SCHOLARSHIPS 4 POSTGRADUATES

ADB-Japan Scholarship Program for Developing Countries in Asia and Pacific

2015-03-20T05:40:00.000-07:00

ADB/Japan GovernmentMasters Degree

Deadline: varies
Study in: Asia, Australia, NZ
Course starts 2016

Brief description:

The Asian Development Bank-Japan Scholarship Program (ADB-JSP) aims to provide an opportunity for well-qualified citizens of ADB’s developing member countries to undertake postgraduate studies in economics, management, science and technology, and other development-related fields at participating academic institutions in the Asian and Pacific Region. Upon completion of their study programs, scholars are expected to contribute to the economic and social development of their home countries.

Host Institution(s):

ADB-JSP provides scholarships only to participating academic institutions under the Program.

Field(s) of study:

Programs covered by the ADB-JSP are postgraduate studies in economics, management, health, education, agriculture, environment, natural resource management, science and technology, and other development-related fields.

Only programs offered at the participating academic institutions in the Asian and Pacific Regions are eligible for ADB-JSP funding.

Number of Scholarships:

About 300 scholarships are awarded annually.

Target group:

The scholarships are open to citizens of ADB’s borrowing member countries

Scholarship value/inclusions:

The ADB-JSP provides full tuition fees, a monthly subsistence and housing allowance, an allowance for books and instructional materials, medical insurance, and travel expenses.

The scholarship is for one year with an extension to the second year of study, as appropriate, which shall be conditional on the scholar maintaining a satisfactory level of performance as determined by the institute. The maximum duration of scholarship award is two years for masters and doctorate programs.

Eligibility:

1. A national of an ADB borrowing member country (applicants from countries that are no longer borrowing from ADB are not eligible for the ADB-JSP Scholarship).

2. Gained admission to an approved MA/PhD course at an academic institution .

3. A bachelor’s degree or its equivalent with superior academic record.

4. At least two (2) years of full-time professional working experience (acquired after a university degree) at the time of application. Proficiency in oral and written English communication skills to be able to pursue studies.

5. Not more than 35 years old at the time of application. In exceptional cases, for programs which are appropriate for senior officials and managers, the age limit is 45 years old.

6. In good health.

7. Should agree to return to his/her home country after completion of studies under the Program.

8. Executive Directors, Alternate Directors, management and staff of ADB, consultants, and relatives of the aforementioned are not eligible for the Scholarship.

9. Staff of academic institutions are not eligible for the Scholarship.

10. Applicants living or working in a country other than his/her home country are not eligible for scholarships.

11. ADB-JSP does not support applicants who are already enrolled in graduate degree programs.

12. ADB-JSP does not sponsor undergraduate studies, distance learning programs, short-term training, conferences, seminars, thesis writing, and research projects.

Application instructions:

Applicants should request information and application forms from the chosen Academic Institution and should indicate to that Institution that they are applying for admission and that they would like to be considered for the ADB-JSP Scholarship. The completed Institution application form and required documentation, including the ADB-JSP Information Sheet form, should be submitted to the academic institution. No separate application to ADB is necessary.

You must send applications for scholarships at least six months prior to the planned time that you wish to commence studies. Please refer to the normal month of intake and deadline of application in the participating academic institutions.

It is important to visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.

Website:

Official Scholarship Website: http://www.adb.org/site/careers/japan-scholarship-program/main

Related Scholarships: List of Scholarships for Asians

Source Adapted from [http://www.scholars4dev.com/3795/adb-jsp-scholarships-for-asians-and-pacific-islanders/]

Top 10 Highest Paying Fresh Graduate Salaries in Malaysia

2015-03-19T06:39:00.002-07:00

Top 10 Highest Paying Fresh Graduate Salaries in Malaysia (2014)

Pharmacy RM3,640
Corporate Strategy RM3,200
Sales – Financial Services RM3,054
Doctor RM2,719
Sales – Engineering and IT RM2,612
Geophysics RM2,612
Aviation RM2,533
Actuarial Science RM2,475
Sales – Corporate RM2,456
IT – Software RM2,452

Source Adapted from [http://eduspiral.com/tag/top-10-highest-starting-salary-for-fresh-graduates-in-malaysia/]

World University Ranking-2015

2015-03-18T08:30:00.001-07:00

Source adapted from [http://scholarships4undergraduates.blogspot.com/2015/03/world-university-ranking-2015.html]

ENS Cachan International Scholarship Programme 2012-2013

2012-02-15T22:24:00.000-08:00

The International Scholarship Programme of the ENS Cachan is aimed at high level international students who are currently studying or have studied and obtained their most recent qualification outside of France.

The grant amounts to 1000 euros/month, for a duration of stay of 6 to 12 months.

In order to participate in the programme :
Step 1 : Please read attentively the ENS Cachan International Scholarship Regulations

Step 2 : Fill in the application form

The application forms should be filled in very carefully. We advise you to read first all the pages of the application file and prepare the information you will need

Step 3 : Send your application by e-mail at boursi12[AT]ens-cachan.fr and the paper application at

Ecole normale supérieure de Cachan
Relations internationales
61, Avenue du Président Wilson
94235 Cachan cedex - France

In case you need help, please write an e-mail to boursi12 [AT] ens-cachan.fr

Application deadline : 15 March 2012

Ajinomoto Postgraduate Scholarship

2012-02-11T03:11:00.000-08:00

IDRC's Graduate Research Awards on Climate Change and Water

2011-07-18T22:43:00.000-07:00

Adaptation H₂O

01/09/2011

IDRC's Graduate Research Awards on Climate Change and Water

CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2011-2012
Deadline: Thursday, September 1, 2011 (before 4:00 p.m. Ottawa time)

Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) supports research in developing countries to promote growth and development. The result is innovative, lasting local solutions that aim to bring choice and change to those who need it most.

IDRC’s Climate Change and Water Program (CCW) helps developing-country researchers understand how climate change affects water resources and find ways to improve the ability of citizens and governments to adapt to the changing environment.

CCW’s Adaptation H₂O Graduate Research Awards aim to build research capacity by providing funding to graduate students working on subjects related to climate change and water.

NUMBER, VALUE, AND DURATION OF AWARDS

We offer two types of awards:

1) For developing-country graduate students: A maximum of seven awards, each with a maximum value of CA$15,000, are available in 2011-2012. The award covers field work expenses for graduate students who are citizens of a developing country and who are enrolled in amaster’s or doctoral program at a Canadian or developing-country university.

2) For Canadian doctoral students: Up to two awards, each worth a maximum of CA$15,000, are also available to cover field work expenses of Canadian citizens (or permanent residents of Canada) enrolled in a doctoral program at a Canadian university.

These awards cover the field work period, which must be 3 to 12 months in duration. The awards are meant to cover research expenses only and not university tuition or affiliated fees.

ELIGIBILITY

Eligible themes

Proposals must address one or more of the following themes:

1) Economic analysis related to climate change adaptation

Climate change is likely to undermine the progress that many developing countries have achieved in several areas, notably agriculture and the availability of water. Climate change exacerbates extreme weather events such as flooding and drought, exposing local people to various degrees of vulnerability. We are seeking proposals that explore economic incentives for adapting to climate change, and the costs and benefits associated with different adaptation strategies.

2) Gender analysis of adaptation strategies

The factors that increase women’s vulnerability to climate change in developing countries are largely under-researched. To address this gap, research must go beyond the simple demonstration of the gender-specific impacts of climate change. It must analyze gender inequalities to examine how climate change exacerbates these disparities. We are seeking proposals that explore the opportunities posed by adaptation strategies to address gender differentials through practical and empowering solutions.

3) Use of information and communication technologies and spatial decision-support systems for adaptation

Information and communication technologies and spatial decision-support systems have the potential to enhance resilience and strengthen the adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities to climate change. For example, Geographic Information Systems can be a useful tool for evaluating risks and managing floods, droughts, and sea-level rise. When communities are involved in their use, these technologies can contribute to the development of adaptation solutions. We are seeking proposals that explore how information systems, knowledge management, and/or spatial decision-support systems facilitate improvements in water management and adaptive capacity in the face of a changing climate.

