The Office of the NSW Building Commissioner Doctorate Program

The Office of the NSW Building Commissioner (OBC)(opens in a new window) and Western Sydney University (WSU) have developed a unique Industry Doctorate Program.

The OBC Doctorate Program is underpinned by an exclusive data access agreement between OBC and WSU. This provides successful applicants working in four priority areas with special access to Construct NSW’s ‘Data Lake‘ which is fed by the OBC’s ongoing occupancy certificate audits and NSW Project Remediate(opens in a new window) program.

Aims

The OBC Doctorate Program is a vocational Doctor of Philosohy (PhD)(opens in a new window) program designed to meet the needs of industry by matching leading construction industry organisations with world-class research expertise, facilities and resources.

The OBC Doctorate Program is specifically designed to support The Construct NSW reform strategy to produce more trustworthy buildings through a more customer focused, ethical, sustainable, innovative and digitally enabled construction industry.

The OBC Doctorate Program provides exciting opportunities for industry thought-leaders from across the construction industry to challenge old institutional models, practices and norms and transform traditional ways of thinking by imagining a more trustworthy built world.

What does the scholarship provide?

  • Domestic candidates will receive a stipend of at least $30,000(AUD) per annum for up to 3 years to support living costs, supported by the Research Training Program (RTP) Fee Offset.
  • Additional support of up to $5,000 during the candidature to attend and present research at internationally recognised conferences, as approved by the University.

International candidates are not eligible to apply for this program.

Eligibility

This Industry Doctorate Program is open to candidates that can satisfy the following requirements:

  • A minimum of ten years industry experience, with the quality and relevance of your experience being considered.
  • Three industry referees that can attest to your subject matter expertise and your ability to undertake research at a high level.
  • A recognised prior qualification such as a Master's by Research or Bachelor degree (with first or second class Honours), or an equivalent or higher qualifications. Alternatively, evidence of general and professional  qualifications that demonstrate potential to pursue graduate research studies.
  • Support from your organisation (if you are an employee of the sponsoring organisation).

We welcome applications from a range of industry disciplines, including:

  • Construction
  • Engineering
  • Design
  • Law
  • Manufacturing
  • Business
  • Technology

Interdisciplinary insights are important to the outcomes of the program.

The nomination of the Western Sydney University supervisors will go through an expression of interest (EOI) process.

International candidates are not eligible to apply for this program.

Where can I find more information about the program?

You can download The Office of the NSW Building Commissioner Doctorate Program Flyer (PDF, 3447.14 KB)(opens in a new window) for more information about the program.

If you have an enquiry about the program, you can contact Associate Professor Olivia Mirza: o.mirza@westernsydney.edu.au

In your email, use the subject line 'OBC Doctorate Program enquiry' and provide a brief description of your previous experience, qualifications and area of research interest.