Master students can apply for PhD research positions by developing and submitting their own innovative research proposals relevant to the field of Nature Conservation, Management and Restoration
Information leaflet for Master students on the NWO Graduate Programme ‘Nature Conservation, Management and Restoration’ (NCMR), 2016
Training the next generation of researchers to tackle the challenges of
maintaining the world’s natural capital
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An interdisciplinary and multi-scale approach
The world’s natural capital is dwindling; numerous species are becoming less abundant or go extinct, ecosystems become degraded and natural resources are being depleted. Consumption patterns vastly exceed the planet’s carrying capacity. A changing climate threatens the living conditions and biodiversity of our system Earth. Never before has there been such an acute need for the sustainable management of ecosystems and ecosystem services. Greenhouse gas emissions, excessive water use, land use change, pollution (air, water, land) lead to biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. This loss of natural capital is often irreversible (e.g. species extinction) or hard to repair (e.g. soil fertility) and comes at huge economic costs: now, and increasingly so in the future.
This requires new strategies in nature conservation, management and restoration. It is clear that to effectively tackle these complex challenges, interdisciplinary and multi-scale approaches are needed, involving expertise on marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments. Within the focus area Earth and Sustainability of Utrecht University, a consortium of five research groups of the Graduate Schools of Geosciences (GS-GS) and Life Sciences (GS-LS) cooperates in a joint Graduate Programme titled ‘Nature Conservation, Management and Restoration’ (NCMR). The NCMR graduate programme aims to train the next generation of researchers to develop the necessary knowledge and solutions to tackle the challenges in the field of NCMR.
To this purpose, the consortium will implement a graduate programme that comprises an MSc component and a PhD programme. The programme is supported by a grant of NWO, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research and funding is available to finance four PhD research projects in the field of NCMR. Talented (former) Master students will have the opportunity to apply for these PhD research positions by developing and submitting their own innovative research proposals relevant to the field of NCMR. The components of the programme, the procedures and selection criteria are described in this information leaflet.
The consortium of the NCMR graduate programme consists of: the groups of Environmental Sciences and Energy & Resources, both belonging to the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development; the group Marine Palynology & Paleoceanography, belonging to the Institute of Earth Sciences Utrecht; and the groups of Ecology & Biodiversity and Animal Ecology, both belonging to the Institute of Environmental Biology.
The NCMR graduate programme is organised by a programme committee that consists of one representative of each of the involved research groups, complemented by two relevant researchers from other universities and two representatives from civil society in the field of NCMR.
The daily co-ordination of the NCMR is done by Dr. Pita Verweij, p.a.verweij@uu.nl, who can be contacted for further information.
The NCMR Graduate Programme exists of an MSc component and a PhD programme. The MSc component is described in step 1, and the selection of candidates to the PhD programme in 2015 and 2016 in steps 2 and 3. A visual layout of the graduate programme NCMR and a list of the most important dates of 2016 are included below.
1. NCMR MSc component
Goal: To introduce the Graduate Programme and the field of NCMR; and to select talented Master students and guide them in the development of high-quality research proposals relevant to the field of NCMR.
Target group of Master students: students enrolled in the Master programme of Sustainable Development (GS-GS), in particular the track Global Change and Ecosystems; the Master programme Environmental Biology (GS-LS), in particular the tracks Ecology & Natural Resource Management, Behavioural Ecology and Biomarine Sciences; or similar external Master programmes.
Workshops: The consortium will organize two workshops on 13 April (morning) and 9 May 2016 (afternoon) to: introduce the graduate programme NCMR; to inspire Master students or MSc graduates to submit ideas for potential research project(s) (the ‘pre-proposal’); and to allow matchmaking between Master students and MSc graduates and core researchers of the five research groups, on the basis of the pre-proposal. In the workshops, core researchers of the consortium and guest lecturers will provide short lectures on topics relevant to the field of NCMR. These lectures will serve as inspiration for potential research topics. It is also an opportunity for Master students to get to know the researchers involved in the graduate programme and parties who could serve as potential co-financers. All interested Master students with a relevant background can participate in the workshops.
Registration for the workshops: Registration for the workshops is required, and can be done by sending an e-mail to Pita Verweij, p.a.verweij@uu.nl, before 8 April 2016.
Recently graduated candidates and current Master students have priority over candidates who obtained their MSc degree a longer time ago.