4) The role of clean energy in water provision

Renewable energy technologies are an asset in developing countries coping with climate change and energy shortages. Given the central role energy plays in providing safe and sufficient water supplies, we are seeking proposals that explore how renewable energy can increase the availability and quality of water and support local adaptation to climate change.

5) Adapting to climate change in vulnerable coastal communities

The long-term sustainability of coastal populations depends on healthy coastal ecosystems, but these systems are being degraded at an unprecedented rate worldwide. Climate change poses an additional risk to already vulnerable ecosystems, and coastal communities must now find ways to deal with the combined effects of environmental degradation and unpredictable climate change. Anticipated impacts include, but are not limited to: sea level rise, coastal erosion, and saltwater intrusion into coastal lagoons and groundwater supplies. We welcome proposals that explore the linkages between climate change, ecosystem degradation, and poverty, and that explore ways of strengthening the ability of coastal communities to prepare for, and recovery quickly from, water-related impacts of climate change.

Please note that we encourage research proposals that incorporate social as well as gender analysis.

Eligibility

To be eligible for an award, applicants must meet the following criteria, in addition to any other conditions set out in this call for proposals:

Applications will ONLY be accepted in English or French.
APPLICANTS FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: must be citizens of a developing country and be enrolled in a master’s or doctoral program at a Canadian or developing-country university.
CANADIAN APPLICANTS: must be Canadian citizens (or permanent residents of Canada) and be enrolled in a doctoral program at a Canadian university). Canadian master’s students are not eligible.
The proposed field work must take place in a developing country and start no later than December 31, 2012. The applicant’s research supervisor must provide training and supervision in the field for the duration of the award period.
Applicants must have completed all the required course work for their program of study before receiving the award. An exception will be granted where a university requires one or two courses to be completd after the field research.
All doctoral applicants must have successfully passed comprehensive written and oral examinations for the academic program in which they are enrolled before receiving the award.
All applicants must be affiliated with one reputable non-academic institution (national/international organization, institute, or NGO) in the developing country in which the proposed research will take place. This will provide the participant with better access to scientific knowledge and networking possibilities, and increase the likelihood that the supported research will contribute to useful local interventions.
All applicants must submit a budget. For details on the preparation of the budget, please use the Application form below.
The application must include all the required documents listed in the Application checklist below.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

The research proposal must be no more than seven (7) pages single spaced, be supplied in PDF format, and contain only the following documents, submitted in the order presented here:

1) Cover page (1 page): Contains theresearch title, the name of the author, and date of submission.

2) Research description (4 pages): Single-spaced, with 2.5 cm margins and submitted in Times New Roman 12 pt font.

The research description must include the following:

Project title: Provide a title that is concise and meaningful, and includes the name of the city and country where the intended research will be carried out.
Problem and justification: State the problem or issue to be addressed in relation to the particular development context in which your research project will take place. Identify the knowledge gaps that your research will address in order to contribute to the advancement of knowledge.
Objective: Provide a clear and concise description of what you plan to achieve over the course of the project. Objectives should be concrete and measurable.
Literature review: Demonstrate that you are familiar with, and have considered, what is currently known about the issue addressed by your research.
Research questions: Break down your research problem into specific research questions you will address.
Theoretical approach or framework: Based on your knowledge of the literature, describe, if appropriate, the theoretical approach that helped you formulate your hypothesis.
Hypothesis: Present your hypothesis.
Methodology: Give specific examples of methods and techniques you plan to apply or develop in order to test your hypothesis. Realistically assess the data available from secondary sources and the data you will need to generate from primary sources. Discuss the limitations the data may present and how you will deal with this. Suggest variables as well as data collection, processing, and analysis techniques that you plan to apply to test your working hypothesis.
Feasibility: Discuss any possible obstacles to the execution of the research and to the eventual use of the results and how you intend to address them. Identify any ethical questions related to the proposed project.
Expected results and impacts: Describe the anticipated results and their potential use. Identify the target beneficiaries and explain how the results may affect them.

3) Bibliography (1 page): Proposals must include relevant in-text citations as well as references.

4) Field schedule (1 page): Proposals must indicate the timeframe (Gantt chart) of planned activities.

Evaluation process

If your application meets the eligibility criteria, it will be pre-screened by IDRC staff. The selected proposals will be forwarded to at least two external evaluators for further assessment. Each reviewer will rank the proposals according to the evaluation criteria listed below, using a point system.

Each criteria will be assessed on a scale from 1 to 3 (3 = good, 2 = satisfactory, and 1 = poor). The maximum total score is 45. After evaluating the proposals, the reviewers will classify them into one of the following three categories: A (recommended), B (acceptable with some modifications), and C (rejected). Based on the evaluators’ reviews, IDRC will make the final decision as to which proposals will be selected for funding.

Evaluation criteria

Researcher capability (6 pts):

The student’s academic training suggests sound and thorough knowledge of at least one of the five eligible themes. (3 pts)
The application demonstrates that the student has prior experience and/or the skills needed to deliver the research project. (3 pts)

Relevance (6 pts):

The development problem or issue to be addressed and the project goal/purpose support the CCW main goal of helping the world’s more vulnerable people adapt to water-related impacts of climate change in developing countries. Specifically, the proposal addresses at least one of the five Adaptation H2O themes. (3pts)
The proposed research clearly identifies a gap in the knowledge base and explores or introduces a new idea or concept. (3pts)

Results and impact (12pts):
• Results and potential uses of the project are clearly identified. (3pts)
• There is a clear and logical relationship between the proposed goals, objectives, activities, and intended results. (3pts)
• Targeted beneficiaries are clearly identified. (3pts)
• Possible long-term impact on participants, the student and/or the host institution are considered.(3pts)

Approach and methodology (12pts):
• The theoretical approach and/or the hypothesis are clearly explained. (3pts)
• Specific methods and techniques to be used to test the project hypothesis are clearly identified. Secondary and primary data collection required, and their limitations, are clearly assessed. (3pts)
• The research methodology incorporates a social as well as a gender analysis. (3pts)
• The proposal suggests methodology that is innovative or creative. (3pts)

Feasibility (3pts):
• Challenges in project implementation (including knowledge of the local language) and eventual use of results are manageable and solutions to them are presented. (3pts)

Partnerships (3pts):
• The proposal identifies a reputable non-academic institution. A clear link exists between the research topic and the institution. (3pts)

Budget and schedule (6pts):
• The proposed total budget is realistic in relation to the proposed activities and desired results.(3pts)
• The application includes a realistic amount of time proposed for each phase of research, with a maximum of 12 months for the entire project. (3pts)

Research dissemination

Award holders will be required to submit a fieldwork report two weeks after the end of their field work. IDRC will provide guidelines for the preparation of this report.
Award holders will be required to submit a report in the form of a scientific paper and an evaluation form three months after the end of their field work.
In the event that award holders fail to submit either of these reports, they will not receive the final instalment of the research award.
Award holders who submit the best scientific papers will be invited to participate in a workshop at an international conference (to take place in 2014-2015), where they will have the opportunity to present and discuss their results with peers (including Adaptation H₂O award holders) and other relevant stakeholders. Following the workshop, selected papers will be published in a special issue of a scientific journal and could be considered for further publication by IDRC.

Re-applications

Applicants who have unsuccessfully sought a graduate research award from the Climate Change and Water program and wish to resubmit the same or similar project proposal must obtain and integrate the comments from the evaluators of the first application. They must explain in the Letter of Intent the changes that have been made to the research proposal since the first application and specify where to find the changes in the proposal.

SUBMITTING

To be considered complete, applications must include all the required documents listed in the Application checklist below.
ONLY complete applications that are received on time will be considered.
Applications will ONLY be accepted in English or French.

Please make sure that the documents are arranged in the following order:

1) Letter of intent (including complete name, mailing and e-mail addresses)

a. In this letter, briefly present yourself and describe your motivation for your research.

b. Applicants re-applying with the same or similar project proposal must have integrated the comments from the evaluators of the first application. They must explain in the Letter of Intent the changes that have been made to the research proposal since the first application and specify where to find the changes in the proposal.

2) Application form

The electronic application form is available in the Downloadable documents below.

3) Research proposal (maximum of 7 pages single-spaced)

See the guidelines for the submission of research proposals above.

4) Budget

Please fill the budget requested in the application form.

