Green pastures ahead for the research of Terraluma member, Gustavo Alckmin, as he will be taking part in a double-degree program.
In 2014, the University of Tasmania (UTas) celebrated a cotutelle doctorate agreement with Wageningen University (WUR) in the Netherlands. Such agreement basically allows UTas and WUR students to develop a joint PhD program, combining expertise from both institutions and granting the student a one-year research-visit at the host university.
For PhD Candidates at the School of Land and Food (SLAF), such opportunity is especially beneficial as Wageningen has been consistently ranked as the World top agricultural university, sharing many research areas with our School. Fortunately for candidates at the Geography and Spatial Sciences department, UTas and WUR are prime examples of such opportunities for collaboration.
The Unmanned Aerial Remote Sensing Facility (UARSF) led by Prof. Lammert Kooistra is a great case of this synergy. Both the Dutch and the Australian research groups are global references in the application of UAS and remote sensing technologies for environmental and agricultural purposes.
Gustavo is excited with the opportunity “It is a privilege and certainly the result of a team effort”. Terraluma Team Leader, Arko Lucieer, was instrumental to on the coordination of all parties involved. “I personally should thank both my supervisors, Richard Rawnsley and Arko Lucieer for going above and beyond what a PhD Candidate could request from a supervisory team. I also would like to encourage talented students which are keen to develop research with UAS for environmental and agricultural applications to consider this applying for a PhD at UTas. I consider this program structure to be the best research training currently available at a global level – it is a two-way agreement where student from both institutions could boost academic and professional development”.
Additionally, Gustavo emphasizes the opportunity for the Industry to also capitalize on this framework “UTas assured an unique framework to optimize research efforts. Funding the research of a double-degree PhD student is an incredible cost-benefit investment from an Industry perspective: top-students with access to best research infrastructure and academic advisory in the World, focused to respond real-world demands… and it can all start right here in Tasmania”. With this final remark, Gustavo would like to thank his PhD sponsor Dairy Australia and Dairy On PAR.
