The IBM Ph.D. Fellowship/Scholarships Program for the 2007/2008

The IBM Ph.D. Fellowship is an annual, worldwide competitive program.

The IBM Ph.D. Fellowship Program for the 2007/2008 academic year will be open for nominations starting approximately September 19 through October 31, 2006.


Intent

The IBM Ph.D. Fellowship Program honors exceptional Ph.D. students in an array of focus areas of interest to IBM and fundamental to innovation, including:


Business value: services and software to improve business performance

• Business analytics: business optimization, risk analysis, legislative compliance and provenance, privacy and security
• Business transformation and services innovation: architecture of business and processes, performance management and transformation, value networks/ecosystems, and services sciences, management, and engineering (SSME)
• Information management and analysis: information lifecycle management, standards, storage/search/retrieval, sensor/actuator/speech/video/text services, text/media analytics for business intelligence, information based medicine

Infrastructure value: hardware, software and services integrated into an open computing environment

• Deep computing: bio-informatics, distributed algorithms, visual analysis, stochastic analysis
• Computing infrastructure:Computing infrastructure: BlueGene on demand, special clusters, new computing architectures, autonomic computing, grid computing, streaming data
• Pervasive Computing:Pervasive Computing: integration of sensor and actuators, embedded computing, RFID applications, medical and telematics applications with IT

Exploratory Computing Technology:

Power management, nano, computer-on-a-chip technology, new device structures.
The IBM Ph.D. Fellowship Program also supports our long-standing commitment to workforce diversity. IBM values diversity in the workplace and encourages nominations of women, minorities and all who contribute to that diversity.

Scope

IBM Ph.D. Fellowships are awarded worldwide. IBM Ph.D. Fellows are awarded tuition, fees, and a stipend of $17,500 (US) for one academic year. All IBM Ph.D. Fellows are matched with an IBM Mentor according to their technical interests, and they are encouraged to intern at an IBM research or development laboratory under their Mentor`s guidance. An IBM ThinkPad is awarded during the internship. Internship assignments are designed to strengthen and broaden the Awardee`s technical experience and contacts. Interns are paid by their host site and will be subject to the prevailing terms and conditions of the internship program at that site. IBM is an equal opportunity employer.

IBM Ph.D. Fellowships are awarded annually but may compete annually to be renewed for up to three years, based on the Award Recipient`s continued exceptional academic standing, progress and achievement, and sustained interaction with IBM`s technical community. All Award Recipient`s wishing for an award renewal must be renominated to compete for an award renewal. IBM requests that a maximum of two nominations per department be submitted in addition to any renewal nominations.

Eligibility

Students must be nominated by a faculty member. They must be enrolled full-time in a college or university Ph.D. program, and they should have completed at least one year of study in their doctoral program at the time of their nomination. Award Recipients will be selected based on their overall potential for research excellence, the degree to which their technical interests align with those of IBM, and their academic progress to-date, as evidenced by publications and endorsements from their faculty advisor and department head.

For further information, see Frequently Asked Questions or contact phdfellow@us.ibm.com.

Posdoctoral position in Econometrics - Sweden

POSTDOCTORAL POSITION (FORSKARE/POSTDOC) in Econometrics - BEHAVIOURAL AND ECONOMETRIC RESEARCH IN SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT

A post doctoral position in Econometrics related to Sustainable Investment at the Centre for Finance, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University is announced. The position is funded by the Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research, MISTRA through the Swedish research programme ‘Behavioural Impediments to Sustainable Investment’.


The scientist will be fully integrated into both the department and MISTRA’S SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT RESEARCH INITIATIVE called ‘Towards a New Role for Institutional Investors’.

The Centre for Finance (www.handels.gu.se/cff) is a joint effort of the Department of Economics and the Department of Business Administration to concentrate their resources within the field of finance (resulting in a staff of 34 including 5 professors and 6 graduate students working on various projects related to quantitative aspects of finance). The research agenda of the Centre that directly relates to the MISTRA initiative focuses on the non-stationary, non-parametric study of financial time series and on non-parametric, adaptive methods for dimension reduction.

