Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cybersecurity Australian Catholic University in Australia

A fully funded PhD scholarship is available at the Australian Catholic University (ACU) North Sydney campus, in partnership with ReadyTech, focusing on the future of Human–AI collaboration in cybersecurity and agentic AI. The project aims to explore how humans and autonomous AI agents can collaborate to stress-test AI systems for safety, security, and trust. Research topics include orchestrating hybrid Human–AI red teams, designing intelligent role allocation between humans and AI, building interfaces and performance metrics, aligning with industry standards (OWASP, MITRE ATLAS, ISO/IEC 42001, NIST AI RMF), and translating research into real-world industry applications.

The position is based at ACU North Sydney and supervised by Associate Professor Walayat Hussain, an expert in AI, information systems, and computational intelligence. The scholarship is open to both domestic and international applicants and provides a $33,511/year tax-free stipend for 3.5 years, full tuition coverage (~$30,000/year), industry experience, and relocation allowances. Applicants should be passionate about AI, cybersecurity, human–AI teaming, autonomous agents, LLMs, or ethical AI, and be motivated to contribute to the development of safe and trustworthy AI systems.

The application deadline is 16 January 2026. Interested candidates are encouraged to contact Associate Professor Walayat Hussain for an initial discussion and review the official scholarship details on the ACU website.