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  <site:News rdf:about="http://lwa.gov.au/news/2009/oct/15/university-student-vacation-scholarship-program">
    <site:news_Title>University Student Vacation Scholarship Program</site:news_Title>
    <site:news_Body>&lt;p&gt;The National Program for Sustainable Irrigations vision is &amp;lsquo;Australian irrigation that is valued for its environmental, economic and social contribution&amp;rsquo;. The Program aims to provide direct partnerships between the irrigation industry, irrigation researchers (or extension officers) and university students.&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
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&lt;p&gt;Up to four scholarships, valued at $6,000 each, are available to be awarded in late 2009. The project may be carried out in late 2009 or 2010.&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;The scholarships enable university students to conduct short research, extension or industry projects under the direct supervision of a researcher or extension officer from either the public or private sector.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;The student will benefit from the experience of working in the irrigation industry in an R&amp;amp;D context, while the applicant should benefit from the proposal and its R&amp;amp;D outcome.&amp;nbsp;&lt;b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;Students can do their project at any location but must be under the direct supervision of the applicant.&amp;nbsp;The scholarship is open to all university students of a high standard who are completing their senior years of an undergraduate degree relevant to irrigation management. The scholarship can also be used to support an Honours project in their final year, if the field work is done during university vacation.&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;Proposals will be assessed on the basis of their compliance with NPSI strategic plan (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.npsi.gov.au/&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;www.npsi.gov.au&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;), the capacity for the project to be achieved within the specified time frame, evidence of good supervision and collaboration.&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;h2&gt;1. Program Goals&lt;/h2&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;NPSI Vision: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Australian irrigation that is valued for its environmental, economic and social contribution.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;NPSI aims to achieve this vision by funding research across four goals:&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;b&gt;Goal 1 &amp;ndash; Sustainable production in a water scarce environment:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;Projects funded under this goal will have an emphasis on research which delivers outcomes for irrigators operating in an increasingly water constrained environment.&amp;nbsp;They are expected to consider short to medium term responses to increased water scarcity at a farm or delivery system scale.&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;b&gt;Goal 2 &amp;ndash; Sustainable futures and the environment:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;Projects funded under this goal will research the potential impacts of the irrigation sector on the environment.&amp;nbsp;It will develop and test new knowledge, tools and practices which sustain productivity while reducing environmental impact.&amp;nbsp;The theme will also work with the sector to assist it to better measure and monitor environmental factors.&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;b&gt;Goal 3 &amp;ndash; Knowledge into practice:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;This goal will substantially increase the accessibility and adoptability of current and new irrigation knowledge, tools and practices.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;b&gt;Goal 4 &amp;ndash; Research and development leadership:&lt;/b&gt; This goal aims to achieve a national approach to irrigation related R&amp;amp;D in Australia, which includes a strong focus on a skilled human resource base and enhanced R&amp;amp;D capacity and collaboration.&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;The NPSI Strategic Plan provides further detail on each of these goals and the desired outcomes. Applicants are directed to consult this Plan to gain a further understanding of the scope of each of these goals. The Plan is available at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.npsi.gov.au/&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;www.npsi.gov.au&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;h2&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;b&gt;2. Conditions &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&#13;
