The SEAMEO Regional Centre for Tropical Biology invites Indonesian PhD students to apply for thesis research grants for  2013.  Four (4) thesis research grants shall be awarded to qualified students through DIPA Fund from the Government of Indonesia.

Objectives of the Thesis Grant

In general, the awarding of thesis research grants aims to increase the number of qualified human resources in higher learning institutions and government agencies where the grantees are affiliated with the expectation that they would contribute to the development of Indonesia in the area of tropical biology and natural resources management.  The specific objectives are as follows:

1. To provide PhD students the opportunity to work and be mentored by SEAMEO BIOTROP scientists on specific research areas that are mutually of interest to the students, their institutions, and the Centre;

2. To  produce quality research outputs related to tropical biology that would have direct application to address development concerns of Indonesia;

3. To maximize the use of facilities and equipments available at SEAMEO BIOTROP for the grantees’ research; and

4. To produce quality research papers for publication.

Eligibility Requirements

A PhD student could be eligible to apply for the thesis grant if he/she could satisfy the following requirements:

1. Must be currently pursuing a PhD program in agriculture, forestry, natural resource management, and related sciences  from  any reputable university in Indonesia.

2. Must have already completed his/her course work with an approved thesis research  proposal and is ready to conduct the research.

3. His/Her research topic must focus on any of SEAMEO BIOTROP’s  major program thrusts, namely:

    a) Tropical Biology for Community Welfare
        •    Food and Feed Security and Safety
        •    Bio-energy Development
        •    Value Adding to Natural Products
        •    Pests and Diseases Management

    b) Tropical Biology for Environmental Integrity
        •    Biodiversity Conservation and Management
        •    Landscape Restoration
        •    Management of Tropical Ecosystem Functions and Services
        •    Tropical Ecosystems Health Monitoring

4. Corollary to No. 3, the applicant’s research topic must also have direct implications to the following cross-cutting developmental concerns:

   a) poverty alleviation, and
   b) climate change adaptation and mitigation
 
Application requirements:

1. Duly completed Application Form which can be downloaded from www.biotrop.org
2. Letter of application addressed to: Dr. Bambang Purwantara, SEAMEO BIOTROP Director;
3. Recommendation letter from the Dean of Graduate School of the university where the applicant is pursuing his/her   degree program;
4. Thesis research proposal approved by the applicant’s Advisory Committee and Dean of Graduate School;
5. Budgetary requirement of the thesis research with recommendation from the applicant’s major adviser and Dean of Graduate School;
6. Certified copy of grades for all courses taken at the PhD level;
7. Curriculum vitae;
8. Applicant’s letter certifying that he/she is not receiving any other research grant from any other institution; and
9. Plan of implementation of research activities

All documents must be in English.

Implementation Scheme:

The grantee will sign a contract with SEAMEO BIOTROP specifying his/her duties and responsibilities and expected outputs within the duration of the grant.  

Privileges:

A  grantee will be entitled to the following:
1. Thesis research fund within the prescribed limit of BIOTROP-DIPA allocation
2. Access to SEAMEO BIOTROP laboratory facilities and services
3. Technical guidance from SEAMEO BIOTROP scientists

Application deadline:  30 August 2012

Applicants are advised to send the complete set of application documents to:

Dr. Jesus C. Fernandez
Deputy Director for Programme and Marketing
SEAMEO BIOTROP
Jln. Tajur Raya Km 6, Bogor 16134, Indonesia  
Telp: 0251-8323848