By 
Geoff Egan

24 January 2024
6 min learn

Can you reside outdoors a significant metro space and develop cutting-edge expertise? Unfortunately, for a lot of Australians, the reply is not any.

Major universities and industries are sometimes situated lots of or 1000’s of kilometres from residence. This means creating a pipeline of researchers in regional areas has important challenges. It’s why we’re funding 162 postgraduate scholar locations to universities as a part of the Next Generation Graduates Program. Our aim is to assist construct the expertise pipeline outdoors the capital cities.

Universities have partnered with {industry} companions together with Singtel, Optus, SAAB Australia and Meta to provide college students direct entry to industry-leading specialists.

Aaron Quigley is Science Director at Data61. He stated the Next Generation Graduates Program will assist resolve our best challenges.

“The Program’s regional stream will ensure those living outside major cities can be part of world-leading research,” Aaron stated.

“The challenges facing regional areas are distinct from those in major cities and it is vital to have perspectives from those areas.”

Charles Sturt University’s synthetic intelligence (AI) and Cyber Futures Institute (AICF) is predicated in Bathurst. Prof Ganna Pogrebna is AICF’s Executive Director. She stated being based mostly in in addition to centered on regional Australia was very important to this system.

“Developing analysis pipelines outdoors main city centres is important for fostering collaborative environments throughout consortium universities,” Ganna stated.

The Next Generations Graduate Program’s regional focus ensures sensible, hands-on experiences for college kids and researchers. It permits them to use cutting-edge applied sciences to real-world agricultural challenges.

This method not solely diversifies the expertise pool but in addition revitalises regional enterprise fashions, creating job alternatives and attracting investments,” Ganna stated.

“It brings the benefits of technological innovation to the core of Australian agriculture, ensuring advancements are not confined to urban centres.”

The AgriTwins project is certainly one of eleven initiatives within the Next Generation Graduates Program. It addresses a spread of agricultural {industry} challenges utilizing AI, machine studying, and cybersecurity.

“The program’s primary objective is to integrate digital and quantum twins, ensuring a cyber-secure future for the agricultural industry,” Ganna stated.

“This initiative is crucial in enhancing Australia’s competitive edge in global markets and ensuring decision superiority in agricultural practices and innovations.”

Dr Winyu Chinthammit is the University of Tasmania’s Human Interface Technology Laboratory Research Leader. He stated the Next Generation Graduates Program could possibly be a constructing block to creating a digital expertise {industry} in regional Australia.

“Developing an rising applied sciences analysis pipeline outdoors capital cities is essential to handle the challenges confronted by regional areas, similar to constrained entry to digital providers, infrastructure availability, schooling disparities, and workforce provide,” Winyu stated.

Winyu’s analysis appears into enhancing employees’ security and efficiency by integrating digital applied sciences, in addition to seamless communication between human and digital entities. It is one other of the profitable packages on this spherical of the Next Generation Graduates Program.

The Program focuses on three key areas of digital expertise: immersive Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

“The program will present beneficial insights into how augmented human operations with VR, AR and AI can be utilized to create a extra environment friendly and efficient workforce,” Winyu stated.

Previous profitable Next Generation Graduates Program initiatives have included quantum, sports activities knowledge science, privateness, automation, clear power, digital twins, vital infrastructure, defence, digital forex, AI in psychological well being, supplies science, the metaverse, and rather more.

This is the primary spherical to have a particular regional stream.

The Next Generation Graduates Program is funded by the Australian Government.

Successful Next Generation Graduates Program Round 2023-24 purposes

Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Secure Signal Processing and Connectivity for Autonomous Sensors

This program will develop world-leading algorithms and methods to redefine the boundaries of AI purposes in safe sensor connectivity throughout defence, agriculture, power, satellite tv for pc industries.

Partners: RMIT University, CQUniversity, Federation University, University Technology Sydney, Singtel Optus, Consunet, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Praetorian Aeronautics, Botanical Food Company, McCormick Foods Australia, Single Agriculture, ConnectAUZ, BuzzBay, RedgridGPT, Blue Spiral, Outlook Industries Australia, Datellite

Scholarships: 10 PhD, two MPhil, one Honours

An Adaptive AI-informed Framework for Next-Generation Productivity Enhancement utilizing IoT and Smart Sensing Technologies

This mission goals to develop AI-informed frameworks for perception technology and adaptation of sensible sensing and communications to reinforce productiveness in Industry 4.0 settings. 

