PhD Position - Water Informatics

The Universities of Exeter, Bath, Bristol and Cardiff invite applications for 4-year fully-funded PhD studentships as part of its EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Water Informatics: Science and Engineering (WISE). This new centre of excellence will act as a hub of international and industrial collaborations, training scientists and engineers with the relevant skills, knowledge and professional attributes to across industry and academia.

All four universities have strong links with internationally competitive research groups, most of which are from within the subject areas of water informatics, science and engineering. The WISE CDT will link with other traditionally separate disciplines relevant to sustainable water management, ranging from statistics to social sciences, geography, psychology and economics. 

The WISE CDT partners also work closely with a huge range of local, national and global companies in both the public and private sectors. Students who wish to undertake an optional industrial or overseas placement will be offered a chance to spend up to 6 months working with industrial or overseas academic supervisors to engage in industry-relevant research or to work with academics from world-leading institutions.

We invite applications from graduates in Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, and Computer Science that have demonstrated excellence at theundergraduate or MSc level in a relevant subject. Applicants should have an interest in specific aspects of water and informatics, and are expected to demonstrate creativity and be open-minded to collaborative work and innovation.

Full scholarships (up to 20 per year), including a stipend to cover living expenses and fees, are available to UK/EU students at standard EPSRC rates. A small number of these may also be available to International students. Industry-orientated studentships may also include a top-up to the stipend.

Further information can be obtained by e-mail to info@wisecdt.org or by visiting our website, www.wisecdt.org

Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funded Study Scholarships and Research Grants for Master and Doctoral students from Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Iran, Jordan, Vietnam and Indonesia in the field of Water Management, Germany 2013-2014

Study Subject(s):Hydro Science and Engineering, Water Resources and Environmental Management, Water Resources Engineering and Management, Water Science

Course Level: Master and Doctoral

Scholarship Provider: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Scholarship can be taken at: Germany

Eligibility: In principle, applications are open to specialised highly-qualified Graduates and Doctoral students from the above-mentioned countries who have graduated from their studies in Engineering or Natural Sciences subjects no longer than six years ago.

Scholarship Open for International Students: Yes

Scholarship Open for Students of Following Countries: Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Iran, Jordan, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Scholarship Description: One of the priority funding points to which the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) attaches particular importance in its Framework Programme on “Research for Sustainable De-velopment is Sustainable Water Management (NaWaM): “One of the major challenges of the future is to ensure the supply of clean water to the world population. Population growth, water pol-lution and the increasing water consumption per capita have a strong impact on water quality. In addition, expansive climate changes and change in land use influence global and regional water cycles and thus question the medium and long-term avail-ability of water.” In view of this background, the BMBF specifically promotes research projects to develop, adapt and internationally dissemi-nate technologies and strategies for the sustainable management of the resource “Water”. Of particular interest in this context are the thematic fields of Water and Energy, Water and Health, Water and Nutrition, Water and Environment, as well as Water in Urban Areas. At the centre of the DAAD Special Programme funded with the resources of the BMBF on “Sustainable Water Management” lies in the promotion of young scientists from Kazakhstan, Mon-golia, Iran, Jordan, Vietnam and Indonesia. The programme section on “Study Scholarships and Research Grants for Foreigners” offers highly-qualified Students and Doc-toral Students from the above-mentioned countries the opportu-nity to study in specialised relevantly selected English-spoken Master’s programmes at German universities, or, for carrying out their PhD projects in Germany in the thematic field of “Water in Urban Areas” or “Water and Energy” (particularly, the increase of energy efficiency in connection with the treatment of drinking water and wastewater).

Duration of Scholarships: The whole support is structured to run for a period of 31 months (masters) and 43 months (Doctoral) Funding is provided for an obligatory four-month intensive lan-guage course (start: June 2013), a generally two-year Master’s programme  and three-year doctorate/PhD (start: October 2013), and an obligatory, at least three-month, Internship in a company engaging in commercial business and industry, in the specialised authorities of the Fed-eration and Federal States, and in the management and regula-tion of resources in corporations under public law, or in research institutions in Germany.

What It Covers:
For Masters: The scholarship/grant is made up of a monthly instalment of 750 Euros and an annual Study and Re-search costs subsidy amounting to 460 Euros.
For Doctoral: The support includes a monthly payment of 1000 Euros and an annual Study and Research Costs Subsidy amounting to 460 Euros.

