Information leaflet for Master students on the NWO Graduate Programme ‘Nature Conservation, Management and Restoration’ (NCMR) Training the next generation of researchers to tackle the challenges of maintaining the world’s natural capital 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. This programme is supported by a grant of NWO, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research. Funding is thus 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. P.A. Verweij, [email protected], 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 2015 are included in Appendix A.

1.

NCMR MSc component

Goal: 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 programmes 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 in ecology. Workshops: The consortium will organize two afternoon workshops on 18 and 26 May 2015 to introduce the graduate programme NCMR, to inspire master students to write a brief research preproposal and to allow matchmaking between master students and core researchers of the five groups on the basis of the research 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, [email protected], before 11 May 2015. Current master students have priority over persons already holding an MSc degree. Research proposal writing: Students are encouraged to write a research proposal (7.5 EC) as part of their Master programme after the workshops, inspired by the topics of the workshops and on the basis of the match with the research groups. This research proposal can be developed in the framework of the so-called ‘Writing assignment’ (Environmental Biology, 7.5 EC) or ‘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 2015: 1 July 2015; see Step 2 ‘Enrolment’. Promotion of the programme and the field of NCMR: During the workshops of the MSc component and through an information leaflet; and by advertisement on relevant UU-websites, and through national and international networks. The consortium of NCMR will jointly and frequently 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 email 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; 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, [email protected]. Applicants are invited to send their CV, a cover letter and a research proposal. Application deadline for the 2015 round: 1 July 2015. 2. Both in July 2015 and in June/July 2016, a maximum of 12 of the initial applicants will be selected by the programme committee to present their research proposal, followed by a short interview (preferably face-to-face). 3. From this group, the programme committee will select the best candidates to be invited to become candidates to the PhD programme and work on a full proposal: 4 to 6 candidates in 2015; and 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 (2 in October 2015 and 2 in Sept/Oct. 2016) Deadline for submission of NCMR PhD research proposals: 1 October 2015 (and Sept/Oct 2016 for the second round). 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 September/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 civil society (WWF/IUCN) and two relevant researchers of other universities 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 2015: 11 May 2015 18 and 26 May

Registration deadline workshops Workshops: two afternoons from 13 to 17 h

1 July 2015

Application deadline for candidate PhD students: submission of research proposal, CV and cover letter

1 October 2015 Submission of full PhD proposals by selected candidate PhD students