The Research Initiative ‘Towards a New Role for Institutional Investors’ aims to acquire knowledge that can encourage leading institutional investors to adopt sustainable investment (SI) practices. SI is defined as the promotion of sustainable development (SD) by integrating environmental and social concerns into investment policies at institutional level. The key tenet of SI is a long-term perspective on investment motivated by a real concern for the well being of future generations, fostering a responsible management of the natural (responsibility towards the environment) and human resources (social responsibility).

The Research Programme ‘Behavioural Impediments to Sustainable Investment’ focuses in particular on the integration of SI approaches into institutional investor’s portfolio management practices. As such, the SI approaches are expected to have a noticeable impact on the business strategies of companies promoting SD. The programme provides an opportunity for researchers at junior level in the social sciences to pursue their research interests and to develop expertise in new areas in the fields of psychology, economics and statistics with a particular emphasis on the areas of institutional investor portfolio management and SI investment practices.

The programme is structured in five projects that are briefly described in the sequel.

Project A will critically examine how SI is defined in the academic literature and across the investment community in order to develop an operational definition of SI.

Project B focuses on studying the quantitative multivariate relation between SI criteria and various financial measures of business performance with the end of identifying the social, environmental, and ethical aspects (or combination of aspects) that influence most of the financial performance of individual companies. The project will investigate the relation between financial profitability and SD features of individual companies and will try to understand if the existing SRI funds are the correct SI investment instrument.

Project C project focuses on determining the internal and external factors that impel and impede the implementation of SI in the investment management process.

Project D aims at studying mechanisms of dissemination of the SI practices.

Project E is aimed at proposing regulatory guidelines for the adoption and implementation of a SI policy.

QUALIFICATIONS AND ASSESSMENT GROUNDS FOR APPOINTMENT

The applicants must have a PhD in Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, or related fields.

A strong record of academic achievements and research (demonstrated by the candidate’s thesis and/or publications) is expected. She/he should poses strong quantitative skills and a proven research interest in aspects of probabilistic and statistical modeling of financial data. Familiarity with non-parametric and multivariate statistical techniques as well as with the theory and practice of time series are desirable.

A high level of independence in conducting research is required, as the successful candidate will be partly responsible for managing the research efforts specific to the project B of the programme.

Priority will be given to candidates who have completed their degree no more than five years before the application deadline.

A good command of English is essential. Good communications skills are expected, as the successful candidate will work in close contact with various financial institutions and the other researchers in the program.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The postdoctoral researcher will be employed on a fixed-term contract for project period (2006-2008) and will be active in the Centre for Finance, at the School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University for the full duration of this position.

The postdoctoral researcher main duty will be to conduct research in the area of the research project B of the programme (see Project Description above).

The postdoctoral researcher will also play an active role in the programme as a whole. She/he is expected to interact with other researchers within various projects towards the successful completion of the programme and to participate in organizing of scientific events related to the communication plan of the programme. She/he is expected to contribute actively to the dissemination of the research results of the programme.

The postdoctoral researcher is also expected to participate in department activities such as the supervision of undergraduate/graduate theses within her/his research area, seminars, conferences, etc. She/he is also expected to teach a limited number of hours in subjects related to the academic activities of the Centre.

The position offers also the possibility for close academic collaboration with the Department of Mathematical Statistics at Chalmers University of Technology.

SALARY AND BENEFITS: Successful applicant will receive salary and benefits in accordance with standard salary levels for equivalent positions that take qualifications into account.