For outward and return travel as well as for field work in the home country, country-dependent travel allowances are awarded. Furthermore, the DAAD covers the costs of health insurance as well as for accident and personal liability insurance. Possibly, surcharges can also be paid for accompanying spouses and children. The host institutes in Germany receive a monthly Research Costs Surcharge amounting to 200 Euros per scholarship/grant.

Application Procedure: The application documents must be submitted in full in duplicate. Applicants are kindly requested to use the Form “Application for Research Grants and Study Scholarships”

http://www.daadjkt.org/index.php?download-area

On the cover sheet, please specify the corresponding type of support. The following documents for Type of Scholarship A must be included with the application form:

-Curriculum Vitae (2 pages max.)
-Summary of the Bachelor’s thesis (2 pages max.)
-Bachelor’s degree certificate
-Academic transcript
-Letter of motivation (1 page max.)
-Proof of English language skills (TOEFL 550/213/80; IELTS: 6.0). Please do not submit the prediction score.
-If possible, proof of German language skills (e.g. TestDaF, Zertifikat Deutsch, Deutsches Sprachdiplom)
-Proof of contact with the desired Master’s Programme
For Type of Scholarship B:
-Curriculum Vitae (2 pages max.)
-Summary of the Master’s thesis (2 pages max.)
-Presentation of the planned doctoral project (3 pages max.)
-Confirmation of supervision by a scientist from a German University/Higher Education Institution
-Work plan and schedule (if possible, agreed upon with the German supervisor)
-Master’s degree certificate;
-Academic transcript (Master’s degree)
-Proof of English language skills (TOEFL 550/213/80; IELTS: 6.0). Please do not submit the prediction score.
-If possible, proof of German language skills (e.g. TestDaF, Zertifikat Deutsch, Deutsches Sprachdiplom)

The letters of recommendation by two scientists of your own choice must be included in sealed envelopes or sent by the referees directly to the DAAD in Bonn by the closing date of applications.

How to Apply: By Post

Scholarship Application Deadline: 31st October 2012

Call for participation: 2013 MyCOE / SERVIR Initiative in the Himalayas for Undergraduate and Graduate Students

The MyCOE / SERVIR Initiative in the Himalayas is a 10-month fellowship program for undergraduate and graduate students who are citizens of eligible countries*, currently enrolled in any field at an institution of higher education in an eligible country with ideas and plans for research that address themes of Climate Change in Mountain Area Regions using geographic technologies. Students are invited to propose a research project and will be competitively selected on the basis of their long-term potential to contribute to these topics in the region.  The MyCOE / SERVIR program will provide students with customized capacity training in GIS, remote sensing, GPS, and/or spatial techniques to help them enrich their research proposals. They will also receive professional development, have access to additional mentoring by international experts and engage in an online community with other fellows. Interested students must apply with a mentor who is willing to work closely with them throughout the duration of the program and attend the workshop. The program provides travel support and research stipends for both students and their mentors.

Up to 15 teams of students and their mentors will be selected for this Himalayas Initiative.  Over the life of the program, participants will have the opportunity to interact and exchange ideas with approximately 60 other teams from around the world that will be selected through MyCOE / SERVIR global initiatives.

The official language for this initiative is English.

Partners: My Community, Our Earth: Geographic Learning for Sustainable Development (MyCOE), Association of American Geographers (AAG) (MyCOE Secretariat); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), The SERVIR Global Program; International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), SERVIR-Himalaya and others.

*Eligible countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan. 
Please note that to be eligible, all participants must be citizens of one of the eligible countries AND also be studying (students) or working (mentors) and residing in the same or another of the eligible countries.

For more information please see http://www.aag.org/mycoe.servir/himalayas
Inquiries may be directed to mycoe@aag.org

Belpasso International Summer School on Environmental and Resource Economics - Call for Applications

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

University of Catania - EAERE - FEEM
Belpasso International Summer School on Environmental and Resource Economics
Sustainable Development: Theory and Measurement Methods

Belpasso (Italy), September 2nd - 8th, 2012
http://www.feem-project.net/belpasso_2012/

Deadline for applications: June 24th, 2012

The Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Catania, the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (EAERE) and the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), with the sponsorship of the Municipality of Belpasso, are pleased to announce the Belpasso International Summer School on Environmental and Resource Economics for postgraduate students.

