Program 5: Education

(Program Leader: Prof H Choat, JCU)

The objective of the Education Program is to provide scholarships and support for outstanding tertiary students to conduct specialist reef research and to develop continuing education progress. To this end, it was originally planned that up to 23 postgraduate students per year would be supported in major research programs of the Centre. Appropriate postgraduate teaching programs have been aligned with the Centre to provide courses which are relevant to management and industry.

The Centre has exceeded its planned support for tertiary students conducting specialist Great Barrier Reef research, as reflected below:

Marie Puotinen is modelling disturbance to the Reef caused by past cyclones, or cyclone hindcasting. She is a PhD candidate in the Department of Tropical Environment Studies and Geography at JCU, jointly supervised by a senior AIMS scientist.

The Education Program has continued its allocation of PhD scholarships, with 13 students holding CRC scholarships. Of these, three are 1996 enrolments. An additional PhD scholarship, funded by Program 1, will be allocated in August. A further five PhD students have major research support through Programs 1, 2 and 3. In addition, seven MSc and twenty-four Honours students are associated with and supported through projects directly related to the three Research Programs. Additional support is provided for twenty-nine Centre Postgraduate Associates, students who are involved in projects relevant to the objectives of Programs 1-3.

In 1995 the Centre also initiated the Augmentative Reef Research Support funding program, designed to provide supplementary support for students working towards an Honours degree. These augmentative research awards were linked to the successful GBRMPA Augmentative Program designed to provide additional research support for Honours students whose basic expenses are already covered by their host organisation.

The Education Program now supports postgraduate training across six major disciplinary areas, with supervisors and research associates based in nine academic departments. A significant feature of the student/supervisory arrangement is the number of co-supervisors who are staff at AIMS, GBRMPA and DPI. These co-supervisory arrangements are indicative both of the collaborative nature of the Centre's research programs and the number of postgraduates who are employees of these institutions. Greater flexibility in supervisory and monitoring arrangements involving external staff are provided by the new JCU PhD rules, which also provide a clear framework for monitoring student progress.

Two activities identified in the 1995 Annual Report were a postgraduate student conference and assistance to attend the 8th International Coral Reef Symposium in Panama. Both activities were carried out successfully. The Postgraduate Student Research Day was held on 28th October, 1995 and attracted presentations from sixteen students. The presentations covered a comprehensive range of disciplinary areas, including Engineering, Earth Sciences, Environmental Studies, Reef Ecology and Fisheries Biology. Student presentations were judged for content, quality of presentation and relevance to the Centre's objectives by a panel of Program Leaders. Student presentations were partitioned into those by established postgraduate students and those in the first year of their study. The winners of the best presentation were Ms M Samoilys (Program 2, Fisheries Biology) in the Established Student category and Mr D Oemcke (Program 3, Ballast Water Treatment) in the Initial category. The prizes were in the form of conference travel support; the 8th International Coral Reef Symposium for the Established Student category and a nominated conference within Australia for the Initial category. The opportunities for Centre postgraduate students to present their findings in this fashion will be an annual fixture.

The 8th International Coral Reef Symposium in Panama provided the first major international conference in which the Centre postgraduate student body could present their results to a multidisciplinary audience. Both the Centre and University Departments supporting postgraduate students in relevant disciplines provided travel and subsistence support for Centre associated students to attend the conference. A total of eighteen graduate students from Townsville attended the conference and presented papers, most on the basis of support provided through the Centre or their host Departments. In addition, twelve staff directly associated with Programs 1-4 also presented papers. The standard of presentation, especially by the postgraduate students, was exceptional and provided a valuable opportunity for Centre associated students to gain a first hand perspective on the international status of coral reefs and their management.

Several group meetings were held during the year to brief postgraduates about issues such as research permits in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, taxation, reporting requirements and codes of conduct in the field. Other training support was provided, including media report writing and presentation skills, to assist students better publicise themselves, their work and to establish contacts with Reef managers and industry.

1997 will see a continued development of the Program, with an investigation of a scheme of short industry placements for students who have recently completed their postgraduate programs. Placements in the Tourism, Fishing and Impact Assessment industries would be particularly valuable. The scheme would also provide opportunities for students to gain work experience in the regulatory agencies. By 1997, students associated with the Centre will also be working under a unified scheme in terms of intellectual property arrangements. This is seen as particularly important in achieving a balance between rapid publication of student research and acknowledgment of the intellectual property requirement of the Centre.

Next year, the Education Program will also consider ways to additionally resource coordinating the industry placement scheme, and further short regional training workshops or seminars to the Reef tourism and fishing industries.

Top | Contents