HOW TO APPLY: Each applicant should send ONE (paper) copy of the following to the address below (make sure to include the reference number!) (1) Transcripts of certificates of graduate university courses. (2) A CV including biographical information, degrees, work experiences, list of publications, and list of honours, awards, scholarships, awarded research grants, and fellowships. (3) The doctoral dissertation and a maximum of 10 published articles in peer-reviewed journals, books, or book chapters. (4) A short statement (1-2 pages) describing the applicant’s interest in the research area and the work that he or she would like to do during the appointment. (This statement is not a commitment to conduct the outlined work, but is important evidence of the applicant’s ability to plan an appropriate scientific project). (5) Three reference letters to be sent directly to the address indicated below. The candidate should arrange for the letters to be posted by the application’s deadline. The names and addresses (including e-mail and FAX) of three referees should be included in the CV.

In addition the documents (1) to (4) should be sent electronically to the address: cff@handels.gu.se (if an electronic version of document (1) is not available, a legible digital picture or a scanned copy should be provided with the original paper version sent by normal mail to the address below).

Applications should be received no later than May 26, 2006 (the paper documents should bear the post cache with a date previous or coi
ncident with the deadline. The electronic documents should be sent before 23:59, May 26). The position will begin August 15, 2006. The appointment will be announced as soon as possible after the deadline on the webpage of the Centre for Finance.

For further information write to Catalin Starica at catalin.starica@cff.gu.se

Union representatives:

SACO Inger Wilgotson Lundh,
tel. 031-773 19 87,
OFR/S Eva Sjögren,
tel. 031-773 11 69,
SEKO Lennart Olsson,
tel. 031-773 11 73.
The application, reference number E 36 1300/06 should be addressed to:

Goteborg University Registrator Box 100 SE-405 30 Goteborg

Taiwan Scholarships Program

• The Purpose of the Taiwan Scholarship Program

The purpose of the Taiwan Scholarship Program is to encourage promising students from foreign countries to pursue their studies in Taiwan and to enhance educational and academic exchange.

• Types of Scholarships and Benefits

(1) Undergraduate Scholarships: These scholarships are for qualified foreign students who want to pursue undergraduate studies at universities/colleges in Taiwan. A stipend of NT$25,000 per month per student will be provided.

(2) Master’s Scholarships: Scholarships in the amount of NT$30,000 per month will be provided for qualified foreign students who want to pursue their master’s degrees at universities/colleges in Taiwan.

(3) Ph.D. Scholarships: Scholarships in the amount of NT$30,000 per month will be provided for qualified foreign students who want to pursue their Ph.D. degrees at universities/colleges in Taiwan.

For recipients from countries maintaining formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, monthly stipends of NT$30,000 will be provided to them to pursue undergraduate degrees in Taiwan. In addition, an economy class roundtrip airfare ticket will be offered to each recipient from such countries upon approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Scholarship stipends will be made available to recipients on a monthly basis in care of universities. Recipients will be responsible for registration fees, tuition fees, their own accommodations, food, insurance and other miscellaneous expenses.

• Awards and Types of Scholarships Offered by Government Agencies

Taiwan scholarship awards will be decided by the Taiwan Scholarship Management and Promotion Committee and will be announced by the overseas Taiwan missions in January every year. For the coming academic year (2006-07), over 500 new and 585 renewed scholarships are being offered to students from 85 countries.

Taiwan Scholarships are jointly funded by the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the National Science Council of the Executive Yuan (NSC) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). Scholarships offered by the aforementioned agencies are as follows:

(1) MOE: Undergraduate/Master’s/ Ph.D. Scholarships.

(2) MOFA: Undergraduate Scholarships;

(3) NSC: Master’s/ Ph.D. Scholarships; and

(4) MOEA: Master’s/ Ph.D. Scholarships; limited to graduate degree programs and are related to science, engineering, agriculture, medicine and hi-tech fields.

• Qualifications For Applicants

Applicants applying to the Taiwan Scholarship Program must meet the following requirements:

(1) must have an outstanding academic record, and be of good character;

(2) must not be overseas Chinese students or foreign students who are concurrently holding a Taiwan nationality (see NOTE); and

(3) must not be exchange students, nor be in receipt of any other scholarships from any other Taiwan government agencies.

For further requirements please refer to the Taiwan Scholarship Program Guidelines.

