Future cities – designing sustainable resilient systems top-up scholarship

About this scholarship

Supervisor: Professor Steven Kenway

Associate supervisor: Dr Ray Maher

Cities are vital for economic growth and sustainable development. They drive productivity and offer opportunities to implement green technologies and circular economies. However, designing resilient infrastructure for water, energy, and housing presents challenges. These include climate change impacts, aging infrastructure, rapid urbanization, and social inequality. Effective planning must integrate smart technologies, renewable energy, and inclusive housing while ensuring adaptability to environmental stresses. Overcoming these hurdles requires cross-sector collaboration, long-term investment, and community engagement to build cities that are liveable, efficient, and resilient for generations to come. Designing and planning liveable future cities that are water-sensitive, energy-efficient, net-zero and simultaneously contributing to economic growth and development is a grand challenge spanning multiple disciplinary areas.

Water underpins economic growth, population growth, housing growth and energy security in Australia yet climate change is threatening our water supply. With more variable rainfall creating longer droughts, larger floods, and increasing evaporation, the reliability of both supply and quality is declining, resulting in escalating treatment costs. Attesting to the urgency, in 2020 Australia’s international water security ranking fell. Meanwhile, national demand for water continues to grow, as does the amount of energy needed to produce and consume water, which also increases greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Achieving Net Zero and Sustainable Development Goals in water, energy and climate cities while also contributing to liveability and equality in social opportunity is a significant opportunity. Understanding the connections between systems, such as water, energy, climate and cost, is a particularly strong element in this program.

The UQ team providing these scholarship opportunities have multiple projects relevant to this proposal, many with strong industry linkages. These are conducted by the Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, School of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Chemical Engineering at UQ.

Undertaking a PhD in this field will see you investigate best practices in implementing urban sustainability to enhance healthy waterways, decarbonisation, and liveability. You will learn and apply multiple scientific methodologies, including systems analysis, circular economy, precinct and infrastructure design and stakeholder engagement to identify leverage points to guide implementation.

Propel your career by joining an ecosystem of existing partnerships with major organisations, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Queensland Government, Victorian Government, the Sustainable Built Environment national research centre, and others.

Research environment

How to apply

Before submitting an application you should:

• check your eligibility for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
• prepare your documentation
• contact Professor Steven Kenway (s.kenway@uq.edu.au) to discuss your suitability for this scholarship

You apply for this scholarship when you submit an application for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). You don't need to submit a separate scholarship application.

When you apply, please ensure that under the scholarships and collaborative study section you:

1. Select ‘My higher degree is not collaborative’
2. Select 'I am applying for, or have been awarded a scholarship or sponsorship'.
3. Select ‘Other’, then ‘Research Project Scholarship’ and type in ‘CITIES-KENWAY’ in the 'Name of scholarship' field.

Rules

Read the policy on UQ Research Scholarships.

A domestic part-time student with carer’s responsibilities, a medical condition or a disability, which prevents them from studying full-time may be eligible for scholarship consideration, on a case-by-case basis.