5) Support letter from the research supervisor

The letter must be signed by your supervisor. If the letter is scanned, please ensure that it contains your supervisor’s signature and is in PDF format. A template for the Support Letter from the research supervisor is available in the Downloadable documents section below.

6) Support letter from the non-academic institution

A template of the Support Letter from the non-academic institution is available in theDownloadable documents section below.

7) Transcripts

We require transcripts (original or notarized/certified copies) of your most recently completed degree program AND of your current program, even if it is not completed You can also provide an original letter from your last university confirming your degree and the marks you obtained. The letter must be on university letterhead.

8) Proof of citizenship or permanent residency

Photocopies of the following documents are accepted:

a. current passport

b. birth certificate

c. Canadian permanent resident card

9) Application checklist

The electronic application checklist is available in the Downloadable documents below.

Applications must be sent using one of the following delivery methods:

By e-mail: We will accept your documents by e-mail. All submitted documents must be included in a PDF file in the required order.

Please send your application to the attention of:

Nicole Mayer

Program Assistant

Climate Change and Water Program

Re: Application to the Adaptation H2O Awards

Tel.: 1-613-696-2309

By email

nmayer@idrc.ca

Email subject: Application to the Adaptation H2O Awards

By regular mail, priority mail, or Xpresspost

Climate Change and Water Program

International Development Research Centre

PO Box 8500

Ottawa, ON K1G 3H9 - Canada

By courier

Climate Change and Water Program

International Development Research Centre

150 Kent Street, Mailroom Suite 990

Ottawa, ON K1P 0B2 - Canada

Deadline

All completed applications, including attachments, MUST BE RECEIVED by email or mail prior toThursday, September 1, 2011. Electronic documents must be sent by midnight (Ottawa time). Documents sent by mail or courier must be received by IDRC at the latest by 4:00 p.m. (Ottawa time). Acknowledgment of receipt will be sent to all applicants whose application was received by the closing date and time.

Validity of Applications

Applications received before the deadline and that meet the requirements set out in this call for proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation process outlined above.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

Conditions of awards

Under no circumstances will awards be granted by IDRC to recommended candidates without first:

obtaining evidence that the master’s or doctoral applicant has completed all of the required course work for their program of study;
obtaining evidence that the doctoral applicant has successfully passed all of his or her comprehensive written and oral examinations for the academic program in which he or she is enrolled;
the applicant’s acceptance of the award’s contract terms and conditions.

We reserve the right to impose additional conditions that we may deem appropriatebefore issuing an award. These may include, without being limited to, the following:

The applicant will permit IDRC to disseminate his or her research results or resulting papers.
The applicant will respond to the comments of the IDRC-designated evaluators on his or her proposal.
In the case of ethical questions relating to the research, the applicant may, at IDRC’s discretion, be required to obtain and submit the appropriate approval from the Ethics Committee of their home university.
Applicants whose proposal involves carrying out a physical activity will comply with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. As a result of an environmental impact assessment of the proposed project, the applicant may have to modify his or her project to mitigate environmental impacts.

Announcement

We will post the list of the candidates recommended for an award on the Adaptation H2O website, at the latest on December 1, 2011.

Only candidates who have been recommended for an award will be contacted.

We thank all applicants for their interest.

Enquiries

For all enquiries regarding this call for proposals, please contact the project coordinator:

Mélanie Robertson

Senior Program Officer

Climate Change and Water

Tel.: 1-613-696-2493

Email: mrobertson@idrc.ca

DOCUMENTS
Application checklist

Application form

Template for the support letter from the research supervisor

Template for the support letter from the non-academic institution

Download a PDF of the call

Melbourne International Fee Remission Scholarships (MIFRS)

2011-07-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

Melbourne International Fee Remission Scholarships (MIFRS)

The Melbourne International Fee Remission Scholarship (MIFRS) is awarded to international students wishing to undertake graduate research degree studies at the University of Melbourne. MIFRSs are funded by the University with each faculty having a limited number to award.

Number

Each year the University of Melbourne offers about 150 MIFRSs.

Benefits and conditions

The MIFRS covers full tuition costs, but not overseas student health care.

Please click on the following link for the conditions relating to the MIFRS, which includes information about duration of awards; commencement requirements etc.

Eligibility criteria

To be considered for an MIFRS, applicants need to have an unconditional offer of a place in a graduate research degree course (eg masters by research, PhD or other research doctorate) at the University of Melbourne. Further information concerning the eligibility criteria can be found in the conditions.

Selection criteria

Selection will be based on the eligibility criteria and academic merit. Scholarship assessment guidelines, tips for applicants and other funding opportunities may be found on the Scholarships Resources webpage.

Application process

Please refer to the How to Apply section of the Graduate Research Scholarships website.

Application outcome

Applicants should view the progress of their application at: http://cms.services.unimelb.edu.au/scholarships/pgrad/status

Applicants will also be advised via email as soon as an outcome to their scholarship application is determined.

Closing date and timelines

Applicants should submit their online application for admission by 31 October. Applications received after this date will only be considered for any MIFRSs that remain at the time the application is assessed for scholarship.

For University of Melbourne students who are currently enrolled in the course for which they would like MIFRS cover, please apply via the Student Portal.

Applicants are encouraged to submit their application and all required documents well before the closing date.

Please refer to the table of timelines section for international applicants.

For further information

Please contact the Melbourne Scholarships Office.

Intelligible context-aware adaptive applications [PhD, Department of Computer Science, K.U.Leuven]

2011-07-05T07:34:00.000-07:00

Description: Context-aware applications use sensors and complex inferencing techniques to detect what is happening, and adapt their behavior to facilitate everyday tasks.
When context-aware adaptive applications behave well (i.e. they adapt well to the context of their end-users), the context sensing and processing remains implicit to the end-users. However, if the applications behave in unexpected ways, end-users often do not understand what is going on, why the applications exhibit this kind of behavior. This could lead to people no longer using, or even mistrusting the application. Intelligibility is a feature of applications that are capable of generating explanations for their behavior. Intelligible context-aware adaptive applications can represent what they know, how they know it, and what they are doing about it.

Context-driven adaptation is generally implemented through middleware layers that hide the complexity of context sensing and processing. DistriNet, and more particularly the research team on embedded and ubiquitous systems, has experience with the development of middlewares for context-aware, adaptive and mobile applications. In this research, the candidate will investigate a middleware driven approach to embed intelligibility in the application.
As applications will need to offer different kinds of explanations for their behavior, the candidate will investigate how intelligibility can be generalized into reusable middleware building blocks, so that from a developer's perspective it is far less complex to build context-aware applications where end-users can gain more effective control over the behavior of the applications.

Applicants should have a MSc in computer science or similar and should be highly motivated to work in the field of software engineering and preferably be familiar with middleware for distributed systems. Basic knowledge of artificial intelligence techniques is strongly encouraged.

Key words: middleware, ubiquitous computing, distributed systems

Latest application date: 2011-10-03

Financing: available

Type of Position: scholarship

Duration of the Project : 4 years

Research group: Department of Computer Science

Apply to Click here to apply to this project

MobCom - A Mobile Companion [PhD, Department of Computer Science, K.U.Leuven]

2011-07-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

Description: There is undoubtedly an increasing trend towards mobile communications and mobile applications. It is to be expected that mobile devices will become the main guardians and managers of our multiple electronic identities for a broad range of applications and services which include payments, e-health, e-government, etc.

The mobile companion will become the natural user interface in a ubiquitous computing environment, through which users will access services and perform their daily transactions. Most communication will be wireless and other parties can be malicious. The companion should protect the interests of all the stakeholders: (1) the user who wants to protect his privacy and prevent identity fraud or theft, but also wants to be able to use his rights to access preferably highly customized services; (2) the service provider that needs to verify the user's rights to access services, and should be able to get access to pro filing information in order to customize the offered services; moreover, in case of abuse, it needs appropriate evidence to be able to hold the abuser accountable; (3) the authorities that wish to punish unethical behavior such as money laundering, computer crime, etc.

The mobile companion should only require user intervention occasionally. Policies shift most of the burden of operational decision making from people to the technology. In this project, we will focus on privacy policies (which restrict the disclosure of personal information) context-dependent policies (which regulate the use of the mobile device in a particular context) and attestation policies (which control the use of biometrics in entity authentication).

