Applications open for career ‘Hart Start’ with regional grains research internship
Agricultural graduates are being invited to kick start their career in applied grains research through a successful internship program.
Applications are now open for the Hart Field-Site Group’s (Hart) Regional Internship in Applied Grains Research, to be based in Clare, South Australia, for a 12-month hands-on placement starting in February/March 2023. The program is open to students who have completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences or equivalent in the past five years and is supported by the South Australian Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub. Hart is one of the country’s most highly regarded grower groups, recognised for its work over the past 40 years in grains research including weed management and control, soil fertility and crop nutrition, crop entomology and agronomy and seeding systems. The regional internship program, offered since 2016, has been developed in conjunction with Hart, the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), and this year has welcomed the South Australian Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub on-board to support the program.
Current intern Declan Anderson (pictured next page) joined Hart in 2021, having completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science at the University of Adelaide and focussing on agronomy and soil science in his final year of study.
Declan grew up on a cropping and sheep property at Ouyen in Victoria and said he was attracted to the Hart internship as an opportunity to improve his research skills in a supportive workplace and build his industry networks.
“I have really enjoyed the Hart Internship,” he said.“
One of the highlights for me is getting to work across different aspects of agriculture - from disease to herbicides to seeding systems and more. “I have learnt a lot more about the details of agriculture.”
Declan said the Regional Internship in Applied Grains Research was ideal for anyone wanting to develop their skills and said it had given him the impetus to continue a career in agriculture.
“For anyone who is interested in grains research, the Hart internship is a great program for applicants as it develops researching and extension skills, while also having great support through the program,” he said.
“I am definitely wanting to continue working in grains research as I see great value in the information that researchers put out there for growers and I want to contribute more to Australian ag.”
South Australian Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub knowledge broker Tony Randall said the hub was pleased to partner with the Hart Field-Site Group.
“It is so important to bring through the new generation of researchers so they’ve got a really well-rounded understanding of drought-resilience and what that means to farming systems, as well as an opportunity to build resilience into farming systems,” he said.
“Hart is a wonderful group to work with, they have exceptional networks to a wide-range of organisations – many of whom are SA Drought Hub partners – and they do a lot of work in the drought resilience space already through their field trials and workshops.
“It was a really natural progression and a good fit to align with the Hart internship program.”