Data Projects
Innovative digital tools and data systems are essential to strengthening biosecurity in northern Australia. To help meet this need, the Student Data Projects initiative, which is a partnership between CDU, Anima Co. and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, connects data analytics and software engineering students from Charles Darwin University (CDU) with biosecurity stakeholders to work on real-world challenges.
The Student Data Projects program links CDU students with government, industry and research partners to co-design solutions that enhance how biosecurity data is collected, stored, analysed and used. Students gain practical experience while stakeholders benefit from new tools and fresh thinking.
The initiative aims to provide real-world project experience for students, develop practical tools and systems that improve biosecurity data management and decision making, inspire future careers in biosecurity and create a talent pipeline.
This program is working in so many ways!
The program began in early 2025, and we are already seeing positive results. One of the participating students has been offered a position with the Biosecurity and Animal Welfare team at the Northern Territory Government, a strong indication that this pathway is working as intended.
We look forward to continuing this partnership and supporting the next generation of data-driven biosecurity professionals in northern Australia!
2026 Projects
Biosecurity Simulator Platform
Preparedness is about more than having a plan—it is about being able to apply knowledge and skills in a realistic and often rapidly changing environment.
The Biosecurity Simulator Platform has been developed to provide immersive, scenario-based training that helps participants build confidence and capability before a real-world incident occurs. Originally designed for aquatic biosecurity, the platform can also be adapted for plant and animal biosecurity scenarios.
Participants progress through multiple phases of a simulated biosecurity response, making decisions, responding to evolving situations, and receiving feedback throughout the exercise. The platform uses adaptive pathways, meaning responses influence how the scenario unfolds, creating a more realistic and engaging learning experience.
At the conclusion of each exercise, participants receive a report highlighting strengths and opportunities for improvement, supporting ongoing capability development.
Developed by Masters students at Charles Darwin University, the platform demonstrates how software engineering and innovative thinking can be applied to real-world biosecurity challenges. By combining technology with experiential learning, the simulator offers a practical approach to strengthening preparedness, decision-making, and response capability across the biosecurity sector.
Explore the platform below and experience how simulation-based learning can support biosecurity preparedness.
2025 Projects
Harvest Guard
Harvest Guard is a surveillance planning tool that helps agricultural growers reliably demonstrate their farms are pest-free. It replaces error-prone manual checklists with a scientific approach by allowing users to map farm boundaries, log pest sightings with photos, and auto-generate inspection sections. The app works offline with data syncing and offers easy report exports for audits. Future updates could include integrating real-time sensors, machine learning for inspection guidance, drone or satellite imagery, and user tutorials.
BioShield
BioShield is a cross-platform, 2D tower-defense educational game designed to raise awareness about agricultural biosecurity in Australia. It engages students and rural communities by combining interactive gameplay with accurate, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry-verified pest management content. Players defend virtual farms from real-world pests and diseases through multi-level, gamified simulations that promote biosecurity literacy.
Owner Reimbursement Costs (ORC) Calculator
The ORC Calculator is a user-friendly tool designed to streamline and automate reimbursement calculations for growers affected by plant pest emergencies. It replaces a slow, manual process with a dynamic calculation engine that supports multiple crop types. The tool features an intuitive, mobile-responsive interface and generates detailed PDF reports that can be downloaded or emailed. Future plans include expansion to all agricultural industries and integration with benchmark databases for automatic data sourcing.
Internet Data Scraping Tools
In this project, the students created an internet data scraping tool to identify uncharted community gardens in Northern Australia, addressing biosecurity risks these ‘hidden’ gardens may pose. The tool primarily scraped Google Search and Maps data, collecting 353 entries including 45 new community gardens. While Google Maps provided latitude and longitude coordinates, web search results included website links. The resulting database supports map building and links garden images, which can help identify plant types. The project established an automated framework for collecting, cleaning, and enriching online business data with future potential for further analysis.
This project focused on detecting unregistered community gardens in Northern Australia to enhance biosecurity surveillance. Identifying these gardens enables early monitoring of plant diseases and pest risks, raising awareness among gardeners about safe practices to prevent disease spread. The project discovered 48 new community gardens using data scraping tools that collect data from multiple websites and channels including social media, and YouTube. These automated tools help locate gardens in remote or lesser-known areas, supporting timely disease prevention and protection of agriculture and ecosystems.