: conduct a doctrinal content analysis of competence cases decided between 2010 and 2025 in selected high courts, apply horizon scanning and a Delphi study to identify policy areas where competence boundaries are set to blur, and employ a large-language-model fine-tuned on court opinions to simulate judgments in those forecast scenarios, testing objectivity against the doctrinal baseline and revealing stress points for future reform.
Principal supervisor: Vito Breda
Principal supervisor email: Vito.Breda@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 07/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2025
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
AI is changing the shape of teaching—but where do teachers draw the line between help and harm?
This project explores how teachers use AI to manage workload while protecting their professional identity and wellbeing. You’ll investigate how educators decide what tasks to delegate to AI, what to retain as core professional work, and how they experience this evolving balance.
Focusing on the human side of innovation, this project offers scope to examine tensions around control, care, efficiency, and trust. Research methods could include interviews, reflective diaries, or thematic analysis of AI use patterns.
This project is ideal for someone curious about the ethics of automation, the sustainability of teaching, and how educators adapt under pressure. Your findings will contribute to emerging national conversations on AI, professionalism, and the future of teacher wellbeing.
Principal supervisor: Nicole Brownlie
Principal supervisor email: Nicole.Brownlie@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
Application open date: 23/06/2025
Application closing date: 30/12/2025
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
We propose to develop a novel forward osmosis (FO) concentration technology to enable effective anaerobic treatment of sewage. Anaerobic biological processes have many advantages including energy recovery through methane production and low sludge production. While they have been widely used to treat medium to high strength wastewaters, their applications for raw sewage treatment have been limited due to the dilute nature (400 mg COD/L). The successful implementation of anaerobic treatment of dilute wastewater calls for an effective and energy-efficient wastewater concentration technology. This can be achieved by incorporating an FO pre-concentration process before anaerobic treatment. In the proposed FO process, seawater or brine will be used as a draw solution to concentrate raw sewage by a factor of 10 times or greater (4,000 mg COD/L) at nearly zero energy input. The pre-concentrated sewage will then be treated anaerobically for significant energy recovery.
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
How can national parliaments design and implement constitutional reforms that foster equitable regional development while withstanding judicial scrutiny? This PhD will use a comparative case study design centred on the UK, Spain and Italy, jurisdictions I have already explored in my work on decentralised governance. It will combine doctrinal analysis of statutes, legislative debates and court judgments with structured elite interviews, then augment these findings with advanced large language model techniques that trace semantic shifts in reform bills, simulate alternative drafting choices and predict likely judicial outcomes. By triangulating traditional case study evidence with LLM-based scenario modelling, the project will identify the parliamentary interventions that most effectively reduce regional disparities without breaching constitutional limits, directly extending my monograph on central institutions in multinational states and my ERC CONnexum research on territorial governance.
Principal supervisor: Vito Breda
Principal supervisor email: Vito.Breda@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 07/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2025
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Fungi and yeasts have many applications in drug production, food processing, fermentation (beer, wine and bread), biological control agents, and enzyme technology. However indigenous Australian fungi have rarely been considered or applied to industrial applications. The aim of this project is to screen indigenous microorganisms available in culture collections for novel applications. Examples include screening (i) oleaginous yeasts indigenous to Australia for their capacity to accumulate intracellular lipids for biodiesel production, (ii) ethanol producing yeasts for their capacity to produce ethanol for the brewing industry, (iii) filamentous fungi for their capacity to produce enzymes such as glucoamylase for the saccharification of starches or cellulases/hemicellulases/ligninases for the hydrolysis of lignocellulosics materials for biofuels production. The experimental work will involve screening microorganisms on Petri dishes or fermentation flasks with analysis of relevant intermediates and products.
Principal supervisor: Antoine Trzcinski
Principal supervisor email: Antoine.Trzcinski@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Master of Research (MRES)
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
• Cotutelle (DPHC)
Application open date: 05/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/12/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
Can AI help teachers stay in the profession—not just by saving time, but by supporting what really matters?
This PhD project explores how AI is being used to manage workload, preserve energy for relational work, and reduce emotional and cognitive fatigue. It investigates the conditions under which AI use contributes to—not compromises—teacher wellbeing.
You’ll work with educators across sectors to map how AI tools are integrated into planning, feedback, and assessment, and what impacts this has on stress, agency, and satisfaction. The project could involve longitudinal case studies, mixed methods, or participatory research—shaped around your interests.
This research directly contributes to a national conversation about teacher retention, digital innovation, and ethical technology use. Ideal for candidates passionate about equity, sustainability, and shaping the future of teaching from within.
Principal supervisor: Nicole Brownlie
Principal supervisor email: Nicole.Brownlie@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 23/06/2025
Application closing date: 30/04/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.
Description:
As AI becomes embedded in classrooms, who gets to decide how it’s used—and what it replaces?
This PhD project explores the tension between top-down policy and everyday teacher judgement in shaping AI use in schools. It investigates how educators interpret and respond to emerging policies on digital assessment, automation, and academic integrity—and how this affects their sense of agency and professionalism.
You may examine education department documents, school-level guidelines, and teacher responses through case studies, narrative inquiry, or ethnographic methods. The project offers scope to contribute to both policy critique and practical reform.
This is an ideal project for someone passionate about teacher voice, education governance, and ethical technology use. Your work will inform future policies that centre—not sideline—teachers in decision-making around innovation.
Principal supervisor: Nicole Brownlie
Principal supervisor email: Nicole.Brownlie@unisq.edu.au
Available academic programs:
- Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)
Application open date: 23/06/2025
Application closing date: 31/08/2026
91原创 scholarship applications: Yes. Click here to explore available scholarships.
Other information: Please review the admission requirements for the academic program associated with this research topic. Contact the Principal Supervisor for further information.