02 September 2019
The University of South Australia will be offering its first cotutelle PhD opportunity when it signs an agreement with French university IMT Atlantique on September 3.
The special study program will see PhD students graduate with a qualification from both institutions and will require them to spend a year in each country while they are doing their postgraduate research.
In France to seal the deal for the new PhD, Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says the arrangement will strengthen research ties between South Australia and France and will build research depth in areas such as psychology, human factors and engineering.
“This presents an enviable opportunity for students and will ensure that the research they do while undertaking their PhD, is internationally informed,” Prof Lloyd says.
“We’re excited to start recruiting for PhD candidates especially in areas that will support the creation of knowledge for the naval and defence sectors.”
The PhD collaboration is underpinned by UniSA’s growing links with France through a range of student exchange programs with French universities, research collaborations and professional partnerships.
In 2017 as part of the Australian Technology Network, UniSA signed an MOU with the French Embassy in Australia that would give ATN students opportunities for six-month internships at French education institutions.
Since then, UniSA has partnered in the Western Alliance for Scientific Actions with Australia (WASAA) which enhances collaboration between a range of French universities and colleges, including IMT Atlantique.
And in 2018 UniSA was funded under the SA Government’s South Australia-Brittany Research Collaboration Grants to undertake two Industry 4.0 projects in France looking at enhanced STEM and engineering teaching led by Prof David Cropley and a project looking at developing a collaborative approach to human factors research in the naval industry led by Prof Siobhan Banks.
The first of the cotutelle PhD candidates will commence in the next six months.
UniSA media contact: Michèle Nardelli phone: +61 418 823 673 or +61 8 8302 0966 email: michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au
