PhD Scholarship - Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments (RISE)
Job No.: 697973
Faculty: Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture (MADA)
Location: Caulfield Campus
Duration: 3.5-year fixed-term appointment
Employment Type: Full-time
Potential Supervisors: Professor Diego Ramírez-Lovering, Dr Michaela Prescott, Dr Tanvi Maheshwari, Dr Brendan Josey, Kerrie Burge, Professor Tony Wong, Professor Peter Breen
Start date: February 2027 (indicative)
Remuneration:
The successful applicant will receive a Research Living Allowance, at current value of $41,100 AUD per annum 2027 full-time rate (tax-free stipend), indexed plus allowances as per RTP stipend scholarship conditions at: www.monash.edu/graduate-research/study/scholarships/fees-scholarships/scholarship-policy-and-procedures. Suitable candidates may also have opportunities for sessional teaching. A tuition fee scholarship will be provided for a successful international awardee. International students are responsible for relocation, visa and Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) costs.
About the Opportunity
Applications are invited from outstanding domestic and international candidates for a PhD scholarship embedded within the Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments (RISE) program.
RISE is an internationally recognised interdisciplinary research program developing and evaluating nature-based and hybrid infrastructure to improve health, environmental quality and climate resilience in informal settlements. As the program moves from successful pilot projects towards municipal and national implementation, these PhD projects investigate the scientific, technical and institutional innovations required to enable large-scale impact.
Successful candidates will join the Transforming Cities Hub at Monash University and work within an international network of researchers and implementation partners across Australia and Indonesia.
Potential PhD Projects
More than one billion people live in informal settlements facing increasing climate and environmental risks. While effective upgrading approaches have been demonstrated, significant challenges remain in scaling these approaches across diverse urban contexts.
Applicants should align their application with one of the following doctoral research projects.
1. AI-Aided Site Reconnaissance and Rapid Assessments for Settlement Upgrading
How can spatial analytics, remote sensing, and machine learning models be combined into rapid, low-cost assessment workflows to map environmental vulnerabilities, trace contamination pathways, and prioritise targeted water cycle infrastructure interventions across informal urban settlements?
Informal settlements house nearly a quarter of the global urban population, yet urban-scale upgrading is often formulaic and not targeted, or hindered by the high cost, complexity, and time intensity of traditional site assessments to prioritise context-specific solutions. In data-scarce environments, targeted critical urban water services infrastructure offers a scalable strategy to mitigate contamination pathways and harbour environmental uplift.
This PhD project explores AI-aided rapid assessment methods for vulnerability mapping, contamination pathway assessment and site prioritisation at the municipal and national scales. The candidate will develop automated workflows to overcome uneven data availability, enabling governments and planners to target critical infrastructure interventions efficiently and maximise benefits.
Urban data analytics, AI/Machine Learning, GIS, Spatial Planning
2. Optimisation of Hybrid Infrastructure Systems and Fit-for-Purpose Technologies
How can green-grey hybrid water infrastructure be optimised and technical guidelines adapted to support consistent, fit-for-purpose technology selection across diverse socio-technical contexts at national scale?
Moving from RISE’s initial 12 pilot settlements to nationwide implementation requires robust, adaptable engineering solutions. Building on monitoring and performance data from existing sites, this research investigates how to adapt, modify, and optimize decentralized nature-based solutions (NbS) and green-grey hybrid infrastructure—encompassing sanitation, drainage, and flood mitigation. The candidate will address critical gaps in technical guidance within Indonesian and regional policy contexts, developing standardised frameworks to streamline the selection and deployment of fit-for-purpose technologies across varied environmental and community settings.
Urban Water Engineering, Water-Sensitive Urban Design, Environmental Technology, Water Quality
3. Social and Institutional Frameworks for Upscaling Participatory Design
What elements of participatory co-design and community-based infrastructure implementation are essential for achieving long-term sustainability and how can these be institutionalised within state-led programs to enable scaling?
The RISE program has demonstrated that intensive community engagement drives long-term performance and local stewardship of hybrid water infrastructure. However, scaling community-led approaches through state-managed municipal programs presents major resource, financial, and administrative challenges. This doctoral research investigates how essential participatory mechanisms can be streamlined, institutionalised, and scaled without eroding community ownership or governance efficacy. Through a comparative institutional analysis of RISE interventions and established national community-based upgrading initiatives in Indonesia, the candidate will analyse how governance structures, inter-agency coordination, and Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) principles influence long-term stewardship to formulate a scalable social and institutional framework for implementation.
Urban Governance, Institutional Analysis, Participatory Planning, Co-design, GEDSI
Why Study with Us?
Successful candidates will undertake an embedded PhD in the Monash Department of Architecture, conducting research within RISE's international Living Lab alongside government agencies, communities, practitioners and researchers. This immersive approach enables candidates to engage directly with implementation, access unique longitudinal datasets, and generate interdisciplinary research that informs policy, practice and climate-resilient urban transformations. Where relevant, opportunities for industry placements with government and NGO partners can be explored.
Candidate Requirements
We welcome applicants with First Class Honours or a Master's degree in a relevant discipline.
Depending on the project, suitable backgrounds may include:
- Engineering
- Computer Science
- Artificial Intelligence
- GIS and Spatial Science
- Architecture
- Landscape Architecture
- Urban Design
- Urban Planning
- Environmental Science
- Public Policy
- Social Sciences
Applicants should demonstrate:
- excellent analytical and research capability
- interest in interdisciplinary and applied research
- motivation to work collaboratively with government and community partners
- excellent written and oral English communication skills
- capacity to undertake independent doctoral research.
Applicants must satisfy Monash University PhD admission requirements.
Research Statement (Maximum 1000 words)
Applicants are asked to prepare a Research Statement (maximum 1,000 words). The Research Statement is intended to help the selection panel understand your research interests, motivation, relevant experience, and suitability for the nominated project. It should respond to the prompts below rather than take the form of a formal research proposal.
Please identify the project (1, 2 or 3) you are applying for and address the following:
- the related research problem you wish to investigate
- why this question is important within the context of climate-resilient urban transformations
- your proposed research approach and methods
- how your background, experience and interests have prepared you for the project
In addition to the Research Statement, applicants should provide a list of key references cited (APA format) and, where applicable, a brief Statement of AI Use (see below). These are not included in the 1,000-word limit.
We are interested in understanding your thinking, your motivation, and your capacity to undertake doctoral research, rather than seeing a polished or finalised proposal.
Submit an Expression of Interest
EOIs should include:
- Research statement (maximum 1,000 words).
- academic transcripts
- evidence of English-language proficiency (if applicable)
- curriculum vitae using the Architecture CV template provided here
- portfolio (where relevant)
- research publications/writing sample
EOIs must be emailed to transforming.cities@monash.edu.
Applicants must satisfy the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (MADA) PhD admission requirements. Please refer to the MADA Graduate Research application page for eligibility criteria and application information.
Shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview via Zoom.
The successful candidate should be ready to commence by February 2027.
Project-related questions - transforming.cities@monash.edu
Admission requirements - mada-postgrad@monash.edu
Applications Close: Monday 28 September 2026, 11:55pm AEST
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The use of generative AI tools is permitted in preparing your Research Statement. If AI has been used to generate or substantially revise text, applicants should include a brief statement at the end of the document describing how the tool was used (maximum 50 words). The Research Statement should reflect your own thinking, analysis and motivation. Applicants are responsible for verifying accuracy of all information, including references. Shortlisted applicants will be expected to discuss their statement during the interview.
Supporting a diverse workforce
