PhD students in the spotlight

Soil CRC PhD students shone bright at our 2023 Participants Conference in Launceston last month – showcasing their research projects, contributing to robust future-focused conversations, and sharing soil knowledge amongst like-minded peers.

Day one of the conference kicked off with the highly anticipated PhD student workshop led by PhD Program Manager Dr Cassandra Wardle and Soil Knowledge Broker Felicity Harrop. The Soil CRC currently has 35 PhD students, and 27 of them were at the conference.

“My aim for the workshop was to support students to engage with, learn from, and leverage the significant skills, expertise, backgrounds, and collaborative partnerships within the Soil CRC, and to expand their professional network to encompass relevant people within the broader Soil CRC ‘family’,” Dr Wardle said.

Throughout the morning, students were treated to insights from our staff, researchers and grower group participants through interactive panel sessions and presentations. They learnt about a range of topics, including intellectual property, research extension and data management, network mapping and co-design.

They then split up for the afternoon session to engage in the four program workshops led by Soil CRC’s Program Leaders. This provided an opportunity to network with fellow researchers, project team members and grower group participants, and help guide the future direction of our research programs.

On day two of the conference, seven students took centre stage to present their PhD research as part of the four program updates. The PhD student presenters were:

• Phillip Kay, University of Tasmania
• Rahat Shabir, Griffith University
• Henry Luutu, Southern Cross University
• Hanlu Zhang, University of Southern Queensland
• Cameron Copeland, Southern Cross University
• Melissa Wales, Charles Sturt University
• Louise Hunt, Southern Cross University

As these students are nearing or have reached the end of their candidature, they were able to share some exciting research findings and their presentations were very well-received by our delegates.

Across days one and two, over 20 student research posters were on display to highlight the depth and breadth of our PhD research. The posters proved popular with delegates, who were able to peruse and discuss them with students during breaks.

The day three field trips were a highlight for many of the students, offering an opportunity to see some of the Soil CRC’s research in practice and directly engage with our researchers, grower group participants and local farmers in northern Tasmania.

University of Tasmania PhD student Reuben Mah’s research was on display at the Southern Farming Systems field site in Hagley, where Reuben, Dr Liang Wang and Dr Ying Cheng demonstrated Soil CRC’s new Lab-on-a-Chip technology.

We’re proud of our PhD student cohort and their strong involvement in our 2023 Participants Conference. The event offered a fantastic opportunity to both showcase our talented PhD students and connect them to the wealth of knowledge, experiences, and networks the CRC offers.

In their words

Here’s what some of our students had to say about the 2023 Participants Conference:

“The Soil CRC Conference 2023 was not only an academic endeavour but also a deep dive into real-world challenges. The PhD workshops were particularly enlightening, fostering both learning and a deeper understanding of critical subjects such as data management and intellectual property. Additionally, mingling with professionals from industrial and non-academic backgrounds was invaluable. It afforded me the opportunity to reassess the practical implications of our projects and reinforced the significance of our contributions to the broader community.” Chenting Jiang, University of Tasmania.

“I cherished the poster presentation segment. It not only allowed me to showcase my work to an audience of diverse backgrounds but also enhanced my poster-making skills. Moreover, it simplified the process of understanding the approaches of fellow PhD students tackling the same problem from various perspectives.” Mohammad Arifur Rahman, Federation University.

“I had the best experience at the Soil CRC 2023 conference. I am consistently delighted each year with the conferences on how excellently thought out and meticulously planned they are. I thoroughly enjoyed the PhD workshop, but always my takeaway is how incredibly kind and knowledgeable the Soil CRC staff, participants and students are, you really feel like you are a part of one big community and the support I received was just phenomenal. The Soil CRC has fostered such a wonderful company culture. Thank you so much!” Melissa Wales, Charles Sturt University.

“The poster presentation was a great addition to the conference! A good opportunity for PhD students to highlight their research and interesting for conference attendees to see what is happening in the Soil CRC research space.” Linda Wirf, Charles Sturt University.