The Minister of Science and Technology officially launched the Southern African Young Scientists Summer Program (SA-YSSP) in November 2011. The National Research Foundation (NRF) in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology has developed a novel and innovative initiative with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) to establish the Southern African Young Scientists Summer Program (SA-YSSP). The SA-YSSP will be an annual 3-month education, academic training, and research capacity-building program jointly organized by the NRF, DST, and IIASA, and hosted by the University of the Free State.
IIASA is an international research organization that conducts policy-oriented scientific research in energy and climate change, food and water, and poverty and equity. The IIASA research areas are drivers of global transformations, advanced systems analysis, and policy and governance.
The SA-YSSP will provide the opportunity for doctoral candidates to advance their research under the direct supervision of senior scientists from IIASA and South Africa. In addition to this hands-on research training, the SA-YSSP offers scientific seminars covering themes in both the social and natural sciences, often with policy dimensions, to broaden the participants’ perspectives and strengthen their analytical and modelling skills.
Keynote lectures are to be delivered by national and international leaders in their respective research fields, partly drawn from IIASA’s widespread network of alumni and collaborators, as well as from the NRF’s extensive international networks of excellence. The program is to be enhanced with specific field trips, cultural and heritage excursions, and will involve networking with locally based research programs. To ensure a rich international mix of participants and allow for exchanges and collaboration on projects that address global and regional challenges, the participants for the SA-YSSP from South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will be complemented by placements reserved for participants from other IIASA member countries – up to 30 participants in total.
SA-YSSP PARTICIPANTS
The NRF is pleased to announce this Call for Applications for doctoral candidates to participate in the 1st SA-YSSP, scheduled for 1 December 2012 to 28 February 2013.
Current IIASA Research Programs include:
- Advanced Systems Analysis
- Ecosystems Services and Management
- Energy
- Evolution and Ecology
- Mitigation of Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases
- Risk, Policy and Vulnerability
- Transitions to New Technologies
- World Population
As an independent, non-governmental organization, IIASA provides science-based insights into complex global, regional, and national problems. South Africa’s engagements with IIASA and specifically with regard to the SA-YSSP relate primarily to the Department of Science and Technology’s 10 Year Innovation Plan.
Contact Details for Southern African Young Scientists Summer Program:
IIASA Website:
www.iiasa.ac.at
For further information and documentation please follow the following link:
www.sarima.co.za
CV and application form, the latter with a scanned signature page, must be submitted to:
Ms Puleng Tshitlho (Grant Officer) puleng.tshitlho@nrf.ac.za
No hard copies of applications will be accepted.