• A recent two-day online conference for Charles Sturt University higher degree research (HDR) students and supervisors showcased their achievements and research projects

A Charles Sturt University online conference for higher degree research (HDR) students and their academic supervisors this week shared ideas and celebrated the limitless potential of HDR in this ever-evolving world.

The two-day Charles Sturt Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences (FoBJBS) online conference on Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 November heard from keynote speakers, fostered collaboration with peers and research support teams, and showcased HDR projects.

This event offered students and supervisors a valuable platform for collaboration, idea-sharing and learning from peers and expert speakers.

Participants joined virtually as well as attending in-person meet-and-greet sessions at Charles Sturt campuses in Bathurst, Canberra, Port Macquarie and Wagga Wagga.

Details about the conference program and additional information can be found on the conference website.

Faculty Sub-Dean (Graduate Research) and Senior Lecturer in Computing Dr Arif Khan (pictured top, inset) said the conference was opened by Charles Sturt University Vice-Chancellor Professor Renée Leon, PSM.

“The event emphasised recognition of the achievements of HDR students, and provided them with insights from the University’s research leaders, key industry figures and academic speakers,” Dr Khan said.

“The students also learnt about the research and development services available at the University.”

Keynote speakers at the conference included Professor Iain Collings from Macquarie University, Dr Ausma Bernot from Griffith University and Dr Jasmine MacDonald from the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

“This conference was an opportunity for FoBJBS HDR students to navigate the evolving landscape of higher degree research and connect with innovative ideas that will influence their future careers,” Dr Khan said.

Dr Khan noted several recent FoBJBS HDR students’ achievements including winning international research awards and inclusion and publications in top-ranked research journals and conferences:

• HDR student Ms Chrissy Antonopoulos won the Harold Yuker Award for Research Excellence from the Division of Rehabilitation Psychology of the American Psychological Association for her paper ‘Implicit Bias Towards People with Disability: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis’.
• Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Finalist - Participating in the 3-Minute Thesis competition, HDR student Mr Mahir Habib was the finalist in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition this year (2024).
• HDR student Ms Andrea Young won the Executive Dean’s Excellence Award for 2024.
• HDR student Ms Sarah Condran’s PhD research proposal was recently accepted to the 33rd ACM International Conference on Information and Knowledge Management (CIKM 2024) (21-25 October) for the PhD Symposium, which is an ERA/CORE ranked A conference and one of the top data science venues in the world. Her research work is one of twenty works selected to be presented at this symposium, out of almost 100 with an acceptance rate of 26 per cent.
• HDR student Ms Heidi Gray won the Best Student Poster Award from the Rural Health Research Institute Poster Muster and gave a presentation at the 17th National Rural Health Conference held at Perth (16-18 September, 2024).

Examples of the research presented by HDR students at the conference included:

• Bridging the gap between traditional and non-traditional emergency volunteering in Australia: A new sustainable model. (John Moy, Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security)
• The place for emotion in conflict journalism. (Nicole Sim, School of Psychology)
• Evidence-based footwear prescription for diabetes-related foot ulcers: towards clinical decision support systems. (Kunal Kunal, School of Computing, Mathematics and Engineering)
• Grassroots innovation (GI) for sustainability: The role of community and business leaders in creating mutual sustainability solutions in Australia. (Nigel Collin, School of Business)
• Classification of grape cultivars based on geographical location using direct mass spectrometry and machine learning model. (Khokan Kumar Saha, School of Computing, Mathematics and Engineering)
• Monitoring and analysis of Dark Web suspicious activities to extend current cybersecurity resilience and maturity modelling. (Selahattin Hürol Türen, School of Computing, Mathematics and Engineering)
• How are virtual reality and artificial intelligence being used as psychological countermeasures for astronauts? A scoping review (Jennifer Sharp, School of Psychology)

The Charles Sturt Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences offers a range of courses to study and career opportunities in five main disciplines – Business, Psychology, Engineering, IT-Computing-Mathematics and Policing-Law-Security-Customs-Emergency Management.