UK : Research Studentships at Harper Adams University College

Research Studentships in The Use of Composts and Other Recycled Materials in Green Roof Growing Media, Harper Adams University College, UK

The use of green roofs has the potential to reduce both the risk of flooding through run-off attenuation and reduce energy costs of heating and air-conditioning owing to their insulating properties. These features along with additional biodiversity and social benefits have led to a growing awareness of the benefits of green roofs. Green roof growing media need to have specific properties to help plants cope with environmental extremes encountered on roofs. Media are based on a mixture of mineral and organic substrates not all of which are recycled.

A fully recycled medium would be desirable. A three year PhD studentship involving elements of both soil science and plant physiology is available to investigate the properties of recycled green waste in mixture with mineral media as a substrate for green roofs. Further details of the project and facilities are available here.

Successful applicants will normally be expected to hold either a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree in a physical science e.g. Soil Science, Applied Biology, Horticulture/Agriculture or a related subject.

The research student will be expected to acquire generic research skills (e.g. communication, data analysis) by registering for the Harper Adams Postgraduate Certificate in Research Skills (tuition fee included in the studentship).

The studentship is available 1st February 2009 and includes tuition fees, consumables and conference allowance and a maintenance grant of £12,500 in Year 1 rising to £13,000 in Year 2 and then £13,500 in Year 3 dependent on satisfactory progress.

For informal enquiries applicants may contact Dr Martin Hare (mhare@harper-adams.ac.uk)

Applicants should send their Curriculum Vitae with the names and contact details of two referees, together with a covering letter, to Mrs V Slann, Postgraduate Research Administrator, Harper Adams University College, Newport, Shropshire, TF10 8NB (vslann@harper-adams.ac.uk).

The closing date for receipt of applications is Wednesday 7th January 2009.

It is intended to hold interviews either in person (UK resident applicants) or by video conferencing (overseas applicants) on Wednesday 21st January 2009.

UK : PhD Studentship in Scalable Pico-Hydro Power

PhD Studentship in Scalable Pico-Hydro Power, University of Bristol, UK

Electrical Energy Management Group, Electrical and Electronic Engineering

A fully-funded 3½ year PhD studentship is available in the Electrical Energy Management Group at the University of Bristol for research involving modular and scalable pico-hydro generation (1kW) for grid-tied DC mini-grids. This project provides a unique opportunity to combine state-of-the-art electrical engineering research, development work in remote areas overseas with a well-known charity, and sponsorship by a company that is world leading in design and manufacturing. The work will include power electronics, mechanical design, and a mix of other theoretical and practical work. The PhD candidate will be expected to have an electrical engineering background, and demonstrate a strong interest in mechanical design and development work.

Salary: Up to £18,000pa tax free.

The fully funded PhD studentship is available to any nationality, however if you are not a UK Home student (or EU student who has spent the past three years in the UK), the salary would need to be reduced to cover overseas university fees. When you apply, please indicate whether you are eligible for UK Home funding, or if you have other sources of funds.

The studentship is available now and the closing date for applications is 31 January 2009.

Please either email a cover letter stating your interests and a full CV (including grades) to Dr Bernard Stark (bernard.stark@bristol.ac.uk) or email to arrange an informal discussion.

Germany : PhD Scholarships in Culture Studies

PhD Scholarships in Culture Studies, Giessen University, Germany

Giessen University’s International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture (GCSC), funded by the German federal government’s Excellence Initiative, offers a three-year structured PhD-programme in the study of culture. With its excellent research environment, a doctoral programme which is tailored to the needs of PhD students and the intensive personal support it provides, the Graduate Centre offers postgraduate students optimum conditions for their PhD-projects and a custom-made preparation for the time thereafter, both with regard to academic and non-academic careers.
From 01st October 2009, the GCSC offers up to 9 PhD scholarships.

PhD scholarships include a monthly stipend of approximately €1000 and are offered for one year with the possibility of two extensions, each of a year. Scholarships commence on October 1st, 2009.

Acceptance of a scholarship requires participation in the study programme and the wide-ranging events offered by the GCSC, as well as active involvement in at least one GCSC graduate research group. Scholarship holders must register as PhD students at Justus Liebig University. There are no tuition fees for doctoral students at JLU, except for an enrolment fee of approximately €200 per semester. Scholarship holders are expected to take up residency in or near Giessen.

The GCSC encourages applications from graduate students who have or expect to obtain a first or upper second class honours M.A.-degree (or equivalent) in one of the GCSC’s academic subjects* or in the arts/humanities, cultural studies, or social sciences. Fluency in either English or German is required.

The main selection criteria are the candidates’ academic qualification, the academic quality of the research proposal and the suitability of the project for the GCSC’s research programme. Short-listed candidates will be invited to a 30-minute interview; telephone interviews can be arranged for candidates from overseas.

