The JD Technology Research Scholarship in Artificial intelligence

1. Background

a. This Scholarship has been established to provide financial assistance to PhD students who are undertaking fundamental research in Artificial Intelligence.

b. This Scholarship is funded by a collaboration agreement between Jingdong Technology Co Ltd and the University of Sydney.

2. Eligibility

a. The Scholarship is offered subject to the applicant having an unconditional offer of admission to study full-time in a PhD within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sydney.

b. Applicants must be willing to conduct fundamental research into Artificial Intelligence and work on an agreed research topic supervised by academic staff in the School of Computer Science at the University of Sydney and research scientists at Jingdong Technology Co Ltd.

c. Applicants must also hold an Honours degree (First Class or Second Class Upper) or equivalent in a relevant discipline.

d. It is a condition of accepting this scholarship that awardees withdraw applications for Research Training Program (RTP) funding, including any RTP Allowance, RTP Fees Offset (international only), RTP Stipend or RTP Scholarships.

e. International students currently outside Australia must have applied for a student visa before they commence their studies.

f. The applicants must be willing to be affiliated with Sydney Artificial Intelligence Centre.

3. Selection Criteria

a. The successful applicant will be awarded the Scholarship on the basis of:

I. academic merit,
II. curriculum vitae, and
III. area of study and/or research proposal.

b. The successful applicant will be awarded the Scholarship on the nomination of the relevant research supervisor(s), or their nominated delegate(s).

4. Value

a. The Scholarship will provide a stipend allowance equivalent to the University of Sydney’s Research Training Program (RTP) Stipend rate (indexed on 1 January each year) for up to 3 years, subject to satisfactory academic performance.

b. The recipient may apply for an extension of the stipend allowance for up to 6 months.

c. The Scholarship will provide $2500 per annum for same duration as the stipend for conference registration fees and conference travel costs to highly ranked conferences. This will be reimbursed to the student upon the provision of receipts through the lead supervisor.

d. Academic course fees and the Student Services Amenities fee (SSAF) are also provided for a successful international applicant, for 12 research periods, subject to satisfactory academic performance.

e. The recipient may apply for an extension of the academic course fees and SSAF for up to 2 research periods.

f. Periods of study already undertaken towards the degree prior to the commencement of the Scholarship will be deducted from the maximum duration of the Scholarship excluding any potential extension period.

g. The Scholarship is for commencement in the relevant research period in which it is offered and cannot be deferred or transferred to another area of research without prior approval.

h. No other amount is payable.

i. The Scholarship will be offered subject to the availability of funding.

5. Eligibility for Progression

a. The Scholarship is maintained by attending and passing the annual progress evaluation, completing 12 credit points of HDR coursework units by the end of year 2 and remaining enrolled in their PhD.

b. Student will be required to participate in the monthly research progress meetings with the principal supervisor from the faculty and the co supervisor from Jingdong Technology Co

6. Leave Arrangements

a. The Scholarship recipient receives up to 20 working days recreation leave each year of the Scholarship and this may be accrued. However, the student will forfeit any unused leave remaining when the Scholarship is terminated or complete. Recreation leave does not attract a leave loading and the supervisor's agreement must be obtained before leave is taken.

b. The Scholarship recipient may take up to 10 working days sick leave each year of the Scholarship and this may be accrued over the tenure of the Scholarship. Students with family responsibilities, caring for sick children or relatives, or experiencing domestic violence, may convert up to five days of their annual sick leave entitlement to carer’s leave on presentation of medical certificate(s). Students taking sick leave must inform their supervisor as soon as practicable.

7. Research Overseas

a. Scholarship recipients commencing in Australia may not normally conduct research overseas within the first six months of award.

b. Scholarship recipients commencing in Australia may conduct up to 12 months of their research outside Australia. Approval must be sought from the student's lead supervisor, Head of School and the Higher Degree by Research Administration Centre (HDRAC), and will only be granted if the research is essential for completion of the degree. All periods of overseas research are cumulative and will be counted towards a student's candidature. Students must remain enrolled full-time at the University and receive approval to count time away.

c. Scholarship recipients are normally expected to commence their degree in Australia. However, Scholarship recipients who are not able to travel to Australia to start their degree, may commence their studies overseas only if they have applied for their student visa and with the approval of their lead supervisor and Associate Dean (Research Education).