Advanced cryptographic protocols are necessary to minimize the disclosure of the user's attributes (including personal identifiers, location and previous interactions) while limiting the trust in any other party as much as possible. On the other hand, these protocols need to be robust in case
of failures and should allow for audits and identification of abusers. This project will focus on efficient protocols for showing credentials, determining the distance of an entity to a specific node and for payments and refunds. Location privacy is also a research challenge.

The project will research how a TPM can be used to create a secure virtual environment on a mobile device and new primitives (device attestation) will be developed to assess the trustworthiness of the device. Also, user attestation protocols need to be designed that allow for binding a user to a device and for generating a proof that a certain device is registered to a user or to his delegate (which may require verification of biometric data).

One of the objectives of the MobCom project is the development of a reusable security and software architecture that enables the development of applications that require mobile user identities and pro files. It is based on and will extend a privacy framework developed in a previous project. Appropriate tools and a methodology will assist the application developer. A simulation environment will allow for rapid prototyping.

Personalization and customization are also very important aspects. Instead of the current practice, where a service provider (SP) maintains a profile for every user, the mobile companion will manage these pro files and provide limited access to the service providers. Such profiles are more useful since they span different service providers, while remaining under full control of the user. In this project, a general framework will be designed to accomplish this task.

This project provides the opportunity for an in-depth study of these issues and will integrate the research results into a reusable security and software architecture. Throughout the research, a continuous validation in a real-world setting will provide suitable feedback to ensure the usability of the architecture and hence, its valorization potential.

Key words: identity management, PET, anonymous credential, privacy, security, location-based, mobility, smartphone

Latest application date: 2011-12-31

Financing: available

Type of Position: scholarship

Source of Funding: IWT

Duration of the Project : 4 years

Link: http://www.msec.be/mobcom

Research group: Department of Computer Science

Remarks: The applicant must have some background knowledge in security and
privacy enhancing technologies (PET). At least credits for a few security related courses (master level) must have been obtained.

The applicant must have sufficient experience in developing Java programs.

Apply to Click here to apply to this project

Modeling and predicting human behavior in AmI environments [PhD, Department of Computer Science, K.U.Leuven]

2011-07-05T07:22:00.000-07:00

Description: Smart applications anticipate typical human behavior. A key to effectively predict human behaviour and act proactively is the ability to create models of individual or group behaviour from a variety of data obtained from sensors and other low-level events.
While user profiles are being used extensively in ubiquitous computing applications, there are various shortcomings and limitations related to the expressiveness of the models, and to the dynamic construction and updating of the models. These models also lack support for context-dependent inference and prediction of most-likely future behaviour of a single individual or a group as a whole.

In this PhD project, the candidate will investigate techniques to model, mine, and learn routines in order to recognize human behavior and activities within a particular context or situation. The methodology shall be based on event-based evidence of interactions with smart systems and state-of-the-art complex event processing techniques to identify relevant patterns.
The goal of this research is to be able to predict and proactively anticipate the most likely future behaviour of an individual or a group as a whole. The research will be carried out in the area of e-health applications and ambient assistent living.

Applicants should have a MSc in computer science or similar and should be highly motivated to work in the field of software engineering and be familiar with the principles of event-based systems. Basic knowledge of middleware for distributed systems and AI algorithms for prediction and learning is strongly encouraged.

Key words: middleware, ubiquitous computing, distributed systems, event-based systems

Latest application date: 2011-10-03

Financing: available

Type of Position: scholarship

Duration of the Project : 4 years

Research group: Department of Computer Science

Apply to Click here to apply to this project

Mobile context-aware computing in the cloud [PhD, Department of Computer Science, K.U.Leuven]

2011-07-05T07:16:00.000-07:00

Description: Cloud computing provides on-demand access to services and data that are kept on infrastructure accessible through the internet, rather than on individual devices. By having computation and data handling carried out remotely, cloud computing offers a way to circumvent the resource limitations on the mobile phone (less memory, less compute power, and battery capacity limits).
In mobile cloud computing, the mobile device becomes an interface to cloud computing applications. where the application is run as a service in the cloud and the output is sent to the mobile phone. A key challenge when running the application remotely is how to deal with the network availability, high latencies, intermittency and large data transfer costs.

In this PhD project, the goal is to investigate how applications can be modeled, partitioned and deployed partially on the mobile phone and partially in the cloud so that various resource and quality of service constraints are automatically considered. Finding the best deployment and execution configuration becomes a multi-objective optimization problem considering both quality of service and quality of experience. Furthermore, the best configuration may evolve when the current situation changes.
The goal of this research is to investigate a middleware approach that leverages context-awareness to address this dynamic optimization problem effectively.

Applicants should have a MSc in computer science or similar and should be highly motivated to work in the field of software engineering and be familiar with middleware for distributed systems. Basic knowledge of cloud computing principles is strongly encouraged.

Key words: middleware, mobile computing, cloud computing, distributed systems

Latest application date: 2011-10-03

Financing: available

Type of Position: scholarship

Duration of the Project : 4 years

Research group: Department of Computer Science

Apply to Click here to apply to this project

VIB International Postdoc Program

2011-06-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

VIB International Postdoc Program

VIB offers international fellowships to integrative biology postdocs who have advanced skills in omics technologies.
The omics at VIB postdoc program offers a highly stimulating and multicultural environment.Embedded in excellent research groups, you will be working on breakthrough science, with access to cutting-edge technologies, three year secured funding and personal career assistance.
We expect you to propose your own integrative biology project, focusing on the use or the introduction of ‘omics’ (bioinformatics, metagenomics, genomics, proteomics...) in the research topic of your choice.

Admission requirements - Step 1

Nationality

VIB International Postdoc program “OMICS@vib” is open to applicants from all nationalities. Applicants should not have been carrying out research in Belgium for more than 12 months during the last 3 years before the deadline of the program on 31/8/2011.

Postdocs selected for this program should be able to start their postdoc project before 1/6/2012.

University degree

Applicants must hold a PhD degree before the start of the fellowship, but not necessarily when applying.

Publication record

Applicants must have a proven record of research accomplishments and at least one original first author publication (including joint authorship), either published in or accepted by an international peer-reviewed journal with high recognition in the field.

Experience

Candidates should not have more than 5 years of postdoc experience at the moment of the deadline, 31 August 2011.

Career Break

One additional year will be taken into account for every childbirth or any other officially stated career break reason (caring for sick children or parents, additional studies…)

Language

English is used in all VIB laboratories for spoken and written scientific communication. Candidates must deliver proof of a solid English knowledge. Adding TOEFL test results in your cv is recommended.

Select your project topic - Step 2 / Step 4

List of omics@vib project topics

For the current omics@VIB call, VIB provides 10 positions for integrative biology postdocs. Many VIB laboratories are suggesting an integrative biology topic for this program as indicated in the list below. You are free to select the topic of your own choice from the list and to design a 3 years postdoctoral project addressing this topic. More information on the laboratory of your choice as well as on the contact information is available through the links provided below. Please contact the group leader(s) in charge of this topic before submitting your final application.