Partners: Deakin University, University of New South Wales, James Cook University, Stronger Brains Limited, Intersect Australia Limited, Cerenaut, Green IOT, Agriculture Victoria Research, Kurloo Technology, AutoWeed

Scholarships: eight PhD, one MPhil, two Honours

Continual Learning and Adaptation of Resilient Vision Models in Uncertain Real-world Environments

This will improve pc imaginative and prescient options, bolstering reliability, adaptability, and cost-efficiency spanning industries from healthcare to robotics, whereas contributing to sustainability and strengthening sovereign capabilities within the digital economic system.

Partners: University of Adelaide, University of South Australia, Defence Science and Technology Group, Defence Artificial Intelligence Research Network (DAIRNet)

Scholarships: 10 Honours

Creating the Next-Generation Specialists in Quantum

This will present the framework to establish and develop quantum skills which might be home-grown, job-ready graduates who can probably unlock the immense financial alternative supplied by quantum applied sciences.

Partners: University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney, University of New South Wales, Macquarie University, Sydney Quantum Academy

Scholarships: three Masters, 16 Honours

Emerging Technologies for the Integration of Autonomous Vehicles into Networked Naval Operations

This program will present analysis, testing, and analysis, to help the successfully integration of crewed vessels with autonomous maritime and aerial autos to help the present and future challenges Australia’s navy faces.

Partners: RMIT University, University of Tasmania, Defence Science and Technology Group, Navantia Australia, SAAB Australia, C2 Robotics, Arkeus; DefenceX, Nova Systems, CSIRO

Scholarships: 9 PhD, 4 MPhil, one Honours

AI-powered digital transformation for the sensible round economic system

This program will produce next-generation AI graduates who will facilitate improvement of recent information, expertise and instruments to drive creation of a sensible round economic system in Australia basically, with a spotlight on the regional scale.

Partners: Southern Cross University, University of Technology Sydney, Revolve Your World, CSENS, Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation, Business NSW

Scholarships: six PhD, 9 Honours

Next Generation Policing: Effective and Ethical Use of AI and Data Science in Law Enforcement

Police forces have an elevated quantity of information sciences and AI out there, this mission will look at the perfect methods to ethically and lawfully question, interrogate and visualise this knowledge are utilised.

Partners: Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, University of Western Australia, University of New England, WA Police

Scholarships: 10 Masters

AgriTwins: Bridging Cyber-secure Emerging Technologies and Datacentric Twin Tech for Resilient Agriculture of the Future

The AgriTwins programme intertwines superior cybersecurity with emergent data-centric twin applied sciences to handle escalating challenges the agriculture sector faces, starting from sustainability points to elevated want for optimisation and effectivity.

Partners: Charles Sturt University, University of Sydney, University of New South Wales, University of Queensland, Agri Sciences Research and Business Park (Supported by NSW Wine Industry Association, Bega Group, Telstra, Clara Hydrogen, Delta Ag, Bayer Australia, Sphere Drones, SunRice, Hutcheon and Pearce)

Scholarships: eight PhD, one Masters, two Honours

Towards a Natural Disaster Resilient ‘Net Zero Future’ in Queensland

This mission will use superior knowledge analytics and synthetic intelligence to assist cut back danger, and help prediction, monitoring and safety of individuals from the impacts of local weather change, flooding, bushfires, cyclones and heatwaves.

Partners: James Cook University, Griffith University, Bentley Education, Blue Carbon, Townsville City Council, G2X, Rockfield Technologies, Spark NQ

Scholarships: 11 PhD

Augmented Human Operations

This analysis goals to empower human efficiency, capabilities and security utilizing immersive digital actuality, augmented actuality applied sciences and Artificial Intelligence to facilitate communication and cross-interactions between human and digital entities utilizing.

Partners: University of Tasmania, University of South Australia, University of Queensland, Monash University, RayTracer, Think Digital, SABRN, Healthy Shack Tech, VentureOne, Acacia Systems, Asension, Trajan Scientific Australia, Forest Products Commission, Launceston Church Grammar School

Scholarships: 11 PhD, three Honours

SAFE-XR: XR Perception and Safety and Health Issues

This analysis program will discover basic points in notion and well being and security in head worn AR/VR methods together with addressing simulator illness and distraction from actual work risks.

Partners: University of South Australia, Monash University, University of Queensland, Meta

Scholarships: seven PhD, six Masters, 21 Honours