The 2012 Summer School will take place from the 2nd to the 8th of September in Belpasso, a city in the Province of Catania, Sicily, Italy. The theme of this Summer School is Sustainable Development: Theory and Measurement Methods.

Ensuring a continuous increase in well-being throughout the world is one of the main challenges to humankind. Since the mid-80s, awareness that economic growth has not necessarily improved living conditions has led to the quest for sustainable development. The concept of sustainability implies the need to consider in policy agendas the long-term interactions among the economic, environmental and social spheres, reconciling their potential trade-offs. In spite of the increased effort of the academia, no agreement on the definition and quantitative assessment of sustainability has been reached to date on a worldwide basis. The main aim of the 2012 Belpasso summer school is to collect the latest advancements in the field from research leaders, in order to provide young scholars with the most appropriate theoretical and methodological background and to enable them to make a valuable contribution to the post Rio+20 scientific debate.

Faculty

Graciela CHICHILNISKY, Columbia University, Department of Economics, USA

Giuseppe MUNDA, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona (UAB), Ecological Economics and Integrated Assessment Unit (Eco2bcn), Spain

William REES, University of British Columbia, School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), Canada

Michaela SAISANA,  European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Econometric and Applied Statistics Uni, Italy

Giovanni SIGNORELLO (School Co-coordinator), University of Catania, Italy

Fabio EBOLI (School Co-coordinator), Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei and Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change, Italy

Admissions and Scholarships

The Summer School is targeted to postgraduate students. Admission is conditional on the presentation by each student of his/her doctoral work; therefore PhD students who want to apply need to be advanced in their PhD and need to have written at least one substantive chapter. It is not necessary that PhD applicants have completely finished their thesis
Application is restricted to 2012 EAERE members, both European and Non-European citizens. Given the highly interactive activities planned at the Summer School, the number of participants is limited to 20.
There is no participation fee. All applicants can apply for a scholarship.

For further information on application and funding please access the Summer School Website at http://www.feem-project.net/belpasso_2012/ or contact the Summer School Secretariat.

Belpasso International Summer School Secretariat
c/o prof. Giovanni Signorello
DiGESA - Envalab
via Santa Sofia 98
95123 Catania
Italy
Tel. +39 095 7580320
Fax +39 095 7580345
g.signorello@unict.it
http://www.feem-project.net/belpasso_2012/

PhD scholarship International Development Studies

PhD scholarship International Development Studies

The Research Unit, Property and Citizenship in Developing Societies, together with the Graduate School of International Development Studies, advertises a 3-year PhD scholarship on: Land Struggles at the Urban Fringe – Indonesia.

The Research Unit investigates the process of state formation and fragmentation in developing societies by focusing on local politics and the social production of property and citizenship. The advertised scholarship focuses on Indonesia. Decentralization and urbanization have in recent years transformed Indonesian society, and the confluence of these dynamics is most dramatic at the urban fringe where struggles for land present a particular set of problems. Land use changes, and land hitherto held under forms of informal tenure, becomes the object of institutional competition. Different groups often have competing and incompatible interests in the same space. A complicated mix of local internal legality, formal law, and efforts at formal land registration co-exist, overlap, and conflict.

The Research Unit invites original research proposals to explore this theme. The PhD project is expected to include a significant element of fieldwork-based data collection in Indonesia.

PhD candidates from a Developing country will be paid allowances in accordance with Guidelines for Danida Fellows in Denmark (www.dfcentre.com).

Other PhD candidates are paid a salary according to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). The PhD candidate has a work obligation of up to 840 hours over the 3-year period without additional pay.

Applications are invited from candidates with a Master’s Degree and excellent academic qualifications. Relevant work experience – especially from Indonesia - may constitute important additional qualifications. All qualified applicants – regardless of national, ethnic or religious background, gender, age or sexual orientation – are encouraged to apply.

The application should be in English and include:

• Research proposal developing the idea and sketching out methods (max 5 pages)
• CV
• Copies of exam certificates

We only accept applications through our electronic recruitment system. To apply for the position you must go to the job advertisement on our homepage: www.ruc.dk/job/phd/.

Click on the button Apply for vacancy here which appears immediately below the job advertisement.

Then you fill the application form and attach those in the job advertisement mentioned documents. Finish by clicking Send.

We must receive your application on or before 27th February 2012.

Material received after the deadline will not be considered.