All applications (including an application form and further documents as stated on the GCSC website) have to be submitted online. Please find further information on the two-stage application procedure on our website at http://gcsc.uni-giessen.de/application.

If you have any questions concerning your application, please contact us at gcsc-application[ at ]uni-giessen.de.

On 2nd February 2009, the GCSC will host an Information Day at the Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture (GCSC), Justus-Liebig-University Gießen, Alter Steinbacher Weg 38, 35394 Gießen. The Information Day gives potential applicants the opportunity to meet the staff and students involved in the doctoral programme. You will also have the chance to obtain more information on the research areas and academic objectives of the GCSC, the wide range of interdisciplinary courses, colloquia, and conferences, the research support on offer, our international networks and partner institutions, as well as on publishing and funding opportunities available to GCSC-members.

The closing date for applications is 1st March, 2009.

www.uni-giessen.de/gcsc or http://gcsc.uni-giessen.de/research

Italy : PhD Scholarships in Economics and Finance

PhD Scholarships in Economics and Finance, University of Verona, Italy

Call for Admissions: PhD Program in Economics and Finance, Università di Verona (Italy)

The Department of Economics at the University of Verona (Italy) is pleased to announce the availability of at least three PhD Research Scholarships for 3 years starting in January 2009.

The Doctoral Program in Economics and Finance is designed to train doctoral candidates in a broad program of advanced study for careers in teaching and research in universities, in public and private research organizations, in financial and consulting institutions and private companies. The department recruits promising students from Italy and abroad and courses are taught in English. Students are accepted directly for Ph.D. degree. As prerequisite, students must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in Italy or the equivalent level of education from an institution outside Italy.

The internationalization program, financed by the Italian Ministry of University and Research and the University of Verona, has lead in the recent years to exchange agreements with the universities of Essex,
York, Wisconsin, Cergy-Pontoise, Cyprus, Oviedo, Campinas and Colombia.

The official calls for admissions can be found on this website

The first Call is for two scholarships. One is a general university scholarship. Another scholarship is linked the realization of an internationally co-tutored project in collaboration with the University of Cergy-Pontoise or Paris X and involves a compulsory period of study and research (up to 18 months) at one of these institutions. The amount granted for these scholarships is € 13,638 per year and this is exempt from personal income tax. They will be granted for the entire duration of the PhD course and will be increased by 50% during authorized study periods abroad.

The second Call is for a scholarship (co-funded by Regione Veneto – FSE) reserved for the realization of the a research project on “The Economic Analysis of Juvenile Crime and Policy Implications”. In this case the scholarship amounts to € 19,000 gross per year.

Candidates may apply for all of these scholarships. Applications must be sent on the forms provided and in the way indicated on the official call by January 9, 2009. Candidates are also encouraged to send all this documentation by email to admissions@dse.univr.it by the same date. However, please note that applications must also be sent by post as indicated in the call. Interviews will take place on January 21, 2009 (in person or in video-conference).

For further information on our PhD programme please visit the following web-site:
http://dse.univr.it/dottorato

Canada : PhD Position in Database Integration

PhD Position in Database Integration, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada

The Faculty of Business Administration at Memorial University of Newfoundland is inviting applications for a PhD in Information Systems with an emphasis on database integration. The project is supported by a grant from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Project Description:
Database integration is a process with multiple steps, leading from the identification of the databases to the testing of the integrated system.?The central step of this process is the identification of database?elements that are similar to each other. This step is called schema matching. Human users perceive schema-matching methods as successful when they match database elements according to the same similarity criteria that the users would apply. Many automatic software-supported schema-matching methods have been proposed, using a range of different notions of similarity. However, existing research has paid little attention to empirical work: There is little knowledge of how human data integrators judge the similarity of database elements. A recent study has shown that a “one-size-fits-all” approach does not apply and that human notions of similarity are strongly affected by the database integration context. The proposed research is a study to systematically examine how human database integrators carry out schema matching. This knowledge will then be applied to implement improved schema matching methods.

Application Criteria:
The applicant will have a Bachelor (Hon) or Master’s degree and strong interest and background in information systems, computer science, or cognitive science with knowledge of databases or knowledge
representation. Interest (and preferably experience) in both technical and empirical research is required.
Applications must meet the regular admission criteria and will undergo the regular admissions process for the PhD program.

Funding:
The Faculty of Business Administration will provide support to all admitted students for a period of four years. The level of support will be competitive with that offered by other Canadian universities, and may
consist of a combination of grant, research assistantship, and teaching assistantship.

Information and Application:
The deadline for applications is March 1, 2009.

Late applications may be considered as time and resources permit. Please contact Dr. Joerg Evermann at jevermann@mun.ca for further information about the project.

Information about the PhD program and the application procedure can be found here.