Dr Katrin Kockler
Postdoctoral Research Fellow | School of Chemical Engineering | The University of Queensland
November – December 2025 | 3 Weeks
Company Spotlight
City of Gold Coast Council is one of Australia’s largest local governments, serving over 600,000 residents across a 57 km coastline. They lead key environmental initiatives—such as the Climate Resilience & Sustainability Strategy (2023–2033) and the Towards Zero Waste Plan—tackling challenges like waste reduction, biosecurity, and flood risk management
Placement Overview
Katrin’s placement was designed to support her transition into a government career. She worked across environmental management, biosecurity, and climate risk teams—gaining insight into council operations and contributing to sustainability initiatives. Activities included water quality sampling, wastewater treatment plant tours, feral deer management fieldwork, and assisting with a Climate Risk Assessment and Adaptation Plan.
Skills Developed
- Climate risk assessment and adaptation planning
- Stakeholder engagement and policy insight
- Biosecurity fieldwork and environmental impact assessment
Outcomes
- Contributed to an LGA-wide Climate Risk Assessment project
- Built a professional network across council departments
- Gained hands-on experience in biosecurity and environmental management
Katrin says:
The placement with the Gold Coast City Council was fantastic. It helped me get a good understanding of the workings of local government, engage with a range of different teams and stakeholders, and enabled me to gain a broad range of technical as well as transferable knowledge.
Learn more about how our industry placements prepare graduates for careers in sustainable materials research.