8. Suspension

a. The Scholarship recipient cannot suspend their award within their first six months of study, unless a legislative provision applies.

b. The Scholarship recipient may apply for up to 12 months suspension of the Scholarship for any reason during the tenure of the Scholarship. Periods of Scholarship suspension are cumulative and failure to resume study after suspension will result in the award being terminated. Approval must be sought from the student's supervisor, Jingdong Technology Co Ltd and the Faculty via application to the Higher Degree by Research Administration Centre (HDRAC). Periods of study towards the degree during suspension of the Scholarship will be deducted from the maximum tenure of the Scholarship.

9. Changes in Enrolment

a. The Scholarship recipient must notify HDRAC, Jingdong Technology Co Ltd and their supervisor promptly of any planned changes to their enrolment including but not limited to: attendance pattern, suspension, leave of absence, withdrawal, course transfer, and candidature upgrade or downgrade. If the award holder does not provide notice of the changes identified above, the University may require repayment of any overpaid stipend and tuition fees.

10. Termination

a. The Scholarship will be terminated:

I. on resignation or withdrawal of the recipient from their research degree,
II. upon submission of the thesis or at the end of the award,
III. if the recipient ceases to be a full-time student and prior approval has not been obtained to hold the Scholarship on a part-time basis,
IV. upon the recipient having completed the maximum candidature for their degree as per the University of Sydney (Higher Degree by Research) Rule 2011 Policy,
V. if the recipient receives an alternative primary stipend and tuition fees scholarship. In such circumstances this Scholarship will be terminated in favour of the alternative stipend and tuition fees scholarship where it is of higher value,
VI. if the recipient does not resume study at the end of a period of approved leave, or
VII. if the recipient ceases to meet the eligibility requirements specified for this Scholarship, (other than during a period in which the Scholarship has been suspended or during a period of approved leave).
VIII. if the recipient commences their degree from overseas without having applied for their student visa.

b. The Scholarship may also be terminated by the University before this time if, in the opinion of the University:

I. the course of study is not being carried out with competence and diligence or in accordance with the terms of this offer,
II. the student fails to maintain satisfactory progress, or
III. the student fails to attend and pass their annual progress evaluation and complete 12 credit points of HDR coursework units by the end of year 2, or
IV. the student has committed misconduct or other inappropriate conduct.

c. The Scholarship will be suspended throughout the duration of any enquiry/appeal process.

d. Once the Scholarship has been terminated, it will not be reinstated unless due to University error.

11. Misconduct

a. Where during the Scholarship a student engages in misconduct, or other inappropriate conduct (either during the Scholarship or in connection with the student’s application and eligibility for the Scholarship), which in the opinion of the University warrants recovery of funds provided, the University may require the student to repay payments made in connection with the Scholarship. Examples of such conduct include and without limitation; academic dishonesty, research misconduct within the meaning of the Research Code of Conduct (for example, plagiarism in proposing, carrying out or reporting the results of research, or failure to declare or manage a serious conflict of interests), breach of the Code of Conduct for Students and misrepresentation in the application materials or other documentation associated with the Scholarship.

b. The University may require such repayment at any time during or after the Scholarship period. In addition, by accepting this Scholarship, the student consents to all aspects of any investigation into misconduct in connection with this Scholarship being disclosed by the University to the funding body and/or any relevant professional body.

12. Intellectual Property

The successful recipient of this Scholarship must complete the Student Deed Poll supplied by the University of Sydney.

13. Acknowledgement

a. The successful applicant must provide Jingdong Technology Co Ltd and the University of Sydney with a copy of any proposed publications within 45 days in advance of submitting for publication. Comments and/or reasonable amendments to the publication can be made by Jingdong Technology Co Ltd and the University of Sydney to protect their Confidential Information and/or Intellectual Property provided they are given to the publishing Party in writing no later than 45 days before the publication is made.

14. Privacy and Confidentiality

a. The successful applicant is required to keep all confidential information disclosed by the Jingdong Technology Co Ltd or the University of Sydney confidential and ensure it is not disclosed to a third party without the prior written consent of the University of Sydney or Jingdong Technology Co Ltd, as appropriate, or as required by law.

b. All information or data provided to the successful recipient by the Jingdong Technology Co Ltd must remain confidential unless used for the purposes of the research outlined in these terms and conditions.

c. The successful recipient must gain written consent from Jingdong Technology Co Ltd prior to use of any confidential information in any thesis or other publication authored by the recipient.

15. Other requirements

a. The successful recipient agrees to provide a copy of their thesis to Jingdong Technology Co Ltd in advance of submitting it for publication.