Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Newsletter for Junior ResearchersMay 6th , 2011
General
General activities and info sessions
Human Sciences
Natural Sciences and (Bioscience) Engineering
Life Sciences and Medicine
Funding, Travel and Conference grants, Prizes
About this NewsletterYou have received this newsletter because you are a registered PhD student of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, or because you have expressed your interest in the past. If you do no longer wish to receive this newsletter, send us an e-mail at phd@vub.ac.be . If someone passed the newsletter on to you and you would like to receive it directly, you can also send us an e-mail, at the same address.
PhD Defences in May & JuneThese are the PhD defences of May and June, which have been announced to this day. Good luck and congratulations to the candidates! For more details and updates (time, location, abstract): list with defences.
Working conditions of researchersContrary to train personnel or employees in the health care sector, researchers usually don't demonstrate claiming better working conditions. Researchers are too busy doing research. Nevertheless, researchers often face difficulties in performing their tasks. Problems can be: lack of working space, lack of resources,... But also other types of issues may occur, such as uncertain career opportunities, problems to combine family and work, general questions on social security rights, questions on mobility. Along with several other European universities, the VUB endorses the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R), an institutional commitment to act according to The European Charter for Researchers and The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. Within this context the Personnel Department and R&D-departement are endorsing a number of focus groups (six to eight people each), where researchers can discuss their working conditions. Your participation in a focus group will take at the most one hour and a half of your time. Each researcher can participate, including all registered doctoral students. Every one who would like to discuss the work (and possible problems) of researchers can do this in one of the focus groups we are organising. Results of the focus groups will be reported anonymously. What to do: Please mark on the Doodle your availability for a meeting at Campus Etterbeek or Campus Jette. Please also mention under “comment” if there is a specific subject you would like to discuss. On the basis of your availability and interests we will let you know in which focus group you will be participating. For further information: jan.de.schampheleire@vub.ac.be, Vakgroep Sociaal Onderzoek, Pleinlaan 5, 1050 Brussel, Room 2.55, tel. 02 614 81 26, mobile 0478 58 71 27.
Workshop “How to write a competitive FP7 proposal”On May 31st the R&D EU-team will offer a workshop on writing a competitive FP7 proposal. FP7 stands for the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Commission, which bundles all research-related EU initiatives together under a common roof playing a crucial role in reaching the goals of growth, competitiveness and employment. One part of this funding scheme is the specific programme on 'Cooperation', which supports all types of research activities carried out by different research bodies in trans-national cooperation and aims to gain or consolidate leadership in key scientific and technology areas. FP7 Cooperation proposals are selected based on Science, Implementation and Impact. During this extensive workshop experienced trainers of Yellow Research will provide researchers, project managers and EU liaison officers with strategic input for writing competitive proposals. If you have any further questions, you are welcome to contact the EU-Cell of the R&D Department, Maria Vereeken: 02-6293808, Maria.Vereeken@vub.ac.be . Practical
Association for Cultural Studies - Summer Institute Registration is now open for the inaugural Summer Institute of the Association for Cultural Studies (ACS) to be held 11-15 July 2011 at the Department of Educational Studies of Ghent University in Belgium. The theme of the Summer Institute is Critical Literacies.
More information on the ACS website.
How applied statistics can work against you - the pitfalls (DSh72)The present workshop addresses topics at the intermediate and advanced level of applied statistics. General problems regarding sample sizes, violation of assumptions, the choice of the appropriate technique and statistical significance are often reported by researchers. On the other hand, some important pitfalls regarding the interpretation of results remain largely undetected. Both topics will be discussed in this seminar. There are still some places left. Practical
Workshop LaTeXLaTeX is a high-quality typesetting system, with features designed for the production of technical and scientific documentation. LaTeX is the de facto standard for the communication and publication of scientific documents. But even for the lay-out of straightforward text, LaTeX produces well-structured documents of a quality and beauty that is simply beyond word processors such as MS Word. LaTeX is not a word processor. Instead, LaTeX encourages authors not to worry too much about the appearance of their documents, but to concentrate on getting the right content. Furthermore, LaTeX is secure, highly portable, and free. Drawbacks? Sure. LaTeX has a fairly steep learning curve. That's why a little help can be very useful. In a series of 2 workshops, LaTeX will be introduced to you. Subjects covered include:
After the workshops you will be able to typeset almost any text in LaTeX and produce a beautiful dissertation. This workshop will take place on Monday May 30th and Monday June 6th 2011 at the Campus Etterbeek . More information on the exact location will be made available to the participants. More information and registration:
How applied statistics can work against you - the pitfalls (DSh72)The present workshop adresses topics at the intermediate and advanced level of applied statistics. General problems regarding sample sizes, violation of assumptions, the choice of the appropriate technique and statistical significance are often reported by researchers. On the other hand, some important pitfalls regarding the interpretation of results remain largely undetected. Both topics will be discussed in this seminar. Practical
Congress on Intelligent Systems (GCIS 2011)GCIS 2011 intends to be a global forum for researchers and engineers to present and discuss recent innovations and new techniques in intelligent systems and their applications. Specific topics of interest include, but are not limited to: artificial intelligence, machine learning, intelligent control and automation, computational intelligence, soft computing, nature-inspired computation, bio-inspired algorithms, neuro-fuzzy techniques, genetic and evolutionary algorithms, semantic web, etc.. Practical
Congress on Software Engineering (WCSE 2011)WCSE 2011 is an international forum for researchers and engineers to present and discuss recent innovations and new techniques in software engineering. Specific topics of interest include, but are not limited to: Software metrics; Software tools and development environments; Software policy and ethics; Programming languages; Internet and information systems development; Software requirements; Software architecture and design; Software components and reuse; Software testing and analysis; Human-Computer Interaction; Software processes and workflows; Software dependability, safety, privacy and reliability; Reverse engineering and maintenance; Program comprehension and visualization, etc.. Practical
Symposium 'The future of the 21st Century ocean' Research infrastructures are becoming major actors of the European research area. To measure their impact on marine science, Europôle Mer organises in June 2011 in Brest an international symposium : "The future of the 21st Century ocean" . It will gather for 3 days, European and international marine infrastructures, their users, together with European, national and regional funders and stakeholders. This event will pave the way for a debate on the future of marine research in Europe.