Research proposal writing: After the workshops, interested candidates can develop their research proposal for submission to the Graduate Programme. The research proposal can be based on a topic from the pre-proposals and/or the topics of the workshops. Utrecht Master students are encouraged to develop their research proposal as part of their Master programme. The research proposals can be developed in the frameworks of either the ‘Writing assignment’ (Environmental Biology, 7.5 EC) or the ‘Individual research project’ (Sustainable Development, 7.5 EC). A supervisor from a research group of the consortium will supervise the writing of the research proposal.
Deadline for submission of research proposals in 2016: 1 July 2016; see Step 2 ‘Enrolment’.
The consortium of NCMR will communicate opportunities for potential Minor and Major research projects, available courses, colloquia and seminar series to all Master students of the mentioned study tracks in Environmental Biology and Sustainable Development by means of an e-mail list.
The consortium of NCMR will organize annual seminar series to exchange knowledge in the field of NCMR with PhD researchers and Master students. In the seminars, core researchers of the consortium, PhD researchers and guest lecturers will provide lectures on topics relevant to the field of NCMR.
In 2019, the accumulated knowledge and experience of the consortium and the PhD students will be shared in a Summer School open to internal and external MSc and PhD students (3 EC, ca. 2 weeks).
2. Development of NCMR PhD proposals
Goal:
To select candidate PhD students of the highest potential and to guide the selected candidates in further developing an NCMR PhD research proposal.
Target candidate PhD students: Master students who are enrolled in either the Master programmes Sustainable Development or Environmental Biology or can attest of other relevant education; motivation; research capabilities; a high grade point average; and a good command of English. The selection is thus also open to external and former students who have not participated in the MSc component of the NCMR programme. Each person can apply only once as a candidate to the PhD programme (meaning either in 2015 or in 2016).
Targeted number of candidate PhD students: 8 to 12; specifically 4 to 6 in 2015 and 4 to 6 in 2016.
Enrolment: Enrolment takes place through three steps:
1. Application: by e-mail to Pita Verweij, p.a.verweij@uu.nl. Applicants are invited to send their CV, a cover letter and a PhD research proposal. Application deadline for the 2016 round: 1 July 2016.
2. In July 2016, the programme committee will select the best candidates to be invited to become candidates to the PhD programme in which they will develop a full PhD research proposal: set to 4 to 6 candidates in 2016.
Selection criteria for invitation for candidature: 1) Scientific quality of the research proposal; 2) Innovative character of the topic and/or methodology; 3) Relevance to the field of NCMR; 4) Societal relevance of the proposed research; 5) Quality of the candidate (proven research skills, own initiative, motivation, etc.).
NCMR PhD research proposal writing: Selected candidate PhD students will develop a ‘full proposal’ for NCMR PhD research, which can be based on the research proposal written during the MSc component. To facilitate the formulation of cross-disciplinary NCMR projects, at least two of the five research groups must be involved in a PhD research topic. The full proposal should be elaborated according to the format of an NWO talent grant, and include a realistic budget, a description of the research team and possibilities for cooperation with external national and/or international parties.
3. Selection of NCMR PhD projects
Goal: To select the four most excellent and innovative full research proposals of step 2 for funding and further implementation in the framework of the NWO NCMR Graduate Programme.
Targeted number of selected PhD students: 4 (specifically 2 in October 2015 and 2 in October 2016)
Submission of full PhD research proposals: by e-mail to Pita Verweij, p.a.verweij@uu.nl, the deadline for submission in 2016 is set to 1 October.
Selection criteria: 1) Scientific quality of the proposal; 2) Innovative character of the topic and/or methodology; 3) Relevance to the field of NCMR; 4) Societal relevance of the proposed research; 5) Quality of the candidate (proven research skills, own initiative, motivation, etc.).
In October 2015 and in October 2016, the two most excellent and innovative NCMR PhD research proposals will be selected by the programme committee for funding and further implementation in the framework of the NWO NCMR graduate programme. Two representatives of nature conservation NGOs (WWF and Natuurmonumenten) will be involved in this selection. The Admission Board of the host graduate school will take the formal decision on admission of the selected PhD students.
Appendix A. Visual layout of the NCMR graduate programme
Important dates in 2016:
8 April 2016 Registration deadline workshops
13 April 9.00 – 13.00 h First workshop, Koningsberger building, Atlas room
9 May 13.15 – 17.00 h Second workshop, Ruppert building, room 042
1 July 2016 Application deadline for candidate PhD students: submission of PhD research proposal, CV and cover letter
July 2016 Selection of candidate PhD students to be invited to develop a full PhD proposal
1 October 2016 Deadline for submission of full PhD proposals by selected candidate PhD students