For any further question about the PhD scholarship, and the Research Unit, please contact Professor Christian Lund (clund@ruc.dk) or consult:  www.christian-lund.dk  sub-page ProCit.

Apply for vacancy here

Scholarships for Undergraduates, Graduates and PhD Students to Study in Germany in 2012

The Heinrich Boll Foundation grants scholarships to approximately 1,000 undergraduates, graduates, and PhD students of all subjects and nationalities per year. Undergraduates, graduates, and PhD students interested in obtaining a scholarship can apply directly to the Heinrich Böll Foundation. They should be able to demonstrate an excellent academic record and show that they are socially and politically active. In the case of PhD students, the quality of their research project will also be considered.

Next application deadline is March 1, 2012.

For more information or to apply, please follow this link: 

http://www.boell.de/scholarships/scholarships.html

24th Ph.D. Workshop on International Climate Policy, Germany

24th Ph.D. Workshop on International Climate Policy

Organized by:
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg,
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems Freiburg

May 3-4, 2012

Call for Papers

The 24th Ph.D. Workshop on International Climate Policy (ICP) will take place at Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg (ALU), and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems Freiburg (ISE), on May 3-4, 2012.

The ICP workshops series is organised twice per year under the auspices of the European Ph.D. Network on International Climate Policy. It aims to offer doctoral candidates the opportunity to present their research ideas and results, receive feedback, and exchange information and assistance in an informal setting. PhD students from all disciplines working on topics relevant to climate policy are invited to submit applications. The 24th ICP workshop will cover topics of relevance for climate change mitigation and adaptation, such as policy instruments, carbon markets, science-policy interface, climate and development, renewable energy and forests in a changing climate, as well as climate change negotiations and post-Kyoto governance architectures.

Participation is free of charge, but workshop participants are expected to cover their travel and accommodation expenses. Active participation is required, by presenting a paper and/or by serving as a discussant for a paper presented by a fellow PhD candidate. To apply for the workshop, please submit the application form available on the workshop’s homepage

http://www.wipo.uni-freiburg.de/tagungen/24icpworkshop

If you intend to present a paper, please add an informative abstract of no more than 300 words. Please send your documents via email to 24icpworkshop@mail.uni-freiburg.de by January 29, 2012.

Notification of acceptance/rejection will be given by February 15, and full papers will be due by April 5, 2012.

The workshop will be hosted and receives funding by the Graduate School of Environment, Society and Global Change, ALU Freiburg and the Fraunhofer ISE. It will be organized in close cooperation with the Institute of Forest and Environmental Policy, the Department of Political Science, and the Department of Economic Policy and Constitutional Economic Theory of ALU Freiburg.

We look forward to welcoming you in Freiburg.

The organising committee,
Stephan Hoch, Christoph Oberlack, Sabine Reinecke, Stephan Schindele

Second Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Workshop in Sustainable Development, Columbia University, USA

CALL FOR PAPERS

Second Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Workshop in Sustainable Development
April 20th-21st, 2012: Columbia University in the City of New York, USA

The graduate students in sustainable development at Columbia University are convening the Second Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Workshop in Sustainable Development (IPWSD); scheduled for April 20th-21st, 2012, at Columbia University in New York City.

The IPWSD is a conference open to graduate students working on or interested in issues related to sustainable development.  It is intended to provide a forum to present and discuss research in an informal setting, as well as to meet and interact with similar graduate student researchers from other institutions.  In particular, we hope to facilitate a network among students pursuing in-depth research across a range of disciplines in the social and natural sciences, to generate a larger interdisciplinary discussion concerning sustainable development.  If your research pertains to the field of sustainable development and the linkages between natural and social systems, we encourage you to apply regardless of disciplinary background.

For details, please see the call for papers, or visit our conference website where a detailed list of topics, conference themes and other information is available.

Please share this information widely with graduate students and other interested parties. We look forward to seeing you in New York City in April!

With kind regards,

The IPWSD Planning Committee,

website: http://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/sdds/schedule-events/ipwsd_2012/

contact: cu.sdds.ipwsd@gmail.com

One More Step Erasmus Mundus Scholarship 2012 for Asian Students

One More Step Erasmus Mundus Scholarship 2012 for Asian Students

The OMS mobility under EMA2 is planned to take place between Asia and Europe.
European partners will act as hosting institutions and Asian partners will be the sending institutions only.

No bidirectional fluxes are foreseen in this round and no intra-european or intra-asian mobility can be funded under the EM Action 2 scheme.

