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UNE Rural Science Research, lucrative and abundant

June 14, 2006

Dr Ian Godwin
Postgraduate research opportunities at The University of New England (UNE) are in unprecedented abundance at present, particularly in the School of Rural Science and Agriculture, according to the School's Course Coordinator, Dr. Ian Godwin.

UNE is the heart of rural science teaching and research in Australia, with many autonomous and collaborative research institutes based on or near the campus. "For students, this means they can see the applied nature of what they are studying and the career possibilities," he said.

"We must now devise new means of attracting more undergraduate students to postgraduate research. Basically, there are more scientific research opportunities available than there are students. One, PhD student in Chemistry has recently returned from Cambridge University, England. She told me that UNE's resources and facilities stood tall against some of the most prestigious universities in the world, but what places it a step above is the accessibility of the state of the art equipment and the low staff to student ratio," recounted Dr. Godwin.

"We now have seven Co-operative Research Centres (CRC's) closely associated with UNE and cutting-edge institutes such as the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit, which mean greater funding opportunities for research in Rural Science than we've seen for years. Despite all that, we have the capacity to double the number of PhD researchers across the Faculty of The Sciences, a number that currently stands at 50," he said.

"This is due to strong employment opportunities and a demand for scientists resulting from the strong economy and the need for greater numbers of science students across the tertiary education sector. In short, a graduate from the Bachelor of Rural Science at UNE will almost certainly find employment at the conclusion of the undergraduate degree, and most often they take the job. It is increasingly important that we convey to our students excitement and benefits that come tackling PhD research," explained Dr. Godwin.

"In the near future, we are going to face a major shortage of PhD qualified scientists in Australia, despite society becoming more scientifically advanced. We cannot understate the important of the groundbreaking advancements made through PhD research. Rural scientists and researchers have saved more lives and made more advancements in humanity than any other field. This was first appreciated with the green revolution in Asia and most recently in the genetic improvements in livestock," said Dr. Goodwin.

"Many undergraduate students never realise the excitement than comes with postgraduate research, especially a PhD. An undergraduate (or bachelor
degree) is about learning existing knowledge; postgraduate research is about creating entirely new knowledge. When it's the first time anywhere in the world something has been seen, recorded of understood in a certain way, it is exciting. Current PhD students at UNE have told me that they had no idea how exciting and rewarding postgraduate research could be when they were undergraduates," said Dr. Godwin. "Also, undergraduate students don't realise that funded international travel is an inherent part of doing a PhD. They might attend a conference in New Zealand and then head to Korea months later for a symposium to share in the latest advancements in their field."

"PhD graduates from the School of Rural Science at UNE have found that their postgraduate achievement opens up the international job market far more than an undergraduate degree can," added Dr. Godwin.

On 7th April 2006, Ben Wood was presented with his PhD at The University of New England's autumn graduation ceremony for the Sciences and Health.
Within the School of Rural Science and Agriculture, Ben's research was
titled: Utilising New Technologies in the Genetic Improvement of Australian Beef Cattle. Ben is now living in Canada, working for one of the World's two largest turkey breeding companies, Hybrid Turkeys. "My role there will be to help tailor their breeding programs to enhance and optimise productivity and consequently, profits," said Dr. Wood.

"My PhD at UNE was funded through the Cattle and Beef Quality CRC. This meant that my research was both practical and applied to industry. I found that my PhD experience at UNE was professionally very good. My research supervisors, especially Julius van der Werf and Dr. Peter Parnell, were great. In addition to their expertise and guidance, I was assisted in my research and career by their international connections," he said.

"Now, I am in the midst of a short return trip to UNE to work with my internationally respected former mentor. Dr. van der Werf and I are working on a collaborative research project, involving the use of genetic algorithms to optimise the contribution from multiple breeding lines,"
explained Dr. Wood.

For more information please contact Dr Ian Godwin 02 6773 2488.

Posted by lcreedy at June 14, 2006 04:51 PM