Management | Scholarship for Nigerians and Africans - Part 64

PhD student: The Prospects for High Efficiency Solar Cells, Netherlands

/ August 23, 2010 Leave a Comment

The department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences (IE&IS) engages in education and research in the area of operational business processes and transitions in societies in relation to technical changes. In the IE&IS department, scholars and students work together on critical problems at the interface of engineering, management, innovation, and human behavior. The department has two schools: the School of Industrial Engineering and the School of Innovation Sciences.

The School of Innovation Sciences is one of the leading IS schools in Europe, with a strong presence in the international research and education community. Within the School of Innovation Sciences three degree programs are taught: BSc in Innovation Sciences, MSc in Human Technology Interaction, and MSc in Innovation Sciences. Moreover, the school participates in several PhD programs set up by national research schools. The School of Innovation Sciences also contributes to the 3TU Centre of Excellence in Ethics & Technology.

Research in Innovation Sciences deals with the economic, sociological and psychological determinants and consequences of pervasive technological changes in society. From a socio-technical perspective, technological changes leading to fundamental and pervasive changes in the organization and culture of a society have been characterized with the concept of “transition”. The economics discipline contributes to this research agenda by examining the role of markets, firms and sectors affect the flow of knowledge and technology in society.

Tasks
One PhD position is available in the area of innovation research at the Technology, Innovation and Society group at the School of Innovation Sciences at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in The Netherlands. This research project will assess the long term prospects of solar cells (PV). Research will analyze the development of technological trajectories of different types of solar cells in order to identify market opportunities and niche applications, in particular for high efficiency solar cells. The project aims at contributing to a successful implementation of solar cells by developing innovative business models, using Strategic Niche Management and other relevant innovation theories.

The PhD student will do his/her research as part of a large energy research project on nano-wire multi-junction solar cells for concentrator photovoltaics applications. In this project researchers and PhD’s from TU/e work in close cooperation with industry.

Requirements
We welcome applications from candidates with a Master degree and an excellent academic record in innovation studies and management, science, technology and society (STS) studies, Sustainable Energy Technologies (SET) or other relevant MSc programs.

We offer:

* a challenging job in a dynamic and ambitious University;
* a PhD appointment for a period of 4 years;
* gross salary is in the range of €28.500 – €36.500 per annum (on a full-time basis), this includes 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end of year allowance;
* a broad package of fringe benefits (including an excellent technical infrastructure, child care, moving expenses, savings schemes, coverage of costs of publishing the dissertation and excellent sports facilities);
* the university covers the costs of publishing your dissertation.

As part of an equal opportunity scheme, women are explicitly requested to apply. Attaining a PhD at Eindhoven University of Technology provides you with excellent career opportunities.

Application Deadline 15-09-2010
Read more: http://scholarship-positions.com/phd-student-the-prospects-for-high-efficiency-solar-cells-netherlands/2010/08/04/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ScholarshipPositions+%28International+Scholarships+and+Financial+Aid+Positions%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail#ixzz0xR9NcXZi

Filed Under: Doctorate Degree, Engineering, Information Technology, Physical Science Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Research Scholarship, The Africa Rice Center, Africa

/ August 23, 2010 Leave a Comment

Africa Rice is an association of 24 African member states and one of the 15 international Centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). AfricaRice’s mission is to contribute to poverty alleviation and food security in Africa, through research, development and partnership activities aimed at increasing the productivity and profitability of the rice sector in ways that ensure the sustainability of the farming environments. AfricaRice is temporarily headquartered in Cotonou, Benin.
Responsibilities
The social scientist will be part of a multi-disciplinary research team working to sustain and improve the productivity of rice-based systems in rainfed, irrigated and lowland ecologies of Africa consistent with AfricaRice’s mission and mandate. She/he will conduct strategic and applied research on institutional and organizational constraints to collective action and governance in NRM, with special emphasis on inland valley systems in West Africa. His/her specific tasks will include the following:
o Develop and implement a research program focused around social, cultural, organizational and institutional dimensions of rice sector development, related to land tenure, water management, group formation and collective action and governance in NRM
o Provide leadership to social science activities conducted at the household – community level and ensure that these are captured in mid-term plans and future R&D projects
o Interact closely with other AfricaRice programs
o Actively link with R&D partners that operate at district – national or watershed level to ensure out-scaling of results
o Build capacity within national programs and universities in social science, supervise MSc and PhD students
o Participate actively in ongoing research projects
o Develop annual work plans and budgets in consultation with the Program Leader, project coordinators and team members
o Publish research results in peer reviewed journals and other relevant outlets
o Actively participate in the dissemination of research results of direct relevance to farmers and other rice development stakeholders
o Participate in and contribute to resource mobilization efforts
o Undertake any other duties as required by the Center
Qualification
The selected candidate should have:
• A PhD in innovation systems research, sociology or related fields
• More than five years work experience, preferably in Africa
• Strong statistics and systems analysis skills
• Excellent communication skills in either English or French, with a working knowledge of the other
• An excellent publication record
Duration of the Appointment:
The appointment is for two years with possibility for renewal
Application procedure:
Candidates should send an application (including date of availability and a statement of any special qualifications for the position) and an up-to-date curriculum vitae with the names and addresses (including telephone / fax / e-mail) of three referees to:
Human Resources Manager
AfricaRice
01 BP 2031 Cotonou, Benin
F: + (229) 21 35 05 56; T: (229) 21 35 01 88
Email: africarice-hr@cgiar.org
Applications will be considered up to August 20, 2010 or until the position is filled.
AfricaRice believes that staff diversity promotes excellence in its operations, and encourages applications from women and developing country professionals. AfricaRice thanks all applicants but only the short listed candidates will be contacted.