Download the project overview in pdf

Cancer

Jody Haigh Lab
Functional genomics approach to study how miRNAs/lincRNAs and their molecular targets can influence cellular differentiation, memory and reprogramming
e-mail

Anna Sablina LabUse of Zn Finger nuclease technology and experimental models of cell transformation to identify homozygous deletions that drive development of human cancers
e-mail

Peter Carmeliet LabState of the art bioinformatics at genome-wide level in endothelial cells to identify novel genetic candidates for anti-angiogenic therapy >>> See also 'Bioinformatics'
e-mail

Max Mazzone Lab
Exploring the interactome of oxygen sensing proteins in endothelial cells
e-mail

SWITCH Lab
Loss of proteostasis in cancer: how protein co-aggregation networks drive cell proliferation >>> See also 'Bioinformatics'
e-mail / e-mail

Frans Van Roy Lab
Mining the genomes of key metazoan organisms to study the evolution, structure and function of several members of the cadherin superfamily
>>> See also 'Bioinformatics'
e-mail

Chris Marine Lab
An oncogenomics-based in-vivo screen to identify melanoma progression and metastasis drivers
e-mail

Jan Steyaert Lab
Mining a cancer-related interactome – development of a nanobody platform for the structural investigation of proteins >>> See also 'Structural Biology'
e-mail

Peter Vandenabeele LabIntegration of a necroptosis signaling network by identification and functional validation of RIP1 and RIP3 ubiquitylation and substrates using proteomics approaches >>> See also 'Inflammation'
e-mail

Rudi Beyaert LabUnderstanding NF-κB signaling in inflammation and cancer by integrating interactomics, degradomics and ubiquitomics >>> See also 'Inflammation'
e-mail

Neurobiology

Emre Yaksi Lab

Pioneering application of system neuroscience tools to understand functional development of neural circuits in the zebrafish brain
e-mail

Wim Annaert LabSubcellular proteomics/lipidomics as an integrative approach to identify novel targets in neurodegenerative diseasese-mail

Bart De Strooper LabGenome wide analysis of miRNA alterations in Alzheimer’s Disease using brain, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood samplese-mail

Vincent Timmerman LabSearch for interaction partners to HSPB1 and HSPB8 through functional genomics and large scale IPs in neural and non-neural cells and study their relevance for the peripheral neuropathy Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT). e-mail

Albena Jordanova LabUnderstanding molecular pathology of the peripheral nervous system using genomics and bioinformatics approaches
e-mail

Immunity/Infection/Inflammation

Jeroen Raes LabHumans are highly evolved to protect symbiotic gut bacteria while destroying potentially pathogenic ones. The project aimes at understanding the human microbiome related to the host.
e-mail

Stefan Magez Lab

What does the repertoire of infection-induced B-cells and matching Trypanosome expressed surface proteins teach us about the evolution of host-parasite interactions?e-mail

Stefan Magez Lab

Are alterations in intestinal microflora associated to systemic inflammation during trypanamosomiasis

e-mail

Mo Lamkanfi Lab

Functional analysis of the Nlrp12 interactome in innate immune signaling

e-mail

Xavier Saelens Lab

A kinomics approach to identify novel pathways in Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) replication

e-mail

Peter Vandenabeele Lab

Integration of a necroptosis signaling network by identification and functional validation of RIP1 and RIP3 ubiquitylation and substrates using proteomics approaches >>> See also 'Cancer'

e-mail

Rudi Beyaert Lab

Understanding NF-κB signaling in inflammation and cancer by integrating interactomics, degradomics and ubiquitomics >>> See also 'Cancer'

e-mail

Han Remaut Lab
The role of bacterial interactomes in commensal versus pathogenic ecology
>>> See also 'Structural Biology' e-mail

Plant/Yeast

Peter Tompa Lab

Study the interaction network and key molecular recognition features of intrinsically disordered plant chaperones >>> See also 'Structural Biology'
e-mail

Moritz Nowack Lab and Lieven De Veylder Lab
Die and Let Live : Networks controlling cell death during seed developmente-mail / e-mail

Jenny Russinova Lab, Jiri Friml lab and Geert De Jaeger Lab
A proteomics approach to phosphatidylinositol signaling in Arabidopsise-mail / e-mail / e-mail

Moritz Nowack Lab and Frank Van Breusegem Lab
PCD in a Nutshell : programmed cell death in the Arabidopsis aleurone
e-mail / e-mail

Lieven De Veylder Lab and Steven Maere Lab
Mapping endoreduplication-driven plant growth through the development of a ploidy cartogram of the Arabidopsis thaliala leaf
e-mail / e-mail

Mieke Van Lijsebettens Lab and Geert De Jaeger Lab
The role of chromatin in light-induced gene expression – from upstream regulators to gene targets e-mail / e-mail
Alain Goossens Lab, Wout Boerjan Lab and Yves Van de Peer Lab
High throughput identification of the metabolomics landscape
e-mail / e-mail / e-mail

Tom Beeckman Lab and Steven Maere Lab
From Arabidopsis to crops : root branching orthologues
e-mail / e-mail

Steven Maere Lab and Frank Van Breusegem Lab
A novel experimental approach to probe crosstalk between Arabidopsis stress response pathways under field conditions
e-mail / e-mail

Dirk Inzé Lab and Geert De Jaeger Lab
Growth dyn-omics: The dynamics of gene networks regulating maize leaf growth
e-mail / e-mail

Sofie Goormachtig Lab, Kris Gevaert Lab and Yves Van de Peer Lab
Strigolactones and root system architecture: How are they connected?
e-mail / e-mail / e-mail

Geert De Jaeger Lab, Lieven De Veylder Lab and Yves Van de Peer Lab
Identification of context-dependent plant E2F target genes
e-mail / e-mail / e-mail
Steven Maere Lab and Yves Van de Peer Lab
Automated generation of testable hypothesis by analysis and integration of –omics data in Plant Systems Biology projects >>> See also 'Bioinformatics'
e-mail / e-mail

Johan Thevelein Lab
Polygenic analysis of complex traits in yeast using next generation whole genome sequence analysis
e-mail

Structural Biology

Han Remaut Lab

The role of bacterial interactomes in commensal versus pathogenic ecology >>> See also 'Immunity/Infection/Inflammation'

e-mail

Jan Steyaert Lab

Mining a cancer-related interactome – development of a nanobody platform for the structural investigation of proteins >>> See also 'Cancer'

e-mail

Nico Van Nuland lab
Structural Proteomics - Exploiting experimental data synergy to advance the use of structure in understanding protein interactions. e-mail
Jan Steyaert LabMining the receptorome – development of a nanobody platform for structural and functional GPCR research
e-mail

Peter Tompa Lab
Study the interaction network and key molecular recognition features of intrinsically disordered plant chaperones >>> See also 'Plant/Yeast' e-mail

Bioinformatics

Lennart Martens Lab
Management and integration of high-throughput across-Omics data
e-mail

Peter Carmeliet Lab

State of the art bioinformatics at genome-wide level in endothelial cells to identify novel genetic candidates for anti-angiogenic therapy >>> See also 'Cancer'e-mail

SWITCH Lab

Loss of proteostasis in cancer: how protein co-aggregation networks drive cell proliferation >>> See also 'Cancer'

e-mail / e-mail

Steven Maere Lab and Yves Van de Peer Lab
Automated generation of testable hypothesis by analysis and integration of –omics data in Plant Systems Biology projects >>> See also 'Plant/Yeast'e-mail / e-mail

Jeroen Raes Lab

Humans are highly evolved to protect symbiotic gut bacteria while destroying potentially pathogenic ones. The project aimes at understanding the human microbiome related to the host. >>> See also 'Immunity/infection/inflammation'

e-mail

Frans Van Roy Lab

Mining the genomes of key metazoan organisms to study the evolution, structure and function of several members of the cadherin superfamil>>> See also 'Cancer' e-mail

Download the application form - Step 3

Download application form here

Get in Touch with the group leaders Step 4

Get in touch with the group leader(s) of interest to discuss your project ideas. It is extremely important at this stage to prepare an excellent project concept in order to convince the group leader(s) that you are the ideal candidate for this project

Detailed application guidelines - Step 5

EDUCATION - UNIVERSITY DEGREE

Fill in your educational background: first degree - second degree - PhD degree
Include a scanned copy of your PhD degree.

If you don't have your final PhD degree at the time of application, a copy of your diploma and additional certificates can be sent in later after graduation. In that case, please indicate envisaged defense date and PhD title.

TRAINING

Please give a brief summary in tabular form of your additional training at university, college, etc. (i.e. after leaving high school).

LANGUAGE

Passing the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required but definitely a plus for your application. If you passed these examinations, please indicate your scores below.

PUBLICATION RECORD

You will need to prove at least one original first author publication ( including joint authorship) either published in or accepted by an international peer- reviewed journal with high recognition in the field.

Please list all publications in which you were author. In case of shared first / corresponding authorship, please use (*). For each publication please list all authors, journal, volume, page number, title, year. If you have accepted manuscripts please add them to the list. Submitted documents will not be taken into account.

PATENTS

Please list all patents on which you have been listed as inventor. Publication numbers, titles, priority dates.

HONORS, SCHOLARSHIPS, PRIZES AND AWARDS

List any honors, scholarships, prizes and awards (if any) that you feel are relevant to this application. Include dates and a brief description.

