PhD Student Sought for Active Transport Study

Sydney, NSW

The University of Sydney is looking for a student to undertake PhD research on the health benefits of active transport.

The position will support the university’s Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS) and its research into sustainable and healthy urban mobility.

The institute is teaming with the Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning to develop and implement an evaluation framework that examines interventions to promote active travel up to and during the Covid 19 pandemic.

The joint project, funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Program, will explore the impacts of interventions in both green field and established locations, focusing on long-term behaviour change and public health benefits.

University of Sydney’s world-leading authorities on active transport and health will work with the selected student to identify and quantifying the health, environmental, social and economic benefits of supporting active and sustainable travel.

That will include examining the influence of the pandemic to cause the rapid delivery of interventions and create a unique opportunity to inform future policy development.

The student will develop methods to evaluate the implementation of active travel interventions in a variety of locations.

The position has been funded for three and a half years, with a full-time stipend of $35,000 per annum (pro-rata).

Applicants should have an honours degree in a relevant discipline such as geography, urban planning, public health, sociology or engineering. A Master’s degree with a research component would be an advantage, as would evidence of contributions to relevant scholarly publications.

Applicants must be a citizen or permanent resident of Australia or NZ and, ideally, available to start the role by January 2023.

Interested people should contact Dr Jennifer Kent, from the Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning, at Jennifer.kent@sydney.edu.au.