Following the symposium, specific workshops are organized around the following research infrastructure or network of infrastructures. Practical
International Conference On Renewable Resources And BiorefineriesAs a result of the growing impact of renewable resources, this conference aims at bringing together academic researchers, industrial experts, policymakers and venture capital providers to discuss the challenges emerging from the transition towards a biobased economy and to present new developments in this area. The conference is expected to attract 400 international participants. The conference will provide a forum for leading political, corporate, academic and financial people to discuss recent developments and set up collaborations. The 7th edition of the International Conference on Renewable Resources & Biorefineries will be held in Bruges, from Wednesday June 8 through Friday June 10, 2011. It is organized as a twin conference with the 3rd International Biorefinery Conference in collaboration with DECHEMA e.V. More information: http://www.rrbconference.com/
Summer School on Medicines (SSM3)The Third Summer School on Medicines (SSM3) will be offered from July 11th – July 22nd, 2011, at Parc Cientific Barcelona (PCB, www.pcb.ub.cat), Barcelona, Spain. After the previous successful editions (SSM1, Barcelona, 2009; SSM2, Toulouse, 2010), several entities in Barcelona (Parc Cientific Barcelona (PCB), Bioregion of Catalonia (Biocat)), Toulouse (Université de Toulouse, Oncopôle) and Montréal (Université de Montréal, Montréal InVivo) have joined forces to present SSM3. SSM3, the Third Summer School on Medicines ( www.ssm3.org ) offers a unique 90-hour training program under a multicultural sponsorship in the wonderful setting of Barcelona. Make plans now for two full weeks of lively presentations and direct interactions with the Faculty , including two Case Studies and two Industry Challenges sessions, covering the whole value chain of medicines, “from idea to market”. The SSM3 Faculty members (Speakers and Chairpersons) are leaders of the drug discovery and development industry and the sector as a whole, and contribute to create one of the most innovative and focused programs in drug discovery and development currently offered. The SSM3 program will include a poster session, where the students will have the opportunity to share with their colleagues the results of their research projects. Registration deadline is June 17th. Further information, including the registration procedure, is available at www.ssm3.org.
Symposium on Cancer in pregnancyThe Flemish Ligue against Cancer (Vlaamse Liga tegen Kanker, VLK) organises since 2008 a lecture chair to encourage the exchange of results concerning research on cancer. This year, the focus will lie on Cancer in pregnancy, with Prof. Dr. Frederic Amant of the research group of Gynaecological Oncology, K.U.Leuven as chair. On Friday May 13th a mini-symposium on 'Cancer in Pregnancy' will take place in Ghent University. A larger symposium will following in September in Leuven. Click here to see the poster. Click here to vist the VLK website (in Dutch only).
New investment in science & innovation by the Flemish GovernmentThe Flemish Government announce last Monday a new investment in science and innovation. First of all, the budget for Innovation will increase by 65 million € in 2011. Secondly, 97 million € is meant for the funding of research project through the IWT. And thirdly, the decision also includes an increase of the overall Innovation budget untill 2014. Both the IWT and the FWO are very pleased with this news. The budget increase means that the FWO will be able to support another 100 research proposals, thus raising the success rate to 20%. The IWT will focus on research projects in collaboration with the industry and on socially important projects (green energy and mobility, social innovation, innovation in care...). More information (in Dutch) can be found on the websites of the FWO, IWT, and in the press release of the Flemish Government.
IWT Baekeland-mandatesThe goal of the Baekeland mandates is to offer young researchers the chance to execute a doctoral project in close cooperation with trade and industry. With these programs, the IWT aims to promote the mobility of researchers between universities and enterprises. The deadline to submit proposals is September 5th, 2011 (noon) More information (in Dutch only): http://www.iwt.be/subsidies/baekeland-mandaten The application form is available in English.
|
©2004 • Vrije Universiteit Brussel • Pleinlaan 2 • 1050 Elsene • Tel.: 02/629.21.11 • info@vub.ac.be