The Adelaide Graduate Research School (AGRS) and the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia are partnering to create three internship opportunities for University of Adelaide PhD students, to contribute to the following projects.

About the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia

The Royal Geographical Society of South Australia (RGSSA) is a 140-year old not-for-profit learned society dedicated to advancing geographical knowledge and understanding, particularly concerning South Australia and its place in the world. The Society actively fosters geographical research, education, and public engagement through diverse means including lectures, publications, field trips, and community outreach.

Internship opportunities

Internship 1: Development of an internationally significant ArcGIS StoryMap on French explorers’ naming practices along the Australian coastline.

RGSSA is currently working on a significant reference resource that will provide an informative narration of episodes in Australia’s early European history and the enduring legacy of the origin of placenames in the continent’s maps.

The student will be required to work with two senior academics converting a noteworthy, original, and extensive research document on French place names bestowed on the Australian coast by the d’Entrecasteaux (1792-1793) and Baudin (1801-1803) expeditions into a publicly accessible ArcGIS StoryMap.

The authors/RGSSA will provide high quality data comprising images, text, and detailed locational information for 667 names/toponyms given to localities on the Australian coast by d’Entrecasteaux and Baudin. The expected output is a globally and publicly accessible ArcGIS StoryMap depicting and explaining these French explorers’ naming practices. 

This internship opportunity is open until filled.

Discipline areas:

• Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education / School of Social Sciences

• Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education / School of Humanities

   

Internship 2: Authorship or co-authorship of a non-fiction book: Curiosity and adventure: stories of early tourism in South Australian regions

The RGSSA wishes to compile and publish a non-fiction RGSSA book about tourism in South Australia from late 19th century to mid-20th century. The book is intended to comprise chapters by region and regional stories and to appeal to a well-educated, diverse audience with interests in touring, history, geography, and natural wonder.

The student will work under the supervision and guidance of a small, expert editorial committee to produce at least one chapter for this book. Chapters will draw heavily from RGSSA library source material including photographs, advertisements, personal stories and diaries to enrich the narrative. RGSSA Library volunteers will provide research support in locating appropriate materials.

The expected output is a chapter-length contribution (approx. 5,000 words/20 pages) to an RGSSA-published book, with each student-author identified as a named contributor.

This internship opportunity is open until filled.

Discipline areas:

• Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education / School of Humanities

• Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education / School of Social Sciences

   

Internship 3: Co-authorship of a history of the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia.

In acknowledgment of its 140th anniversary (in 2025) RGSSA is working on a stand-alone update to its two previous published organisational histories, the first covering 1885-1985 and the second 1985-1995.

The student will be required to work collaboratively with two longstanding members of the Society to write/edit the new 1986-2025 history which will be published by the Society. The RGSSA will provide access to the two earlier histories as well as to a range of primary data spanning the 1986-2025 period including Council Minutes, Annual Reports, and Society Newsletters. 

The expected output is a succinct publication that both provides a clear and readable history of the Society over the transformative 1986-2025 period and lays the foundations for a longer historical volume to be produced for the Society’s sesquicentenary in 2035.  

This internship opportunity is open now, with applications closing on 4 April 2025.

Discipline areas:

• Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education / School of Humanities

• Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education / School of Social Sciences

   

Eligibility:  The PhD student must be:  

• within the first 18 months of their candidature,  
• willing to undertake the research internship for a minimum duration of 60 FTE business days,  
• making satisfactory progress, and  
• undertaking research in an area aligned with the proposed research internship project  

More information about University of Adelaide's Research Internships is available here.

Application Process:  To apply, please email the following documents to hdr_internships@adelaide.edu.au (HDR Internships Team) with the internship name in the title:  

• Resume
• Cover Letter (of not more than 2 pages) outlining your interest in the internship and describing how your research area aligns with the proposed field of research internship.  

Please note that applications will be considered on a rolling basis and the advertisement may be closed earlier if a suitable applicant is shortlisted for a particular project prior to the listed closing date. Furthermore, if shortlisted, a meeting is likely to be organised between the student, their supervisor and the organisation's focal contact person within a week of shortlisting. Students may consider discussing their internship plans with their Principal Supervisor in anticipation of that.