Apply now for our 2023 Conference Scholarships!

April 17, 2023

Looking for a career that is personally and professionally rewarding, applies solutions to local and global problems, and involves travel and new cultures? Yes? Then, a future in agricultural development, or food and nutrition security might be for you! Read on for more details about exploring this pathway… 

The Crawford Fund has launched its conference scholarships – a fantastic opportunity for people under 35 who are passionate about food and nutrition security or agricultural research and development.

We strongly encourage you to seek out this opportunity to attend our annual conference in Canberra in September and experience two fun and informative half days of activities around the conference including personal mentoring and first-hand advice about the opportunities available.

These conference scholarships are an integral part of suite of NextGen activities to encourage young people in their study, careers and volunteering in international agricultural research and showcase for them the diversity of pathways available to explore.

Those who have received scholarships in the past have come from a diverse range of disciplines, including outside agriculture, but all had a strong interest in food and nutrition security.

Applications are open Australia-wide, but Queensland has already arranged their recipients so cannot take more applications.

Our past scholars are overwhelmingly positive about their conference scholarship experiences, seeing it as an invaluable mentoring, networking and motivational experience. You can sit back and enjoy the bumper issue of our 2022 scholar thoughts and reflections here.

About the program

The scholars are involved in two ½ days of activities in addition to the conference. They engage with the speakers, experienced Australian agricultural researchers and educators, and other passionate young people who have experience overseas in developing countries as researchers, volunteers or mentors.

The scholarships are awarded through our State and Territory programs, with conference registration fees and reasonable transport, food and accommodation costs covered by the award.

This year the conference scholar program will run from 12pm on Monday 04 September until 12pm on Wednesday 06 September, around our annual conference from the evening of 04 September and all day on 05 September.

We are really appreciative of the assistance we get in running the scholar activities by members of the Researchers in Agriculture for International Development (RAID Network).

Full details on eligibility and the application process are here. (Insert new flyer link)

Any questions can be directed to the Crawford Fund Coordinator for your State/Territory.

The application process is simple with a short online application form.

Applications close COB 21 May 2023.

Our 2023 conference

The Crawford Fund’s annual conference is a highlight of Australia’s agricultural development and food security calendar. For almost 30 years we have drawn significant focus to issues worthy of global and Australian attention, and this year we continue that proud tradition.

We will announce all the details of our conference soon, but the title is “Global Food Security in a Riskier Environment: Diversification for Resilient Food and Nutrition Systems.” This year’s conference will address the grand challenge presented by the need to produce more nutritious food, sustainably, in a riskier world.

Once again, we have brought together leading international and Australian thinkers and practitioners including:

• Keynote presentations from eminent international public and private sector experts.
• Targeted overview presentations on the status quo and innovative policy and development project options that address a set of significant nexus issues.
• A set of examples of impact delivered as case studies in short, rapid-fire presentations by leading Australian and international researchers across industries, global regions and agricultural sectors.

Scholar feedback from our last conference

“The 2022 Crawford Fund Scholar program provided an immersive environment to help me see the many pathways available in agriculture and international development. Any trepidations holding me back have been pushed aside to make way for newfound confidence to get out there and actively seek out opportunities. As a student who has only just begun post-graduate studies, I came in eager to learn about the different careers within this space and was well rewarded by the multitude of different people in varying professions that I was able to speak with.” VIC – Hannah Ebert, University of Melbourne

“The RAID network should be commended for helping break down the pre-conference nerves. I have never been to a conference where I have looked forward to talking to so many people, but I wished for even more time by the end. It’s a rare opportunity to speak so easily with many involved in agricultural research from diverse backgrounds and careers.” ACT – Michael Norman, CSIRO

“I have always had an inner drive to do volunteering at some stage of my career. Listening to people that have developed a career in the space through different paths certainly inspired me.  I came back home and started research on the volunteering opportunities that I was exposed to in the conference days and found out that many of them match my qualifications and areas of interest. I have already started a plan to make myself available for in-country volunteering in the next one or two years.” WA – Shell Xiao, University of Western Australia/Syngenta

All of the scholar feedback we received from the 2022 Conference is available here.