The National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT) has been recognised for its innovative and transformational engagement between higher degree research candidates and industry partners in this year’s Australian Council of Graduate Research (ACGR) Excellence Awards.

NCGRT won the 2023 ACGR Award for Excellence in Promoting Industry Engagement in Graduate Research, which is part of a suite of ACGR annual awards that promote quality in higher degree research supervision, leadership and industry engagement.

Established in 2009 as an ARC Centre of Excellence, NCGRT brings about 50 Australian and international researchers together with government and private industry partner organisations to pool their knowledge and expertise.

Led by Professor Peter Cook and Associate Professor Ilka Wallis, the Centre’s approach to successful and effective industry collaboration is to involve industry at all stages of research project creation, development and implementation.

NCGRT empowers its HDR researchers to design projects that have a direct application in solving the industry’s most challenging groundwater problems. For example, one of NCGRT’s HDR students is currently working on managed aquifer recharge (MAR), in a collaborative project with Rio Tinto, WA Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and the WA Water Corporation. The student’s first paper was also sent to industry leaders in Fortescue Mining and Australian Groundwater Technologies for their interest and comment.

Through their projects, NCGRT’s HDR students gain access to an MAR users group, and they gain insight into environmental and operator issues associated with the management of MAR. Their research has contributed to guidelines for wastewater treatment systems currently used by government and industry.

Check out the winning NCGRT submission here.