NON SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS AND HOBBIES

Please list your hobbies and social activities that are not directly related to your university degree (including e.g. membership of organizations, tutoring activities).

REFERENCES

Please list the names, institutions and email addresses of 3 referees who have agreed to write a letter of recommendation on your behalf. It is your responsibility to gather the recommendation letters on original letterhead of the institution and upload them together with your final submission.

PROJECT PROPOSAL
* Please follow carefully the guidelines related to word count / page length.

1. Name of VIB group leader you have selected for your project topic
2. Title of your postdoc project
3. Keywords *(max 5)
4. Project summary *(max 2000 words)
5. State-of-the-art * of your research topic(1 page max)
6. Objectives *(4 pages max)
7. Originality and innovative nature of the project *(1 page max)
8. Timeline *(3 pages max)
9. Why do you choose VIB as your host *(1/2 page)
10. Benefit of the mobility *(1/2 page)
11. Collect your VIB group leader signature on the final document before uploading it
After finalising your project proposal, please save the document as pdf titled "YOUR NAME - VIB 2011". Use this title also as the footer on each page and add page numbers.

Upload the completed Application Form - Step 6 (Final step)

Upload here

Source adapated from http://www.vib.be/en/training/postdoc-program/Pages/default.aspx

FULBRIGHT MALAYSIAN AWARD 2012-2013 FULBRIGHT MALAYSIAN GRADUATE STUDY AND RESEARCH PROGRAM

2011-06-22T06:05:00.000-07:00

The Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange (MACEE) is pleased to announce its annual competition for grants under the Fulbright Program for graduate level study (Masters or Ph.D. degrees) and research in the United States for 2012-2013 academic year. Grants under the Malaysian Fulbright student program will be administered as either degree or non-degree grants (Dissertation Research), depending on whether the applicant is seeking to complete coursework or research toward his/her degree program at a Malaysian university or is seeking to obtain a degree from an American institution.

PERIOD OF AWARD

All grants are for periods of one academic year. Degree-track grants may be renewed for a second year. Please note that grant renewals are recommended for approval by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarships Board on a case-by-case basis and are not automatically renewable.

NATURE OF AWARD

Awards will be partial grants or otherwise require cost-sharing from the candidate's home institution, scholarships or other funding from the admitting university or from personal resources. While awards may be full grants, the category and amount of any specific award will be based upon available funding and other criteria as determined by the Academic committee during the selection process. All decisions regarding category and amount of grant shall be final. Similarly, the amount of renewal funding shall be contingent upon financial circumstances affecting the Commission. For graduate degree grants, efforts will be made to retain funding levels from the first to the second year. However, students should not assume this will take place.

PLACEMENT OF GRANTEE

Institute of International Education (IIE) will assist applicants in securing placement at a regionally accredited U.S. university and applicants should be accepted by June 1st, 2012.

FIELDS OF STUDY

Preference will be given to those proposals which are consistent with MACEE’s overall thematic approach for Fulbright awards, emphasizing these 5 general areas of study:

American Studies
Malaysian Studies
Islamic Studies
Comparative Religion
Economics and Technology Transfer
Issues in Contemporary Society
International Relations

However, students applying for any other field of study than those mentioned above are encouraged to apply, as all highly qualified applicants will be considered. Students applying for MBA should take note that preferences are given to other fields of study.

ELIGIBILITY

To be considered for selection under this program, students shall:

Possess Malaysian citizenship.
Be no more than 35 years of age at the time of application. Applicant above 35 years of age will be considered on a case to case basis.
Be in good health.
Have a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree with Honors (hons.) and cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or its equivalent
Must have a TOEFL score of at least 100 (internet based test) on a test taken no more than two years prior to the time of application (note: certain fields and/or institutions may require a higher score).
Must have a GMAT, GRE, GRE subject test with minimum score as required by the institution of your choice. Please check with programs or universities that you are planning to apply about the required test.
Be available for interview in Kuala Lumpur.
Be prepared to return to Malaysia immediately upon completion of study.

The Following Individuals Are Not Eligible.

Individuals who are or have already been enrolled in a graduate degree program at an American university and who seek nomination in order to complete said program.
Individuals who seek nomination in order to complete a second masters degree or doctoral degree.
Individuals who intend to pursue internship, residency or research at a U.S. school of medicine, nursing, dentistry or veterinary medicine.
Individuals who are working or currently studying in USA. To be eligible, applicants MUST have returned to Malaysia at least ONE year before the announcement date (March 1st, 2011) for this award.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Students can download the application form here.
Please mail 4 sets of your application by August 10, 2011 to:
MACEE
Fulbright Malaysian Graduate Study and Research Program
18th Floor, Menara Yayasan Tun Razak
200 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur

A complete application includes:
1. 4 copies of application form with photograph.
2. 4 certified true copies of university transcript(s) for all years of academic study.
3. 4 certified true copies of degree certificates from all institutions attended.
4. 4 certified true copies of TOEFL/GMAT/GRE score reports.
5. 3 letters of reference. Letter of reference is confidential and hard copy should be in a sealed envelope.
6. 4 photographs.
7. Most universities will require that all graduate students (regardless of field of study) included a thesis abstract or research paper (translated into English) that was completed during previous university-level studies. (Please attach 4 copies if any).
Students are HIGHLY ENCOURAGED to meet an educational advisor at MACEE for admission information into American Universities.

For inquiry please contact Kalis at 03-21668878 or kalis@macee.org.my

Postgraduate Scholarships in Master Program in Teaching Arabic to Speakers of Other Languages (TASOL) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

2011-06-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Teacher Preparation Department, Arabic Language Institute, King Saud Universtiy in Riyadh offers full scholarships for international students to study master degree Program in Teaching Arabic To Speakers of Other Languages (TASOL) starting from 2012-13 academic year.

Information about the department
King Saudi University ALI
Arabic Language Institute
Admision requirements

Online application form

PhD Positions the Area of Biological/Biomedical Signal Processing and Mathematical Modeling, Singapore

2011-06-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) has several openings for graduate student positions in the area of biological/biomedical signal processing and mathematical modeling.

We are recruiting PhD students for projects within the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research & Technology (SMART), to be supervised by MIT and NTU faculty. In those projects we apply mathematical engineering to problems in bioengineering and biochemistry, for example:

Bayesian modeling of parasitic life cycle
large-scale graphical models for functional genomics
stochastic modeling and control engineering in the context of tissue generation.

Please send detailed curriculum vitae, GRE/TOEFL scores, statement of research interests, three references, and relevant publications (if applicable) electronically to:
Prof. Justin Dauwels
Nanyang Technological University
School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering
Singapore
recruitment[ at ]dauwels.com
Deadline: July 1, 2011

Belgium: Application Invited for Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships, Production and Characterization of Polyhydroxyalkanoates from Industrial Organic and Inorganic Wastes

2011-06-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

Project Title:
Production and characterization of polyhydroxyalkanoates from industrial organic and inorganic wastes
Host institute:
The Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) is looking for candidates interested in a post doc position (2 years). VITO will help those candidates in preparing a Marie Curie proposal with a deadline of 11 August 2011. The call for Marie Curie fellowships (IEF and IIF) is now open, more information on
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=395
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=396

VITO is a leading research centre in Flanders (Belgium) in the field of sustainable environmental and (bio)process technology development. More information on www.vito.be.
Project Description
Plastics have become an indispensable part in our daily life and are used in very diverse application areas. The current global consumption of plastics amounts to 250 million tons with annual growth of approximately 5%. However, the majority of the polymers are based on fossil fuels and contribute to environmental pollution. Therefore, intensive research and industrial efforts have focused on the production of biopolymers as “green” alternatives to synthetic polymers. Within this context, polyhydroxyalkanoates or PHA represent such kind of bioplastic.
PHA are synthesized via bacterial fermentation of renewable resources and are fully biodegradable and biocompatible. Despite that PHA constitute a class of biobased polyester with highly attractive qualities for thermo-processing applications, PHA have not yet entered bulk markets. Currently, the major drawback to full-scale commercialization of PHA is their market price which is much higher than conventional petroleum based plastics or other bioplastics due to their high raw material costs.

