This position is offered through the ANU Computing Internship

Organisation Description

Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University is Asia and the Pacific’s leading graduate public policy school. Staff and students at the School play an essential role in shaping public policy through research, education and policy engagement.

Crawford School is home to some of the region’s most important researchers and many staff are active on government committees and in key advisory roles across government, business and civil society. Students at the School are valued members of the region’s leading public policy community and contribute actively to the impact being made on the world’s challenges surrounding such issues as water, food, energy, economic development, the environment, and governance.

Crawford School of Public Policy has 2 projects on offer for Round 2. This is the Project 1.

Project 1: Social media and public perception towards residential renewable energy sources.

Finding alternative energy resources and using them are essential in the long term energy management plans. In this respect, social participation in the public energy debate has increased substantially because of the growing publication of newspapers, scientific studies, or information posted in more informal communication platforms; including blogs, and social media. Social media are valuable sources of information contributing to the discussion of contemporary energy issues, where individuals from different socio-cultural backgrounds share their preferences and opinions. The emergence of social media has resulted in the formation of various communication channels such as Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, Twitter, among others.

In this project, we will collect twitter messages concerning renewable energy technologies posted by the Australian users. Using natural language processing (NLP) tools and text mining techniques, we intent to provide indicators of concerns and sentiments towards clean energy solution for residential use and investigate the effectiveness of current renewable power incentives. Our research hypothesis is that social media can generate real time information that can contribute or supplement the national energy-related policy development and decision making.

Required/preferred technical skills or experience in software languages, environments, platforms.

Text mining, Natural language processing, Artificial intelligence, Python programming language.

Required/preferred professional or other skills

Social science, Psychology, Analytics.

Delivery Mode

Project can be undertaken in-person or remote

Student location

We are happy to host a student in any location

Eligibility

No citizenship requirements apply. 

How to apply

Applications are invited from eligible students to apply for the Computing Internship courses COMP3280 or COMP8830. Eligibility details of COMP3280/ COMP8830 and further information about the Computing Internship can be found on the Computing Internship page. 

1. Eligible students can apply through the Computing Internship application form which will be available via the Computing Internship page between 10 May and 17 May. You can nominate multiple preferred Internship projects and host organisations through the one online application form. 
2. Eligibility and Room Available in degree to undertake COMP3280/COMP8830 will be assessed at the time of application.  If you do not meet the eligibility criteria or do not have room in your degree to fit COMP3280/COMP8830, your application will not be progressed.
3. Your application will require you to upload the following documents:

• an updated copy of your Resume, and
• an Expression of Interest (limit 350 words) for each organisation you wish to apply to (for organisations with multiple projects only submit one Expression of Interest but state clearly which project/s you wish to be considered for).

Round 2 Applications open on Tuesday 10 May 2022 and close on Tuesday 17 May 2022.