The call for application for the first Intake round (1st Cohort) will be open between October 2011 and January 30th, 2012.

Scholarship Amount

For the duration of your mobility period you will receive a standard monthly subsistence allowance (scholarship grant).

Payments will be transferred to your bank account in Europe. The amounts are fixed by the EU Commission:
Undergraduate 1,000 euro
Master 1,000 euro
PhD 1,500 euro
Post-doc 1,800 euro
Academic Staff 2,500 euro

Who can apply 

Perspective EM applicants are nationals of one of the Asian partners countries holding a valid passport or any other kind of verified proof of identification of the home country, and with the requirements to access.

The University of Trento and the One More Step Partners are glad to announce a call for applications for 86/138 scholarships for mobility between the L13 Asian Countries involved and the European Union (EU) partners.

The call for the first selection round will be open from October 30, 2011 to January 30, 2012.

The mobility is supposed to take place before 31 December 2012.

See more detail here: http://one-more-step.eu

Doctoral Course - Being Human in Times of Climate Change: Stretching the Disciplinary Boundaries

Doctoral Course

Being Human in Times of Climate Change:

Stretching the Disciplinary Boundaries

Lund University, Sweden

January 23-27, 2012

Short description of the course:

The humanities and social sciences have often been perceived of as being outside of the otherwise motley gang of disciplines and fields crowding the neighbourhood of the climate change problem complex. But there is, in fact, a growing interest for climate change in these academic fields.

This course aims to provide an overview of current research on climate change in the humanities and social sciences. Perspectives from across a number of disciplines will be explored as the issue is addressed through a number of themes and angles. 

Work which is relevant for the issue of climate change is being produced within the different subjects of the humanities and social sciences. Throughout the course we will engage with theoretical and methodological tools developed and employed within a number of disciplines to further understanding of the human dimensions of global warming. The course will provide both an acquaintance with recent developments in the respective fields and opportunities for comparative analysis and discussions of the promises and pitfalls of interdisciplinarity, understood in the widest sense of the term.

We will see that the work from the humanities and social sciences is highly relevant to the understanding of the natural and social dimensions of climate change. Researchers in the humanities and social sciences may differ widely in their approaches; therefore, one of the aims of this course is to advance interdisciplinary communication between these disciplines. This may in turn serve to enhance the positions of such research concerning climate change, making it evident that theorising about the human being and her relations with others and the environment constitutes an essential dimension for exploring and understanding the climate change problematique. One aim of the course is thus to broaden the scope further; deepen the well of potential influx that sustainability science can draw on by presenting examples of accomplished research that has already been produced or is under production as well as fields that show promise. This course should be able to provide some of the useful tools for addressing the dimensions of human agency, human values, issues of interpretation and reception of overwhelming problems, motivational and emotional facts in relation, in short what it is to be a human being in times of climate change.

The course welcomes doctoral students who would like to like to explore the issue of climate change from different perspectives and is intended for doctoral students in all disciplines. We put great emphasis on creating an interdisciplinary group that may benefit from each other’s knowledge and perspectives.

Form:

One week intensive course of 5 credits, open to doctoral students from all disciplines.

Examination:

Active participation (for a schedule, see below)

Reading of assigned literature (to be announced)

A short position paper on interdisciplinarity (more information on this will be distributed to participants before the course starts)

Application:

Send an email to anna.kaijser@lucid.lu.se or lena.christensen@lucsus.lu.se, including your name and institutional affiliation, a short description of your research interest and a motivation for your wish to participate.

The deadline for applications is December 1.

Practicalities:

There is no participation fee. The participants need to arrange their own accommodation.

For more information, please email anna.kaijser@lucid.lu.se or lena.christensen@lucsus.lu.se

Tentative Schedule

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Presentation of course and participants	Kjersti Fløttum, Department of Foreign Languages, University of Bergen Trine Dahl, Department of Professional and Intercultural Communication, University of Bergen	Karin Bradley, School of Architecture and the Built Environment, Stockholm Royal Institute of Technology	Adeline Johns-Putra, Department of English, University of Exeter Adam Trexler, Department of English, University of Exeter	Discussion of student papers on interdisciplinarity
L	U	N	C	H
Kristin Asdal,   Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture (TIK), Oslo University	Frida Hastrup, Department of Anthropology, Copenhagen University	Maria Hellström Reimer, Art Culture and Communication, Malmö University	Alexa Weik von Mossner, Department of Languages and Literatures, University of Fribourg