This research aims to develop a new and sustainable technology for the production of PHA from industrial organic and inorganic waste streams in order to reduce the cost price of PHA. Moreover, from an environmental point of view, using these renewable resources would be beneficial for waste management and allow regional closed loop management. In addition, the biopolymer will be characterized in order to have a detailed understanding of the properties of the biopolymer, to determine the influence of this new production process on the characteristics of the biopolymer and to optimize the fermentation and downstream process.
Required education/discipline: Phd in engineering, microbiology, fermentation technology
Contact persons for more information:
Linsey Garcia-Gonzalez (linsey.garcia-gonzalez[ at ]vito.be)
Winnie Dejonghe (winnie.dejonghe[ at ]vito.be)
Generic EU Marie Curie Actions Eligibility Criteria:
Applicants should not be either (i) a national of; or (ii) resident for greater than 12 months of the last 36 months in the country of the host institution unless they have spent more than 4 of the last 5 years outside the EU and Associated States.

Source: scholarshipnet.info

Application Invited for Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships, Integrated Process for Fermentation and Separation of Organic Acids with Electrodialysis, Belgium

2011-06-05T07:59:00.000-07:00

Project Title:
Integrated process for fermentation and separation of organic acids with electrodialysis
Host institute:
The Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) is looking for candidates interested in a post doc position (2 years). VITO will help those candidates in preparing a Marie Curie proposal with a deadline of 11 August 2011. The call for Marie Curie fellowships (IEF and IIF) is now open, more information on
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=395
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=396

VITO is a leading research centre in Flanders (Belgium) in the field of sustainable environmental and (bio)process technology development. More information on www.vito.be.
Project Description
Organic acids (e.g. acetic, lactic, citric, malic, fumaric, gluconic, succinic, itaconic and galacturonic acid) from fermentation broths are widely used products (in e.g. foods, pharmaceuticals, beverages, plastics and detergents) and are thus of a tremendous importance. Besides using an optimized production strain and fermentation, developing cost and energy-saving downstream processes is indispensable to improve the economics of these products.
Traditional techniques for separation and purification of organic acids from the fermentation broth are hampered by undesirable features such as high energy costs for direct distillation, low yield of crystallization, CaSO4-sludge formation by precipitation and acidification, use of hazardous solvents with solvent extraction, high acid, base and water consumption for regeneration of ion-exchange resins and low capacity and short lifetime of adsorbents for adsorption.
Therefore, opportunities arise to lower the environmental impact and operating costs of traditional techniques by using alternative techniques. Electrodialysis (ED) may be a competitive technology for the production and separation of organic acids. The diversity and sophisticated functions of ED allow it to be implemented in a very creative way for ISPR, to concentrate organic acids, convert their salts into acids or a combination of both. A promising set-up contains monopolar and bipolar membranes and allows the direct conversion of an organic salt into the acid and the corresponding base without the addition of strong acids. Integrating ED with fermentation requires pretreatment to reduce the risk of membrane fouling and of precipitation of salts of low solubility.
This technology will be evaluated in small and large (pilot) membrane stacks in various configurations for the separation and concentration of small organic acids. This approach will allow to complement the test work with an evaluation on technical-economical feasibility at full-scale.
Required education/discipline: Phd in bioprocess technology, fermentation technology, membrane technology
Contact persons for more information: Heleen De Wever (heleen.dewever[ at ]vito.be) or Wouter Van Hecke (wouter.vanhecke[ at ]vito.be)
Generic EU Marie Curie Actions Eligibility Criteria:
Applicants should not be either (i) a national of; or (ii) resident for greater than 12 months of the last 36 months in the country of the host institution unless they have spent more than 4 of the last 5 years outside the EU and Associated States.

Source Adapted from scholarshipnet.info

Researchers and Vacanies at School of Information science, Computer and Electrical engineering (IDE) , Halmstad University, Sweden

2011-05-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

Career opportunities at School of Information science, Computer and Electrical engineering (IDE)

The School of Information Science, Computer and Electrical Engineering (School of IDE) and its research environment, Halmstad Embedded and Intelligent Research (EIS) is experiencing a strong expansion and is therefore looking for thirteen new employees:

Post-doctoral researcher in computer science with an orientation towards computer languages for modelling of cyber physical systems	IDE 10/11	2011-08-31
Employment	Referens number	Application deadline
The employments will be appointed provided that the necessary decisions are made. For more information aboout the positions, please, click on the reference number.

Doctoral student in physics with specialization in naoscience/optoelectronics	IDE 2/11	June 15, 2011
2 doctoral students in computer science and engineering with specialization in architecture and programming of embedded parallel computers	IDE 5/11	June 15, 2011
Doctoral student in computer science and engineering with specialization computer languages	IDE 6/11	June 15, 2011
Doctoral student in computer science and engineering or signals and systems engineering with specialization real-time communications in ad-hoc networks	IDE 7/11	June 15, 2011
Doctoral student in signals and systems engineering with specialization in machine learning/mechatronics especially automatic visual perception of the environment	IDE 8/11	June 15, 2011
Doctoral student in signals and systems engineering with specialization classification and assessment of human activities on the basis of portable (and other) sensors.	IDE 9/11	June 15, 2011
Assistant professor in informatics	IDE 11/11	2011-08-31
Professor in applied electronics with specialization in high-frequency electronics	IDE 12/11	2011-09-26
Professor in computer systems engineering	IDE 13/11	2011-09-26
Professor in applied mathematics with specialization in computational science and engineering	IDE 14/11	2011-09-26
Professor i informatics/Information Systems	IDE 15/11	2011-09-26

Source : http://www.hh.se/10362.html

PhD position at Water Insight bv., Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Tartu Observatory, Estonia

2011-05-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

PhD position at Water Insight bv., Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Tartu Observatory, Estonia

This PhD position will focus on the research of Eutrophic lakes using optical remote sensing techniques. Satellite images of lakes reveal patterns that are related to the water composition. These images can be translated into spatial quantitative estimates of
1) Optical properties (IOPs) such as absorption and scattering, and attenuation
2) Concentrations of Chlorophyll-a (as proxy for phytoplankton biomass), total suspended matter, colored dissolved organic matter, and Phycocyanin (as proxy for the amount of cyanobacteria).

Maps of these parameters show distinct spatial variability. Our hypothesis is that the information on spatial variability in IOPs and pigment concentration images provides insight in the composition of the phytoplankton population (other dominant species; growth and decay, etc.). We will characterize the spatial variability using techniques such as spatial statistics, gradient analysis etc. An important aspect of the study will be to verify and interpret the spatial information in the images by making optical and biological field measurements along transects. Attention will be given to the elimination of unwanted spatial patterns in the images induced by clouds, cloud shadows and atmospheric variability.

The PhD researcher will be based in Wageningen (the Netherland) at Water Insight during the first year. The work will be performed in close contact with researchers from the Institute of Environmental Studies of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Dr. M. Eleveld, Prof. P. Verburg and Prof. J. Vermaat).
During the first year the lake IJssel will be studied. In the next 2 years, a large portion of time will be spent in Tartu Observatory (Estonia) to analyze Lake Peipsi data in cooperation with Dr. A. Reinard. The final year will be spent in the Netherlands at Water Insight and IVM. The researcher will participate
in a growing international network with researchers from amongst others Estonia, Sweden, Finland and Germany.
For this position we are looking for a highly motivated young researcher who is self supporting and a team player. The candidate should have a background in (aquatic) ecological sciences, physics or chemistry. Experience in water optics would be an advantage. Some experience in programming languages such as Matlab or R would also be advantageous. The candidate must have the flexibility to work and live alternatively in the Netherlands and in Estonia, and should have a fair working knowledge of the English Language.
Closing date of the vacancy is 10 june 2011. The PhD position will start as soon as possible. Further information can be requested from Dr. Steef Peters via: info[ at ]waterinsight.nl.

