The Opportunity
Monash University and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) launched the Zema Energy Studies Scholarship in March 2019, a world-class Ph D program to develop the nation’s future energy leaders.
The Scholarship has been established to honour the memory of AEMO’s founding Chief Executive Officer, energy reform leader and Monash alumnus Matt Zema, and is designed to support the next generation of leaders to meet Australia's energy sector challenges. It was created with the support of the Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council and in partnership with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
The Zema Scholarship aims to create a cohort of energy professionals with advanced multidisciplinary knowledge across engineering, IT and business and economics. The Ph D program is intended to deepen student’s expertise, unlock their full leadership potential and help them gain exposure to Australia’s national energy industry. The scholarship provides a $50,000 per annum stipend plus the opportunity for a paid internship with AEMO, and will support the successful applicant for the approved duration of their Ph D candidature, to a maximum of three-and-a-half years.
Candidates interested in a Masters by Research in the below topic areas, will also be considered. Potential research areas and supervisors.
These are example projects listed under the Zema Energy Studies Scholarship. If you would like to contact a supervisor and design an energy related research project, this would be considered. Multidisciplinary projects will be given priority.
www.monash.edu/energy-institute/students/scholarships/zema-energy-studies-scholarship
1. Energy price comparison websites impact on residential consumers’ behaviour
Supervisors: Professor Asad Islam, Professor Russell Smyth and Associate Professor Choon Wang (Economics)
Quantifying how information influences electricity consumers’ behaviour is vital to understanding the potential of demand-side management in the electricity sector. DELWP has initiated the Victorian Energy Compare (VEC) website and the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program to help Victorian households to reduce their energy bills. Using survey data collected from the website users, this project addresses the questions of whether the existence of such a website creates more competition and lower energy prices, and whether provision of information to electricity consumers results in lower energy bills.
2. Examining the effectiveness and uptake of electricity pricing mechanisms
Supervisors: Professir Lata Gangadharan, Associate Professor Anke Leroux and Professor Erte Xiao (Economics)
The project examines the voluntary reduction or shift of electricity use by customers, which can help to keep a power grid stable by balancing its supply and electricity demand. This kind of demand response typically involves paying some energy consumers to voluntarily cut or shift their use of power to better match supply. This project examines the role of monetary and non-monetary incentives through trials of volunteers receiving two separate bills; one with real time price incentives, and the other based on a standard contract, with the volunteers able to choose which bill to pay.
3. Pricing electricity derivatives
Supervisors: Associate Professor Guillaume Roger and Dr Ivan Guo
Because electricity is not meaningfully storable, a replicating portfolio that is normally used to enforce the no-arbitrage condition necessary to price derivatives cannot be constructed. Instead practitioners have relied on proxies based on fuel (e.g. coal), because fuel can be stored and the necessary no-arbitrage condition between fuel price and the derivative on fuel can be enforced.
As the energy transition progresses, fewer thermal generators operate and electricity storage arises. This has two consequences: first, no-arbitrage directly on electricity can be considered; second, the fuel-based proxies disappear. This project aims at developing pricing methods that rest on storage rather than fuel. It is steeped in economics and in mathematics.
Candidate Requirements

• You can apply to pursue one of the Zema scholarship projects or contact a willing supervisor and design your own project. See the list of potential supervisors at Monash. Please note that researchers receive many requests for supervision. Make sure your email is specific for the Zema Scholarship and describes the research area/project you wish to work in, and provides details of your academic record. If the researcher agrees to be nominated on your application, you should proceed to the next step.
• The process for applying for a Ph D scholarship at Monash varies for each faculty, but in general you will need to find a supervisor (an academic at Monash) and then submit an expression of interest with your faculty, after which you will be invited to make a full submission.

Business School
Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) or To Apply

After you have received an invitation to apply, you can submit an application via the online portal.
The deadline for submitting full applications is 31 October 2024, and so you should be making contact with potential supervisors by early October.
Enquiries: energy-institute@monash.edu

Applications Close: Thursday 31 October 2024, 5:00pm AEDT
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