• The Scholarship Application & Selection Process

All applications must be submitted to a designated Taiwan overseas mission, in the country of the applicant’s citizenship, from February 1^st until the end of March of each year. These overseas Taiwan missions will be responsible for the selection of recipients. (See below)

• Applicants must contact the relevant Taiwan overseas missions for the amount of awards and scholarship types that are available to their home country. Candidates must satisfy both the general eligibility criteria and any additional specific criteria from their country. (Please log on the website of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs at http://www.mofa.gov.tw/ for contact information)

• Post-scholarship Opportunities

Pursuant to the “Employment Service Law”, scholarship recipients are entitled to apply for a working permit in Taiwan within one year of their graduation.

• The Taiwan Scholarship Program Guidelines may be subject to change without notice

Applicants who are interested in the Taiwan Scholarship Program may access information about Taiwan’s universities/colleges and the latest program guidelines by going to the Ministry of Education’s website (http://www.edu.tw/english), or visit the official government website for advice on study in Taiwan at http://www.studyintaiwan.org/

• Scholarship Conditions
  Students should know that the Taiwan Scholarship is not a personal gift, but rather an agreement between the student and the Taiwan Government under which the student must agree in writing to abide by certain conditions. Students who are offered a scholarship will be asked to sign an agreement that they will comply with the conditions of the scholarships.

NOTE: "EN-US">Overseas Chinese students who plan to travel to Taiwan in order to pursue studies should contact the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission (http://www.ocac.gov.tw), in order to apply for Overseas Chinese Student Scholarships in accordance with the Regulations Governing Overseas Chinese Students in Taiwan. They should not apply for support from the Taiwan Scholarship Program described above. Foreign students who are currently studying in Taiwan should apply for the Foreign Student Scholarships provided by their universities or colleges.

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Dorothy Hodgkin Post Graduate Awards (DHPA) - UK

DHPA Additional Awards

A total of 22 DHPA additional awards will be made available. The closing date for these awards is 1 June 2006.

DHPA Additional Awards - Key Points

• The Research Councils will provide funds for 22 additional DHPA scholars in 2006;
• Any eligible HEI may apply for these additional awards (valued at £45,000 per award);
• The additional awards will be granted on a "first come first served" basis;
• In order to apply for additional awards, HEIs must be able to secure matching funds from private partner organisations.

DHPA Additional Awards - Eligibility Criteria and Guidelines for Use

In addition to the 80 core DHPAs allocated to 26 HEIs, there are supplementary Research Council funds available to support 22 further DHPA scholars at eligible HEIs. Eligible HEIs are now invited to apply for these funds. These will be allocated to universities able to provide matched funding (see below) on a "first come first served" basis.

To be eligible to apply for these funds, an HEI must have Units of Assessment rated 5 or 5* at the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). These 5/5* Units of Assessment must relate to the remits of the Research Councils that are sponsoring the DHPA scheme.

In order to apply for these Research Council funds (£45,000 per award), an HEI must have secured matching funds from a private partner organisation. Private partners could include charities, industrial organisations and other non-government funded organisations external to the HEI. Please note that the following are considered ineligible private partner funds:

• Funds from the university/department (either direct or indirect);
• Funds from the prospective DHPA scholar him/herself;
• Funds from overseas universities.

These additional awards will be expected to operate by the same rules and guidelines as the core DHPAs. For example, core DHPA student eligibility criteria must be adhered to, and for each scholarship, the area of study to be undertaken must be within the remit of the associated Research Council. As with core DHPAs, the additional awards may only be held in departments RAE-rated 5 or higher (or in a Research Council Research Institute considered to be of equivalent quality), and all ESRC awards must be through an ESRC recognised outlet as listed in university order on the ESRC website.

Awards Available

Research Council funds have been made available to support the following additional awards:

BBSRC: 2 awards
EPSRC: 16 awards
ESRC: 2 awards
MRC: 2 awards

As these funds will be allocated on a "first come first served" basis, HEIs should check current availability of awards from each Research Council before submitting an application.