Water Insight (WI) is a private commercial company (SME) born as a spin-off (2005) from the Institute of Environmental Studies IVM at the Free University of Amsterdam. WI produces innovative high quality spatial information products of surface water (and surface hydrology) based on observations with cameras deployed from boats, airplanes and satellites (remote sensing). The mission of WI is to develop operational and commercially viable water remote sensing instruments and products and services using integrated close range and satellite borne sensors (networks). (www.waterinsight.nl)
The Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), the oldest environmental research institute in the Netherlands, aims to contribute to the sustainability of societies and environmental rehabilitation and preservation through academic and applied research. It takes a multidisciplinary approach, and has key research expertise in water and climate related issues. A research community of 100 scientists addresses challenging environmental problems and offers pragmatic and innovative solutions. IVM is coordinator of the FP7 GMES downstream project CoBiOS. (www.vu.nl/ivm)
Tartu Observatory is the Estonian leading institute for space research and technology. It has three departments: stellar physics, cosmology and Atmospheric physics. The latest one is mainly dedicated to Earth Observation now. Currently running international projects like WaterS (FP7 IAPP), ESAIL (FP7 Space), EstSpacE (FP7 Capacities and ESA PECS ORAQUA, NordAquaRemS (NordForsk). (www.aai.ee)

Source adapted from scholarshipnet.info

Happy New Year 2011!!

2010-12-31T22:51:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2011

The Scholarships 4 Postgraduates Administration Team

wishes all readers a very happy new year 2011

Universiti Putra Malaysia INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP (IGRF)

2010-12-29T21:39:00.000-08:00

Application Requirement:

1. Application is open to international students of UPM who are currently enrolling in a Masters (by research) or PhD programme. However, they are required to fulfill the following conditions:

i) Registered as a UPM student and the current status of study is “Good standing”;
ii) Have not exceeded 3 semesters of study for the Masters and 5 semesters for the PhD programmes at the time of submission of application;
iii) The application must be supported by Advisor/Chairman of the Supervisory Committee and the Dean of faculty/Director of Institute.

2. The following students are not eligible to apply:
i) Student with a Probation status
ii) Student who have deferred their study
iii) Student who under a split postgraduate programme

3. International applicants must comply with the English Language requirements by providing one of the following as evidence:
i) IELTS (band 6) ; or
ii) TOEFL Paper Test - minimum score 550; Computer Test –minimum score 213; Internet Test – minimum score 79-80;or
iii) English Placement Test - Pass ; or
iv) English course BBI2418 - Pass

4. The applicant must not be a recipient of any other form of financial support or scholarship/ fellowship or engaged in any type of employment during the tenure of the fellowship.

5. Application received after the deadline will not be processed
Provisions of the Fellowship
The successful applicant will be:

i) provided with a monthly stipend of RM1,700.00 for a PhD programme and RM1,500.00 for a Master programme
ii) exempted from paying tuition fee which will be borne by the University. The exemption
amount are as follow:
Master :
- Medical :RM1,200.00
- Science : RM900.00
- Social Science :RM700.00
PhD :
- Medical :RM1,200.00
- Science : RM900.00
- Social Science :RM700.00
Duration of the Fellowship
PhD programme : Maximum 6 semesters
Master programme : Maximum 4 semesters

Conditions of Sponsorship:
1. The fellowship shall be withdrawn immediately if a recipient is found to be also a recipient of any other form of financial support or scholarship/ fellowship or engaged in any type of employment during the tenure of the fellowship.

2. A recipient (of the Fellowship) who defers his/her study shall have the monthly stipend withdrawn.

3. A recipient shall assist in the teaching/tutoring/supervising final year students and/or laboratory classes for a period of 4 hours/week (for Masters programme) or 6 hours/week (for PhD programme) including during semester breaks.

4. A recipient is required to conduct his/her research in Malaysia only.

5. A recipient must maintain good performance and semester status „continue‟. The scholarship will be terminated if the semester status is probation.

6. A recipient in a Masters programme must produce and publish at least 1 cited journal article while a recipient on a PhD programme 2 cited journal articles before completing his course of study . The recipient who fails to fulfill this requirement will be considered to have breached the contract.

7. A recipient is required to sign an Intellectual Property Agreement with the University.

8. A recipient is required to record his/her daily attendance at the University. At the end of every month, the record must be verified by the Advisor/Supervisor and must be submitted not later than the 2nd day of the following month to the Deputy Dean Postgraduate)/Deputy Director (Postgraduate) of the Faculty/Institute.

9. A recipient is only allowed to take leave for a maximum of 2 days per month with the prior approval of his/her supervisor. Any recipient who fails to record his/her attendance at the University or takes leave for more than 2 days/month, with or without the prior approval of his/her supervisor, shall have his/her allowance deducted according to the rates shown below:

a. Master – RM68.00/day
b. PhD - RM77.00/day

10. Any recipient who fails to record his/her attendance at the University or who is on leave for more than 10 days per month, will have his/her allowance for that month not be paid.

11. A recipient whose study has been upgraded to a PhD programme is entitled to the provisions provided for PhD students.

12. A recipient who fails to comply with the terms in the agreement shall be considered to have breached the contract and will be required to repay all costs and expenses due to the University including tuition fees that were previously waived.

13. A recipient with the recommendation of his/her supervisor and Deputy Dean/Director may be allowed to take leave more than 2 day but not exceeding 10 day in a month within the same semester for the reason due to an emergency, his/her health problems, UPM‟s interest, or/and Malaysia‟s interest. Application for approval should be addressed to the Dean, School of Graduate Studies. The facility can only be used once per semester.

14. A recipient is required to put in 8 hours a day from Monday to Friday.

15. A recipient is required to submit information regarding the requirement to assist in teaching once per semester not later than the specified due date.

Application Guidelines:
The following document should be submitted with your application: International Graduate Research Fellowship Application Form (IGRF) (UPM/TNCAA/PS/GS-43) A copy of your Passport. A copy of Admission Offer Letter (new students only) or latest semester result (for continuing students).
Enquiries:
For enquiries please contact Mrs. Herni Mat Sibi/Mrs. Noraini Abu Bakar/Ms. Siti Noorazura Abdul Rahim/Mr. Izzudin Abdullah at 03-89464224.

SCHOLARSHIPS 4 POSTGRADUATES

ADB-Japan Scholarship Program for Developing Countries in Asia and Pacific

Top 10 Highest Paying Fresh Graduate Salaries in Malaysia

World University Ranking-2015

ENS Cachan International Scholarship Programme 2012-2013

Ajinomoto Postgraduate Scholarship

IDRC's Graduate Research Awards on Climate Change and Water

Adaptation H2O

Melbourne International Fee Remission Scholarships (MIFRS)

Melbourne International Fee Remission Scholarships (MIFRS)

Number

Benefits and conditions

Eligibility criteria

Selection criteria

Application process

Application outcome

Closing date and timelines

For further information

Intelligible context-aware adaptive applications [PhD, Department of Computer Science, K.U.Leuven]

MobCom - A Mobile Companion [PhD, Department of Computer Science, K.U.Leuven]

Modeling and predicting human behavior in AmI environments [PhD, Department of Computer Science, K.U.Leuven]

Mobile context-aware computing in the cloud [PhD, Department of Computer Science, K.U.Leuven]

VIB International Postdoc Program

VIB International Postdoc Program

Admission requirements - Step 1

Nationality

University degree

Publication record

Experience

Career Break

Language

Select your project topic - Step 2 / Step 4

List of omics@vib project topics

Download the application form - Step 3

Get in Touch with the group leaders Step 4

Detailed application guidelines - Step 5

Upload the completed Application Form - Step 6 (Final step)

Source adapated from http://www.vib.be/en/training/postdoc-program/Pages/default.aspx

FULBRIGHT MALAYSIAN AWARD 2012-2013 FULBRIGHT MALAYSIAN GRADUATE STUDY AND RESEARCH PROGRAM

Postgraduate Scholarships in Master Program in Teaching Arabic to Speakers of Other Languages (TASOL) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

PhD Positions the Area of Biological/Biomedical Signal Processing and Mathematical Modeling, Singapore

Belgium: Application Invited for Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships, Production and Characterization of Polyhydroxyalkanoates from Industrial Organic and Inorganic Wastes

Application Invited for Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships, Integrated Process for Fermentation and Separation of Organic Acids with Electrodialysis, Belgium

Researchers and Vacanies at School of Information science, Computer and Electrical engineering (IDE) , Halmstad University, Sweden

Career opportunities at School of Information science, Computer and Electrical engineering (IDE)

PhD position at Water Insight bv., Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Tartu Observatory, Estonia

Happy New Year 2011!!

Universiti Putra Malaysia INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP (IGRF)

Adaptation H₂O

Number