In early 2022 James Jones and Sons Ltd secured a majority share in Australian timber company Mayflower Enterprises which is the holding company of Hyne Timber and XLam. Recognising that there are opportunities to share best practice between the forestry and timber processing sectors in Australia and to promote development of young professionals James Jones & Sons will provide support for an annual bursary aimed at recent BSc and MSc graduates which will be facilitated by The Scottish Forestry Trust.

Each year a successful graduate will be supported to undertake a research project of their choice which will help transfer best practice in forestry from Australia to the UK. The scope of transfer of best practice is broad but should build on Australian forestry and forest products industries world leading approaches to developing an end-to-end approach connecting the sector with its end users and understanding their needs. Research could cover any aspect of this including genetics, silvicultural practice, grading and timber specifications, regulations and building specifications, timber engineering and supply chain, timber architecture and building design and logistics (note: this list is not exhaustive).

The successful graduate would be based at one of the Hyne/ XLam locations in Australia where access to a dedicated workspace would be provided.

There is no defined timescale set for the research project but it would be expected to require a minimum of 12 weeks and a maximum of 26 weeks to complete and should be commenced shortly after the successful candidate’s graduation.

All travel to and within Australia and accommodation will be arranged and paid directly by James Jones. A stipend of £340 per week will be paid to cover meals, incidental travel, insurance and other living costs while in Australia (The stipend is based on a typical UKRI grant in the UK (£17,668 p.a.) and RTP grant in Australia (A$30,000 p.a.). This will be paid in advance or instalments from The Scottish Forestry Trust depending on the duration of the project. The recipient will be expected to produce a research report (which will be published on the SFT website) and prepare one or more articles about their findings to be published in appropriate trade press. They should also be prepared to deliver an online Institute of Chartered Foresters CPD session discussing their research findings. A further £500 will be paid on completion of the dissemination activity. The successful graduate will also be awarded 1 year’s free Associate membership of the Institute of Chartered Foresters.

You can find the application form here and guidance notes here.

Applications to be submitted by 24 February 2023. Decision to be taken and announced by late April 2023.