Course: Masters by Research
Funding: Scholarship of $50,000
Number of positions: Up to 2 full time (2 years) and 1 part-time (4 years)
Commencement: ASAP
Location: Strong preference for Sydney or Brisbane
Industry Participant: Woolworths
Industry Supervisor: Mark Barthel, Special Advisor – Food Waste, Fight Food Waste CRC and Project Leader Woolworth’s Food Waste Reduction Roadmap project.
Academic Supervisor: Supervision will be provided at on one of Fight Food Waste CRC research partners (University of Adelaide, University of Queensland, RMIT University, Central Queensland University, Queensland University of Technology, University of Southern Queensland, Swinburne University, Curtin University)
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Area of Research. Support the Woolworth’s Food Waste Reduction Roadmap team by providing high-quality research and insight to support project delivery in one of the following areas:
Product category-level programs. Academic research and evidence to help inform the development of product category-level food waste reduction program plans. This will require the identification of food waste hotspots, priority products and ingredients and potential solutions that lead to a reduction in food loss and waste across the Woolworth’s farm to fork value chains. Shortlisted solutions will be tested in the Woolworth’s value chain in collaboration with key supply partners and successful trials will be scaled for impact.
Valorisation and co-products. Academic research to identify waste valorisation and co-product opportunities arising from surplus food or materials from Woolworth’s food waste streams. This will embrace a range of chemical, biological, physical, thermal processes required to realise these co-products; and culminate in a co-product roadmap for one or more priority products or product categories. Roadmaps would include detailed information on the range of co-products identified, the processes, activities and partners required to realise them; their anticipated commercial value and cost of realisation, business model options; and recommendations to Woolworth’s on how to take the roadmap forward.
Customer Insights. Academic research working alongside an established research activity (the FFWCRC Interventions to reduce food waste in households project https://fightfoodwastecrc.com.au/project/consumer-attitudes/) and other Woolworth’s functions (e.g. customer insights, communications, public relations, marketing, corporate social responsibility). Responsibilities include undertaking academic research to access, analyse, visualise, integrate and validate data from the project to provide commercially relevant insights to Woolworth’s to inform and prioritise actions in new product development, packaging innovation, store operations, digital platform and campaign development and other relevant corporate functions. Academic Supervisor: Professor David Pearson ENGAGE Program Leader at Fight Food Waste CRC and Central Queensland University Sydney Campus
Personal Characteristics
Skills. Demonstrated quantitative analytical skills gained through formal education at Bachelor’s level in a relevant academic discipline, such as mathematics, statistics, computer and data science, business administration, economics, operations, marketing (or comparable experience in industry).
Demonstrated interest. In areas associated with the efficient use of resources in food retailing. Knowledge of supermarket (or other retail) operations and supply chains would be highly desirable.
Character. Ability to make a positive contribution to diverse teams. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Self-confidence and tenacity required to be effective and productive with minimal supervision. Desire to undertake rigorous high-level research which contributes to commercially valuable outcomes in reports for industry; and contributes to academic theory and practice, leading to joint authorship of academic journal articles.
Application process
Please send a one-page response to the required Personal Characteristics, including clear identification of the Area of Research of interest to you, and your CV, to Fight Food Waste CRC ENGAGE Program Leader Professor David Pearson (d.h.pearson@cqu.edu.au) by close of business on Monday 13 April.
