Call for applications for sugar cane industry scholarships

Applications are open for funding and postgraduate scholarships from Sugar Research Australia (SRA) to conduct research that supports the Australian sugar cane industry.

SRA’s portfolio of research projects spans plant breeding, plant molecular biology, transgenic technology and plant functional biology to develop new traits, biosecurity and farm systems.

Ideally, research outcomes will lead to the development of new varieties of sugar cane that are more productive, disease resistant and drought tolerant, for example, and help build the competitiveness and sustainability of the Australian sugar cane industry.

Applications that address the four strategic imperatives identified through consultation with industry - industry growth, cost and profitability, environmental and regulatory pressures, and diversification - will be considered highly.

“These imperatives reflect what our grower and milling businesses, and industry representative bodies feel are important,” said Professor Alan Johnson AM, chair of SRA’s Research Funding Panel, adding that the imperatives are outlined in SRA’s Interim Strategic Plan.

SRA is an industry-owned company funded by a statutory levy paid by grower and milling businesses that is matched by the Australian Government, the Queensland Government and other bodies.

“It’s important that the research we fund delivers a significant return on the project investment to industry and practical outcomes that can be easily taken up on the farm and at the mill,” said Johnson.

Successful applications must clearly outline how they align with strategic imperatives and the industry need that it addresses. The outcomes the research will deliver and how adoption will be maximised must also be explained.

The deadline for scholarship applications is 18 December 2013, with successful recipients expected to start their studies in early 2014.

Research funding applications close 10 January 2014.