This schedule may be subject to changes, and more activities may be added (for instance during evenings)

Sustainability Science Fellowships at Harvard University, USA

Doctoral, Post-doctoral, and Mid-career Fellowships: Sustainability Science Fellowships at Harvard University, USA

Due date for applications: January 15, 2012

http://www.cid.harvard.edu/sustsci/fellowship

The Sustainability Science Program at Harvard University invites applications for resident fellowships in sustainability science for the academic year beginning in September 2012. The fellowship competition is open to advanced doctoral and post-doctoral students, and to mid-career professionals engaged in research or practice to facilitate the design, implementation, and evaluation of effective interventions that promote sustainable development. Some of the most serious constraints to sustainable development lie in the interconnections among sectors: energy’s growing need for water; the impacts of water use on human health; the competition for land among food, energy and conservation initiatives; and the cumulative impact of all sectoral initiatives on climate and other key environmental services.  A central challenge moving forward is to develop an integrated understanding of how sectoral initiatives for sustainability can compete with and complement one another in particular regional contexts. The 2012-13 fellowship competition will therefore focus on regional initiatives pursing an integrated perspective on sustainable development in India, China and Brazil. It will also include a cross-cutting research initiative to integrate work focused on the theme of Innovation for Sustainable Development. Preference in this year’s competition will be given to applicants whose proposals complement one or more of these four initiatives.  The Initiatives (see below), are led by Professors William Clark, Michael Kremer, Henry Lee, Paul Moorcroft, and Rohini Pande. The Program is also open, however, to strong proposals in any area of sustainability science.  In addition to general funds available to support this fellowship offering, special funding for the Giorgio Ruffolo Fellowships in Sustainability Science is available to support citizens of Italy, Brazil, China, India or developing countries who are therefore especially encouraged to apply. For more information on the fellowships application process seehttp://www.cid.harvard.edu/sustsci/fellowship. Applications are due January 15, 2012 and decisions will be announced by March 2012.

India: Building public-private partnerships to promote sustainable development in India

Faculty leader:  Rohini Pande, Mohammed Kamal Professor of Public Policy

Sustainable development, by its nature, requires government and private actors to work together.  Externalities from rapid growth, such as the depletion of subsidized resources, widespread air and water pollution or unsustainable energy use, arise from a joint failure of government and industry to create an economy where the most profitable action is also best socially.  The India Initiative will address sustainability problems in India of both national and global import.  The motivation for this research program is to work with governments to channel the enterprising potential of the private sector to correct such externalities.  The research will address questions in sustainable environmental regulation and provide evidence on how public-private partnerships can contribute to solving existing challenges.  We focus on three research areas.  First, existing environmental regulations are weakly enforced by possibly under-resourced regulators, leading to poor environmental quality.  Second, traditional regulations, even if strengthened, are not the right tools to address many of India’s pollution problems.  Third, from the perspective of sustainability of resource use, India’s inefficient and rapidly growing energy consumption threatens to undermine its own development by contributing to global climate change. The research team will partner with government and private institutions in order to conduct field trials of innovative environmental policies to provide rigorous evidence on the impact of these policies for sustainable development. Doctoral, post-doctoral, and mid-career candidates are encouraged to apply.

China:  Energy in China: Environmental implications and management for sustainable development

Faculty leader: Henry Lee, Jassim M. Jaidah Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program

The China Initiative will address the environmental implications of electrification and other energy policies in China and explore how China can manage these implications.  Fellows will work to identify and promote policies that will contribute to thoughtful use of China's natural resources (e.g., water, land) and/or the adoption of cleaner and less carbon-intensive industrial and energy technologies. Research areas include, but are not limited to: analyzing the impact of energy and industrial policies on water scarcity; assessing barriers to the development or deployment of cleaner energy technologies; and studying the impact of industrialization on health and fragile ecosystems.  Post-doctoral and mid-career candidates, especially those who speak Chinese, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Brazil: Sustainable Development of the Amazon and its surrounding regions: The interplay of climate, hydrology, and land use

Faculty leader:  Paul Moorcroft, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology

