Bright Minds Assistantships

The call for applications for September 2023 is now closed. The call for applications for February 2024 will open mid-October.

Your application should include:

• a motivation letter (max. 500 words), describing your ambition to become a geoscientist and detailing your current experience in the field. Please concisely mention in your letter how you would combine the BMA with your master's in terms of planning. (Please note that this doesn't need to be a detailed schedule. You will finetune this with your supervisor if you're selected for an assistantship.)
• your curriculum vitae.
• your selection of (max.) three preferred projects, ranked from (favourite) 1 to 3. We aim to assign you to your favourite project. If this is very popular among applicants, we may need to assign you to your second or third preferred project.
• your written permission for us to use your master's application files (diploma and transcript of records) during the selection procedure.
• your student number.

Your application doesn't need to include an overview of your grades (transcript). We'll retrieve your grades from Osiris and/or your application file.

Please send your application (preferably as a single PDF file) by email to Yasmin Mulhuijzen.

All applicants are ranked by the Student Affairs department on the basis of their grades (bachelor's, and, if applicable, master's) and their motivation to pursue a career in geoscientific research. A shortlist is then compiled and sent to the Faculty Board for assessment. Upon approval, the best-ranked students are invited to an interview with the supervisor of their preferred project.

A Bright Minds Assistantship consists of 320 hours, including a certain amount of leave hours. You are required to work at least one and at most two-and-a-half days a week (8 to 20 hours). Your working schedule may be flexible within these limits, depending on your availability and your supervisor's preferences. An assistantship is typically completed over four to six months.

The Bright Minds Assistantships are subject to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities. As a master's student, you are paid according to increment 4 of the student-assistant (SA) scale. As of mid-2020 this amounts to 2.462 Euro a month for a full-time position. As a Bright Minds Assistant you are usually appointed for 0,2 to 0,4 fte, depending on how you schedule your assistantship.

Please note that Bright Minds Assistantships are extracurricular (no credits are awarded) and cannot be a part of a thesis/graduation project.

If you are a non-EU student, different rules for working part-time apply. You are limited to a maximum of 16 working hours per week. Human Resources will help you request a work permit, but cannot guarantee that this request will be honoured. You should be aware that this process can take up to 12 weeks. If you're invited for an interview, make sure to discuss this with your supervisor.

If you have any questions, please contact Sara Koenders.

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