Further Fellowship Information and Application

Filed Under: Doctorate Degree, Physical Science, Post Doctoral Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Erasmus Mundus UNESCO-IHE Masters on Flood Risk Management Scholarships

/ August 22, 2010 1 Comment

Erasmus Mundus Grant Committe has selected UNESCO-IHE’s proposal on a new Masters Course on Flood Risk Management for funding under the 2010 Erasmus Mundus Action 1 Call for proposal. The new Masters Course will be offered in collaboration with the Technical University of Dresden (Germany), Technical University of Catalonia (Spain) and University of Ljubljana (Slovenia).

Integrated flood risk management aims to reduce the human and socio-economic losses caused by flooding while at the same time taking into account the social, economic, and ecological benefits from floods and the use of flood plains or coastal zones. The need for the adoption of a holistic integrated approach to managing flood risks has been reflected in the Flood Directive of the European Parliament. Existing Masters programmes on floods offered at EU cover many technical aspects but lack integration. The programme follows the holistic approach and is explicitly designed to cover a wide range of topics – from drivers and natural processes to models, decisions and socio-economic consequences and institutional environment, and is therefore an important advance in water education for Europe.

The Erasmus Mundus Masters Course on Flood risk management is offered by the consortium consisting of UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education (the Netherlands), the Technical University of Dresden (Germany), the Technical University of Catalonia (Spain) and the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia). The associated members include European hydraulics laboratories, namely, DHI (Denmark), Deltares and HR Wallingford (UK), and from key national organisations responsible for flood management, including Rijkswaterstaat (the Netherlands). ICHARM (Japan), and three organisations from Bangladesh are associated members as well. All these partners bring their specific complementary expertise in flood risk management to the EMMC, which graduates educated flood risk professionals with a broad vision of the processes occurring in river basins and in coastal zones at different spatial and temporal scales, and who can master the links between systems, processes and natural and socio-economic constraints for all the aspects of the water cycle.

During the 2-year programme students start at the Technical University of Dresden, where they complete their first semester with 30 ECTS with courses on hydro-meteorological processes, global change and its impact, flood risk management and GIS. Then the students move to UNESCO-IHE for their 2nd semester with 30 ECTS where they receive courses on modelling for planning, forecasting, control and decision support, hazard mapping, ICT, and fluvial flooding and urban flood disasters. Subsequently, the students move to the Technical University of Catalonia to follow part of their 3rd semester with 20 ECTS with courses on hazards due to flash floods, debris flow, coastal flooding, and climate change. The last part of the 3rd semester is hosted by the University of Ljubljana where students follow courses on spatial planning, and socio-economic and institutional framework of flood risk management to earn 10 ECTS. Each semester provides a number of electives, and there are international fieldtrips. Finally, the students carry out their thesis work (30 ECTS) at one of HIEs or with an industrial partner. Successful candidates receive MSc degrees from the Technical University of Dresden, UNESCO-IHE and the Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona.

Partners:

  • UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands (Co-ordinating Institution)
  • Technical University of Dresden, Germany
  • Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
  • University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Duration: 2 years, starting September 2011

Contact:

Dr Biswa Bhattacharya
Hydroinformatics & Knowledge Management
Westvest 7
2601 DA Delft, Nederland
E-mail:  b.bhattacharya@unesco-ihe.org

Filed Under: Doctorate Degree, Information Technology, Masters Degree, Physical Science, Social Science Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
«Previous Page
Next Page»