&lt;h3&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;b&gt;Employment &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;Students must be employed by the project applicant or a university to receive the scholarship.&amp;nbsp;Usually it is best for a university to hold the funds as the scholarship may be tax free to the student.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;b&gt;Special Conditions &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;Some organisations have special conditions, such as the need to provide transport for the student to/from their home at the beginning and end of the scholarship.&amp;nbsp;These conditions must be detailed and fully costed into the applications.&amp;nbsp;The applicant is responsible for safety and OH&amp;amp;S compliance.&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;b&gt;Project Length &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;Scholarships may be offered up to a maximum time period of eight (8) weeks.&amp;nbsp;Universities must be advised and written confirmation of the student&amp;rsquo;s involvement in the program must be submitted to the Project Management Officer before the project commences.&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;b&gt;Commencement &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;It is envisaged most projects would commence during the university summer vacation (December 2009 or January 2010). However, if the project is associated with a winter crop it could commence in a mid year vacation in 2010.&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;h3&gt;Funding&lt;/h3&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;The maximum funding for a Summer Scholarship Project is $6,000. The maximum wage or stipend is $4,500. The maximum amount of funding for operating costs of the project is $2,000. Funds must not be spent on capital items such as computer hardware or software.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;b&gt;Written Reports&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;Written reports are required from the student and supervisor (can be combined) within three (3) months of completing the project. Should the scholarship be part of an honours project, an extension will be granted until the due date of the university thesis. Students may be required to make formal presentations of their project.&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;h2&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;b&gt;3. Selection criteria&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&#13;
&lt;ol&gt;&#13;
    &lt;li&gt;Applications will be assessed against the following selection criteria:&lt;/li&gt;&#13;
    &lt;li&gt;The project is aligned with the NPSI strategic plan 2008-2010.&lt;/li&gt;&#13;
    &lt;li&gt;The project involves collaboration between a university student, industry and/or research organization.&lt;/li&gt;&#13;
    &lt;li&gt;Supervision and support are adequate to ensure project completion and a good learning experience. &amp;nbsp;Quality of the student. Students may be undertaking a degree in any course relevant to irrigation eg science, agriculture, environment, economics, engineering, social sciences, law.&lt;/li&gt;&#13;
&lt;/ol&gt;&#13;
&lt;h2&gt;&amp;nbsp;4.&amp;nbsp;Application details&lt;/h2&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;How to apply?&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;Applications must be submitted using the NPSI Student Scholarship Application template.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;ol&gt;&#13;
    &lt;li&gt;&amp;nbsp;The application should explicitly identify:&lt;/li&gt;&#13;
    &lt;li&gt;Proposed commencement date and duration of scholarship.&lt;/li&gt;&#13;
    &lt;li&gt;A concise outline of the project aims and outcome. Including benefits of the project and benefits to the university student.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;&#13;
    &lt;li&gt;Details of the project proposal.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;&#13;
    &lt;li&gt;Accurate budget estimates broken into the following heads of expenditure (No more than $6000 total):&lt;br /&gt;&#13;
    a. Salary &amp;ndash; maximum salary or stipend is $4,500.&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&#13;
    b. Operating - day-to-day running expenses.&lt;/li&gt;&#13;
    &lt;li&gt;Short CV of Student&lt;/li&gt;&#13;
    &lt;li&gt;Short CV of Supervisor&lt;/li&gt;&#13;
&lt;/ol&gt;&#13;
&lt;h2&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;b&gt;5. Lodgment of all applications &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;Applications must be received by &lt;b&gt;5.00pm (DST) 30&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;th&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt; October&lt;/b&gt; &lt;b&gt;2009 &lt;/b&gt;electronically or by mail to:&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:npsi@crdc.com.au&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;npsi@crdc.com.au&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/u&gt; &lt;b&gt;or &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&#13;
NPSI Student Scholarship Applications&lt;br /&gt;&#13;
Cotton Research and Development Corporation&lt;br /&gt;&#13;
PO Box 282&lt;br /&gt;&#13;
Narrabri NSW 2390&lt;/p&gt;&#13;
&lt;h2&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;b&gt;6. For more information &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&#13;
&lt;p&gt;Guy Roth, NPSI Program Coordinator 0417 223 179, &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:guy.roth@roth.net.au&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;guy.roth@roth.net.au &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</site:news_Body>
    <site:created rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime">2009-10-15T22:49:55Z</site:created>
    <site:changed rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime">2009-10-15T22:49:55Z</site:changed>
    <site:news_Has_media_release>No</site:news_Has_media_release>
    <site:news_Program rdf:resource="http://lwa.gov.au/programs/national-program-sustainable-irrigation-0#this"/>
  </site:News>
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