Ongoing agricultural expansion and other land use changes in Amazonia and the surrounding regions are expected to continue over the next several decades as global demand for food and biofuel increases and regional economies expand. The conversion of natural forest and cerrado ecosystems to pastureland and agricultural crops creates warmer and drier atmospheric conditions than the native vegetation. In addition, human induced climate change arising from increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is also expected to push the Amazon region towards a warmer and drier state. In a number of recent climate modeling studies, the Amazon has been shown to exhibit two contrasting states for the water cycle and ecosystems of the region: a moist forested state, and an alternate drier and warmer state with sparser vegetation.  This has raised the question of whether deforestation and conversion to agricultural land cause the atmosphere-vegetation-hydrologic system of the Amazon to switch from its current moist state to the warmer and drier one?  And if so, will this new state have sufficient precipitation to sustain the native forest and productivity of adjacent agricultural areas?  In this study we propose to answer these questions by developing a coupled vegetation-atmosphere model to investigate the stability of the Amazonian hydrologic system (“rivers in the sky” as well as flows on the ground) to scenarios of land use and climate change .  We expect to come closer to capturing the true response and thresholds of the Amazonian system than previous studies because our model has a more realistic representation of the dynamic response of the native vegetation, and the study will incorporate a range of land change scenarios.   By doing so we will be able to answer the question: How much deforestation is too much? Post-doc candidates who have experience with integrated land-water-climate models and/or experience analyzing patterns and trends of land use and land use change are particularly encouraged to apply.

Innovation for Sustainability: Enhancing the Production of Essential Global Public Goods

Faculty leaders:

William Clark, Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy and Human Development

Michael Kremer, Gates Professor of Developing Countries and Professor of Economics

This Initiative seeks to transform our understanding of the processes governing innovation in the production of global public goods (GPGs) needed for a transition toward sustainability.  In particular, we aim to discover how innovation systems can be designed that will simultaneously stimulate needed inventions and promote widespread and equitable access to the fruits of those inventions. The last two decades have served up a surprising number of ad-hoc operational experiments in improving the production of sustainability GPGs on topics as different as anti-retroviral medicines for HIV/AIDS, the development of gene banks, and the deployment of famine early warning systems.  Those experiments, however, are generally poorly described, little known beyond their respective sectors and therefore not contributing as much as they might to understanding or promoting the production of GPGs essential for sustainability.  This project is an effort to move to the next level of integrated and synthetic understanding. We propose a 3 track approach: 1) Reconceptualizing innovation of global public goods for sustainability: We will construct, apply, evaluate and revise an integrated framework for understanding the innovation process involved in the production of sustainability GPGs.  2) Comparing sectoral experiences: We will analyze a global cross-section of ad hoc experiments in new ways of providing sustainability GPGs using a template.  3) Conducting in-depth empirical studies: We will carry out a set of detailed empirical studies to test specific hypotheses about successful production of sustainability GPGs that arise from our sectoral comparisons. This research will employ our conceptual framework to pose similar questions across sectors and countries about how the system of GPG provision has responded to the full range of “push” and “pull” mechanisms that we will have identified through our sectoral comparisons.  Doctoral, post-doctoral, and mid-career candidates are encouraged to apply.

International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS)-Curtin University, Australia

International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS)-Curtin University

The International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS) is available to any international student wishing to undertake a Higher Degree by Research at Curtin in 2012. This award is open to citizens of an overseas country (excluding New Zealand). Scholarships will be awarded on academic merit and research capacity to suitably qualified overseas graduates eligible to commence a higher degree by research in 2012*.

The International Postgraduate Research Scholarship provides:

• course tuition fee for two years for a Masters by Research and three years for a Doctoral degree; and
• Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the recipient and their dependants for the duration of the award.

In addition, all successful applicants will receive an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) valued at $22,860 (2011 value). This tax-free stipend is indexed annually.

For further information please contact :

Miss Yen Hieu
Graduate Studies Officer
Office of Research & Development
Curtin University
GPO Box U1987
PERTH WA 6845

Email: research_scholarships@curtin.edu.au

Telephone: (08) 9266 4906
Fax: (08) 9266 3793

Students currently enrolled in the degree for which an IPRS is being sought are eligible to apply for an IPRS providing the degree was commenced after 1st September 2010.