Application Process

Applications for additional awards are expected to be sent via a single point of contact within the HEIs administrative authority. Applications not received via this route will not be considered. An application for an additional award should consist of a letter, sent from the HEIs designated contact to the DHPA scheme manager (address below), containing the following information:

• Name and contact details of the private partner;
• The Research Council from which the additional award is sought;
• Confirmation that the private partner will provide at least £45,000 over the period of the DHPA scholar's PhD, for the purpose of payment towards fees and maintenance costs;
• Confirmation that both the private partner and the HEI agree to adhere to the DHPA rules and guidelines by which all DHPAs operate;
• Confirmation that the HEI will continue to pay fees and maintenance costs over the period of the DHPA scholar's PhD, should the private partner withdraw from the partnership for any reason.

If any additional details are known at this stage (for example: nature of the project, department, student details), these should also be included in the letter.

HEIs submitting applications for additional awards should be aware that if demand exceeds expectations, a limit of three additional awards per HEI may be applied. Therefore HEIs may wish to prioritise their applications before submitting them to the DHPA scheme manager. Once an application has been received, the DHPA scheme manager will contact the HEI to confirm whether or not the application has been approved.

The final date for receipt of applications for additional awards is Thursday 1 June 2006. However, since the additional awards will be allocated on a "first come first served" basis, HEIs are advised to submit applications at the earliest opportunity. Applications should be sent to:

Prabhat Sakya
EPSRC
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon
SN2 1ET

Inclusion of Additional Awards in DHPA Grants

HEIs in receipt of core DHPAs plus additional awards: Each recipient HEI will receive a grant, with funds sufficient to cover the number of core DHPAs that it has been awarded. This grant will also contain the Research Council funds associated with any additional awards that have been secured. Funding from the private partner of an additional award is expected to be paid directly from the private partner to the HEI. DHPA grants are likely to be issued in the summer of 2006 and will run for 4 years.

HEIs in receipt of additional awards only: The HEI will receive a grant containing the Research Council funds associated with the additional awards that have been secured. Funding from the private partner of an additional award is expected to be paid directly from the private partner to the HEI. DHPA grants are likely to be
issued in the summer of 2006 and will run for 4 years

Source of Info: http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/hodgkin/

Doctoral Scholarships at AGMARDT-New Zealand

AGMARDT announces its continuing interest in supporting doctoral research within the agricultural, pastoral, horticultural and forestry industries in New Zealand in line with its strategic aims to develop capabilities in research and training as part of the process of gaining greater expertise in the food and agribusiness sectors.

Up to six, three-year, full-time study scholarships are available per annum to outstanding students to develop research skills and interest in a career in agriculture.

Scholarship Funding:
The scholarship stipend is currently $25,000 per annum, with a contribution towards fees of up to $4,500 per annum. A start-up payment of $2,000 for project consumables applies to the first year of study only and is allocated to the Department for the scholar's project. The scholarship may be tenable with another scholarship, bursary or award where the total value of the awards does not exceed $30,000 per annum in accordance with the AGMARDT Doctoral Scholarship Regulations. The scholar may also apply for reimbursement of up to $500 of thesis publication costs on completion of the degree.

Overseas Conference Funding:
An amount of up to $3,000 towards the costs of attending one relevant overseas conference may be applied for by the scholar during the tenure of the scholarship.

Eligibility and Conditions:
Full details on eligibility and conditions, including the following, are set out in the AGMARDT Doctoral Scholarship Regulations:

• Recipients of the scholarships are required to engage in full-time study at a New Zealand university.
• The tenure is for a maximum of thirty-six months.
• Awards are made only to persons who are eligible for employment in New Zealand.
• Students who are already enrolled for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy are ineligible to apply.

Application Procedure:
The application package for the next funding round for students who intend to enrol in 2007 will be available in July 2006.

Source of Info:http://www.agmardt.org.nz/doctoral.htm