Developing Multi-Hazard Assessment Tools & Adaptation Strategies to Support Climate Resilience & Disaster Risk Reduction
Education, Humanities and Social Sciences
ABOUT THE INDUSTRY PARTNER
The Adaptation, Impact and Risk Science (AIRS) Team in the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) provides the applied climate science and adaptation evidence that underpins the NSW Climate Change Adaptation Strategy. This project assist translating a rapidly growing and fragmented body of climate adaptation research into coherent, decision-relevant knowledge that can support multi-hazard risk assessment and adaptation planning for the built environment.
We seek to strengthen the applied adaptation research by undertaking a comprehensive and critical review of adaptation strategies for the built environment, with a specific focus on multi-hazard climate risk. This project will support Action 5 of the NSW Climate Change Adaptation Strategy by advancing understanding of adaptation options, identifying key knowledge gaps, and informing future modelling, planning and policy work.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
This internship will provide the Intern with applied training in climate adaptation research within the NSW Government setting. The Intern will gain experience working at the interface of scientific research, policy relevance and real-world decision-making, supporting resilience and climate hazard risk reduction in the built environment.
The internship will support broader workplace skill development, including professional writing, time management, collaboration, project prioritisation, and working effectively within multidisciplinary teams. The Intern will gain exposure to government research processes, information management, and how adaptation science informs planning systems, enterprise risk management and reporting.
This experience will strengthen the Intern’s research capability, professional judgement and work-readiness for future roles in academia, government or applied climate and resilience research.
RESEARCH TO BE CONDUCTED
The internship will support a structured and critical review of the scientific literature on adaptation strategies for the built environment in the context of multi-hazard climate risk. The research will focus on how adaptation strategies are conceptualised, framed and assessed in the literature.
The core research objectives are to:
- Review and synthesise current adaptation science related to the built environment, with attention to urban contexts and multiple interacting climate hazards (e.g. heat, drought, flooding and compound risks).
- Examine how adaptation strategies are framed and classified in the literature, including underlying assumptions regarding scale, governance, implementation context and decision-making responsibility.
- Identify key knowledge gaps, limitations and unresolved questions that constrain the application of adaptation science in real-world planning, policy and investment decisions.
SKILLS WISH LIST
If you’re a postgraduate research student and meet some or all the below we want to hear from you. We strongly encourage women, indigenous and disadvantaged candidates to apply:
- Strong interest in climate change adaptation, resilience and disaster risk reduction, particularly in the built environment.
- Relevant academic background in climate science, environmental science, geography, engineering, planning, or a related discipline.
- Capability to work with climate and environmental data, including gridded datasets (e.g. NetCDF), and to interpret results from quantitative analyses.
- Proficiency in Python or similar programming environments for data analysis and visualisation.
- Familiarity with spatial analysis approaches commonly used in environmental or built-environment research.
- Ability to critically review and synthesise scientific literature, including modelling-based studies.
- A track record of publications and/or presentations is desirable.
- Strong analytical thinking, written communication and organisational skills.
RESEARCH OUTCOMES
The internship will deliver outcomes that directly support DCCEEW’s applied adaptation research and future decision-making needs. Key outputs include:
- A comprehensive literature review report summarising the current state of adaptation science for the built environment under multi-hazard climate risk.
- A critical synthesis of adaptation strategies, including how they are framed, classified and assessed across different hazards, spatial scales and urban contexts.
- Identification of key knowledge gaps and research priorities, particularly where existing evidence is insufficient to support robust, decision-ready adaptation planning.
- An advanced draft manuscript, structured and written to peer-review standards, suitable and ready for submission to a high-quality international journal in climate adaptation or urban resilience.
These outputs will inform future modelling, policy development and tool-building activities within the AIRS Team, supporting more resilient built-environment outcomes and the prevention and reduction of climate-related hazards.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
The intern will receive $3,300 per month of the internship, usually in the form of scholarship payments.
It is expected that the intern will primarily undertake this research project during regular business hours and maintain contact with their academic mentor throughout the internship either through face-to-face or phone meetings as appropriate.
The intern and their academic mentor will have the opportunity to negotiate the project’s scope, milestones and timeline during the project planning stage.
Please note, applications are reviewed regularly and this internship may be filled prior to the advertised closing date if a suitable applicant is identified. Early submissions are encouraged.
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