University of Adelaide National Industry PhD Program Scholarship: Reinforcement learning for accurate, online price prediction in the Australian National Electricity Market 2025

National Industry PhD Program  is an Australian Government initiative to enhance workforce mobility among higher degree by research students, and to promote knowledge transfer between academia and industries across all areas. PhD candidates under this program are connected with academic supervisors and industry-based researchers, to co-design innovative, applied research projects. Through their doctoral candidature, students will experience research in both university and industry settings, and undertake specialised training in research translation and commercialisation.

The University of Adelaide and OptiGrid Pty Ltd invite applications for a project under this program, exploring the application of reinforcement learning for modelling market participant behaviour to improve electricity price prediction accuracy in the Australian National Electricity Market.

 

Reinforcement learning for accurate, online price prediction in the Australian National Electricity Market

Project summary

This project will be undertaken in collaboration with Dr Ali Pourmousavi Kani of the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, and Dr Owen Lamont, Lead Software Engineer at OptiGrid. The student will co-located at the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Adelaide and OptiGrid office at Lot Fourteen.

 This project will redefine machine-learning based electricity price forecasting by developing an innovative AI-powered solution that captures real-world behaviour of market participants. The outcome will be a next generation forecasting tool that significantly improves the accuracy of electricity price forecasting, contributing to efficient energy markets and cheaper electricity for all Australians. Integrated into OptiGrid’s market-leading platform, this technology will help unlock the full potential of battery storage in power grids, enabling a 100% renewable power grid.

Table of Content

• Summary
• Benefits
• Requirments
• Application Deadline
• How To Apply

Summary

• Application DeadlineJuly 11, 2025
• Value$52,268 (2025 rate, indexed annually)
• Study LevelPhD
• SponsorUniversity of Adelaide
• City to studySouth Australia
• School to studyUniversity of Adelaide
• Eligible CountryAll Countries

Benefits

The successful candidate will receive:

• Admission to a PhD program at the University of Adelaide;
• A four-year scholarship package totalling $52,268 per annum (2025 rate, indexed annually), and a tuition fee waiver; 
• Supervision from research specialists at the University of Adelaide and OptiGrid; and
• A specialised training program in research translation and communication.

Upon successful examination of their thesis, the student will be awarded a PhD from the University of Adelaide.

Requirements

This opportunity is open to candidates who can meet the requirements for PhD admission at the University of Adelaide (including English language proficiency in the relevant academic area), and who can demonstrate suitable knowledge and experience in machine learning and AI, electricity market, and power system operation (through a high-quality Honours or Masters degree). The successful candidate must be able to enrol as a full-time PhD student at the University in the year of the offer. They must remain based in Adelaide, South Australia for the duration of the award.

Students that have previously completed a PhD program are, unfortunately, ineligible for the National Industry PhD Program.

The ideal candidate will also possess the following skills and qualifications:

• Solid foundation in machine learning, particularly deep reinforcement learning approaches, with a background in electricity markets and power systems engineering. Experience in software development, especially cloud services and data pipelines, is advantageous.
• Proven expertise in handling large datasets and time-series analysis. Familiarity with electricity market data is a plus.
• Advanced Python programming skills, preferably with experience in machine learning frameworks, data analysis libraries, and cloud computing, particularly AWS.
• Excellent academic record with either First Class Honours degree, or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Electrical Engineering, or related fields.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written English), including strong technical writing capabilities.
• Ability to clearly present complex technical concepts.
• High adaptability and eagerness to learn, ability to quickly grasp multidisciplinary concepts, and self-motivated with strong initiative.
• Passion for applying theoretical knowledge to create tangible impacts in real-world applications.

Application Deadline

July 11, 2025

How To Apply

 To apply, please email the following documents to principal supervisor Dr Ali Pourmousavi Kani ([email protected]) with the subject line ‘National Industry PhD Program Application’:

• CV
• Cover Letter (of not more than 2 pages) outlining your interest in the PhD project and describing how your background and research area align with the project
• Degree certificates and relevant academic transcripts, with translations of non-English documentation

Enquiries:

Dr Ali Pourmousavi Kani

[email protected] 

General Enquiries:

Email: [email protected]

For more information kindly visit University of Adelaide scholarship webpage.