Submission of application must include:

- IPRS/CIPRS Application Form
- 2 x Referee Report Form
-Application for Admission to a Higher Degree by Research

2 Postdoctoral Researchers and 1 PhD Fellow - Universite Catholique De Louvain, Belgium

2 Postdoctoral Researchers and 1 PhD Fellow - Universite Catholique De Louvain, Belgium

The Biodiversity Governance Unit of the Centre for Philosophy of Law (CPDR) (at the Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium) is looking for 2 postdoctoral research fellows and 1 PhD research fellow in one of the following areas:

- Political economy of global commons and global public goods (in particular genetic resources, natural resources, or digital information commons)

- Global governance

- Science and technology policy studies

- International Law (Intellectual property, Access and Benefit Sharing Regime)

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT: The CPDR is an interdisciplinary research centre among one of the top research departments in Europe working on governance issues.

For the last 15 years, it has been awarded a number of major European research grants, which have been evaluated as top rank projects by external reviewers.

With researchers in the fields of law, political sciences, economics and philosophy it offers a vibrant and stimulating interdisciplinary research environment (more information at http://www.uclouvain.be/en-cpdr.html).

The researchers will work in the Biodiversity Governance Unit of the CPDR under the supervision of prof. Tom Dedeurwaerdere, in one of the following research projects, depending on their qualifications and interest:

- BIOMOT (Motivational strength of ecosystem services and alternative ways to express the value of Biodiversity) (FP7-ENV-2011). The task under this project is to establish, through a large-scale survey, which (economic and alternative) ways expressing the value of biodiversity have been at work in cases of successful projects, regulations and policies for biodiversity conservation, both at the global, the EU, the national and local scales.

- MICRO B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics and Biotechnology): Work Package on Intellectual Property Management for Marine Bioprospecting (FP7-OCEAN2011-2). The task under this project is to analyse and review intellectual property strategies for building global knowledge commons in life science research.

- GENCOMMONS (Institutionalizing global genetic-resource commons) (grant application still pending). The task under this project is to conduct a large-scale comparative institutional assessment of governance arrangements for managing genetic resource commons, with a special focus on plant, animal and microbial genetic resources used in food and agriculture.

JOB DESCRIPTION: The positions are strongly research oriented with very limited organizational duties and no teaching obligations. We offer a competitive remuneration package (including a monthly allowance, social security and insurance expenses) and generous funding of research related activities (participation to conferences and research missions in selected developed and developing countries). The fellowships are granted for 12 to 24 months.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS: For the postdoctoral positions: a PhD in Political Science, Law or Economics. Postdoctoral applicants are expected to develop a strong research record aiming at publications in international journals.

Excellent English language skills are required. Postdoctoral applicants should also send a copy (in pdf) of 2 publications with their application.

For the PhD fellowship: a Master level or equivalent university degree in Political Science, Law or Economics. PhD applicants are expected to show evidence of a top level academic record. Excellent English language skills are required. Doctoral applicants are encouraged to send a copy of their Master thesis or of 1 publication.

PROCEDURE: Application form at http://biogov.uclouvain.be/application.

Applications can be sent electronically from the 1st of July 2011, but no later than 15th of September 2011.

23rd Ph.D. Workshop on International Climate Policy 20-21 October 2011 Malta, Valletta Campus, University of Malta

FINAL REMINDER - CALL FOR PAPERS: EXTENDED DEADLINE - 3 JULY 2011

23rd Ph.D. Workshop on International Climate Policy 20-21 October 2011 Malta, Valletta Campus, University of Malta

The 23rd Ph.D. Workshop on International Climate Policy is organised twice every year under the auspices of the European Ph.D. Network on International Climate Policy. It has the aim to offer Ph.D. candidates the opportunity to present their research ideas and results, receive feedback, exchange information and network with fellow colleagues, all in an informal and stimulating environment. Ph.D. students from all disciplines working on topics relevant to climate policy are encouraged to submit applications.

There is no participation fee and meals during the workshop are covered by the organisers. However, participants are expected to cover their travel and accommodation expenses.

To register for the workshop, please submit an application (attached) by 3rd of July 2011. The application form (also attached), along with further information about the workshop, is available online at:

www.um.edu.mt/events/icpworkshop2011 

This workshop is organised by the European Documentation and Research Centre (EDRC), and supported the Island and Small States Institute (ISSI) and the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accounts (FEMA) of the University of Malta, and received financial and technical support from the Ministry of Finance Economy and Investments (MFEI) and the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA).

We look forward to receiving your abstracts and welcoming you in Malta.

Stefano Moncada
obo the Organising Committee