Phenotyping opportunity for plant science students

Applications for the current round of APPN Postgraduate Internship Awards (PIA) should be started now – with the 31 October submissions deadline approaching fast.

HDR plant science students currently enrolled at any Australian university are eligible to apply for the PIA program, which awards up to four recipients with:

• Up to $10,000 worth of access to APPN plant phenotyping infrastructure
• Additional support for travel and accommodation if required
• The choice of controlled environment or field site infrastructure at any one of our nine Nodes nationally (subject to availability)
• A valuable opportunity to work alongside APPN experts to gain insights into phenotyping technology types, capabilities, applications and experiment design. 

The program is designed for motivated, research-oriented students whose careers will benefit from the knowledge-sharing opportunity, and whose research project has the potential to help address key issues in crop science – such as: 

• Tolerance to abiotic stress
• Improving resource use efficiency in plants
• Statistics and biometry
• Application of mechatronic engineering to plant phenotyping
• Application of image analysis techniques to understand plant form and function

However, every application is carefully assessed on its merits and students proposing research into other topics will also be considered.

To read how previous PIA recipients have used the opportunity click here (enter PIA as the keyword search).

You also can read more about APPN’s phenotyping technologies here and explore our Nodes here.

We welcome your application

Interested students should begin working on their PIA applications now. Students are encouraged to work closely with their research supervisor propose experiments and identify the most suitable APPN Node. 

Applicants are also expected to reach out to their preferred Node to discuss their project with our team – who will gladly answer questions and provide guidance on the infrastructure options, availability and value. 

Learn more and apply here

More detailed information about the PIA program, along with the relevant conditions, contact details and application forms are available on the APPN website. 

You can also use the site to explore our Nodes, infrastructure and capabilities.

 (https://plantphenomics.org.au/jobs-training/postgraduate-internship-awards-pia-program)

Applications must be received by 31 October 2025.

23 September 2025