Scholarships & Travel

CRDC offers two scholarships for students (postgraduate scholarships, and summer and honours Scholarships); and supports travel grants, scientific exchanges and the ABARES Science and Innovation Awards.

Postgraduate scholarships

When funding is available, CRDC provides postgraduate scholarships to students.

The first scholarship is a PhD top-up scholarship of up to $10,000 per annum, which can be applied for by those cotton-relevant scholars who are receiving a Research Training Program (RTP, or equivalent) scholarship.

The second scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship, which can be applied for by masters or PhD students, to assist with the completion of a cotton industry-specific project. These projects may relate to any field of cotton-research related to CRDC’s Strategic RD&E Plan. The postgraduate scholarships are valued at approximately $40,000 pa, which includes a student stipend of $34,000 pa (inclusive of an APA or other funding) and an operating budget of $6,000 pa. Operating can be increased dependent on the project.

To be eligible for a CRDC postgraduate full scholarship or top up of an RTP scholarship, candidates must:

  • Undertake postgraduate study
  • Receive acceptance at a recognised institution
  • Be interested in working in the Australian cotton industry to pursue postgraduate studies relating to the cotton industry or its related activities

To apply: follow the application process.

 

Summer and honours scholarship

The Summer and Honours Scholarship program provides students with an opportunity to work on a real project in a working environment as part of their professional development. 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.

Funding is available to cover up to $4,000 ($500 a week) salary or stipend, and up to $1,000 travel and/or operating costs.

All CRDC research partners, researchers or extension officers may apply for CRDC Summer and Honours Scholarship funds, and the scholarships are open to all university students of a high standard who are completing their senior years of an undergraduate degree or enrolled in an honours program.

Students can undertake their project at any location but must be under the direct supervision of the applicant.

Proposals will be assessed on their alignment with CRDC’s research priorities and objectives and the capacity for outcomes to be achieved within the specified time frame. Applicants are encouraged to discuss proposals with the relevant CRDC Innovation Broker (formerly R&D Manager) before submission. 

To apply: follow the application process.

 

Travel grants

Travel applications support current industry researchers and personnel to attend national or international conferences or events which allow them to present their research and/or build their knowledge and professional networks.

Funding of up to $2,500 is available to cover transport, accommodation and event registration fees. The proposed travel must be relevant to the Australian cotton industry, and CRDC’s preference is for research organisations to co-fund travel.

To apply: follow the application process.

 

Scientific exchanges

Scientific exchanges provide opportunities for industry researchers and personnel to widen their research perspective, gain a broader research experience, build new knowledge, foster scientific collaboration and stimulate Australian cotton research.

Funding of up to $5,000 is available to cover travel and accommodation costs of the identified exchange candidate. The proposed exchange must be of benefit to the Australian cotton industry, and CRDC’s preference is for research organisations to co-fund the exchange.

To apply: follow the application process.

 

Major capital items

CRDC occasionally considers requests for major capital investment assistance for items greater than $10,000 in value.

To apply: contact the CRDC Project Administration team via research@crdc.com.au. CRDC may release a major capital item expression of interest (EOI) on the CRDC website or via the Fluxx grant management website.

 

Applying for Postgraduate scholarships, travel grants & scientific exchanges

To apply for CRDC postgraduate scholarships, summer and honours scholarships, travel grants or scientific exchanges, researchers must follow the application process below.

Please note: all research applications must be entered into CRDC’s web-based grant management system, Fluxx (crdc.fluxx.io).

To Register

  1. To register to as a Fluxx user, visit crdc.fluxx.io and select ‘Grantee User Registration’.
  2. Review the terms, conditions and privacy policy and if you accept tick ‘Agree’.
  3. Complete the registration form and ‘submit request’.

To access the Expressions of Interest (EOIs)

  1. Once you have logged into Fluxx, on the left hand side you will find a navigation panel.
  2. Under ‘Expressions of Interest’, you will find the EOIs open for funding applications.
  3. On the EOI you are interested in, select ‘Apply for Funding’. This will open up the application form for you to complete.

Please ensure you select ‘save and continue’ as you progress, as the system does not auto-save.

Administrators, on behalf of your organisation please review the application and confirm approval for submission to CRDC.

If you have any queries, please contact the CRDC Project Administration team via 02 6792 4088 or research@crdc.com.au.

 

 

ABARES Science & Innovation Awards

CRDC also supports the annual Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, run by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and ABARES. Open to young innovators aged 18-35, the Awards program offers recipients up to $22,000 to fund an innovative research project that will benefit Australia's cotton industry. 

CRDC supports one cotton industry recipient each year. Recent recipients include Dr Alison McCarthy (2014); Yvonne Chang (2016), Dr Priscilla Johnston (2017), Rhys Pirie (2018), Dean Brooks (2019), Dr Dinesh Kafle (2020), Demi Sargent (2021), Dr Xiaoqing Li (2022) and Dr Cong Vu (2023).

To apply: visit the Science and Innovation Awards page on the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry's website.