The annual PhD student workshop was held on the 16 and 17 September at Rottnest Island.

Twenty four of the CRC's PhD students made the journey to Rottnest Island to enjoy two days sitting indoors and working hard while the sun shone outside.

After a pleasant ferry trip over to Rottnest Island, the students had barely put their bags down before they began grappling with the issue of intellectual property; how to recognise and protect IP, how to search for IP and how to identify market opportunities.

Dr Frances Shapter (Assoc. Research Fellow) and Associate Professor Carol Morris (Director of the Centre for Phytochemistry and Pharmacology) from Southern Cross University presented the workshop. Both Fran and Carol have been involved with the Grain Foods CRC and our students gained a lot from their expertise and assistance.

After a long day, the students relaxed at a BBQ dinner where Ern Kostas from CRC participant organisation, Co-operative Bulk Handling Limited gave an informal talk on the stored grain industry as end-users of CRC research activities.

The second day of the student workshop began with an early lecture on Leadership and Project Management delivered by Frances. The students worked hard throughout the day and in the culminating activity, presented a work breakdown structure of their PhD projects identifying end-users, stakeholders and major tasks.

Dinner on the second night included talks from CEO, Dr Simon McKirdy and Communications Officer, Kate Scott. Among other things, Simon and Kate discussed publication guidelines, branding and CRC support for the PhD students.

After a late night discussing projects and the importance of the Australian viticulture industry, the students spent a morning relaxing on the island before returning to the mainland and back to their home states and cities.

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