17 september 2010

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) are collaborating with China in a new programme: Talent and Training (T&T) China-Netherlands.

The programme is set up within the scope of the so-called '1000 PhD initiative', launched by the Dutch Innovation Platform in 2009. It aims at increasing the quality and quantity of doctoral research at universities and research institutes in the Netherlands. China is considered to be an interesting partner in this context due to its large scientific potential.

The Dutch partners, including the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), allocated means for the set-up and the selection procedure of the programme, while the Chinese partner, China Scholarship Council (CSC), funds scholarships for up to 40 PhD candidates via its overseas PhD scholarship programme. The Dutch Graduate Schools receiving the PhD candidates are responsible for research costs during the PhD programme.

T&T China-Netherlands aims at the recruitment of talented Chinese PhD candidates interested in coming to the Netherlands to carry out their PhD research. High-quality candidates from a pool of 60 excellent Chinese universities will be selected for 40 PhD positions in the Netherlands. These positions are located at 20 pre-selected leading Dutch Graduate Schools in all fields of science. The selection procedure will include a match-making trip of up to 80 pre-selected candidates to the Netherlands. This trip makes it possible for the candidates and the Dutch Graduate Schools to meet each other and conduct a face-to-face selection programme. Selected candidates will have to apply for a scholarship at the China Scholarship Council and fulfill CSC requirements.

For the up to 40 candidates selected, PhD programmes will start in September 2011.

Applications can be submitted online until 29 October 2010. More information is available on the T&T China-Netherlands website http://www.TTChina.nl.

For more information, please e-mail: ttchina@nwo.nl.