International news—September 2017

September 08, 2017

Lindau 2018 applications now open

Applications for the 68th Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting with Nobel Laureates from the field of physiology or medicine are now open. Applications for Lindau close 3 October 2017.

The successful candidates will receive a grant-in-aid from the Academy up to $6,750 towards travel and accommodation costs. 

More about Lindau

Postdoctoral Fellowships for research in Japan

The Academy invites applications from Australian researchers for the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Postdoctoral Fellowships commencing between 1 April and 30 November 2018.

Applications for the fellowships close 30 October 2017.

The JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Foreign Researchers provides opportunities for Australian postdoctoral researchers to conduct, under the guidance of their Japanese hosts, cooperative research with leading research groups in universities and other Japanese institutions. The program aims to help such researchers advance their own research while contributing to the advancement of research in Japan and the counterpart countries.

Candidates must hold a doctorate degree when the fellowship goes into effect, which must have been conferred within six years prior to 2 April 2018. Alternatively, candidates should be scheduled to receive a doctorate degree before the fellowship commences. MD (medical doctor) holders without a PhD are not eligible. Applications are invited from suitably qualified researchers in any field of natural sciences (including technology, engineering and medicine), the humanities and social sciences.

More information and application form

Summer program for graduate students expands

Smiling group of men and women
32 PhD students from Brazil, Mexico and the US participated in the expanded 2017 summer program.

In June, 11 PhD students from Brazil and Mexico joined 21 students from the US in an expanded version of the summer program for graduate US students that the Academy has been coordinating since 2004.

The students were introduced to Australian culture and science during an orientation program in Canberra, with visits to the National Gallery of Australia and Parliament House, and learned about Australian geography and topography, wildlife, bush tucker and Australia’s Indigenous history at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.

They then travelled to cities around Australia to undertake two-month research projects at host institutions, including universities, CSIRO and Museum Victoria. Research areas ranged from investigating early career decisions by women in academia to analysing the use of drone technology to address key knowledge gaps in the life histories of sea turtles.

Science is too vast for any individual, institution or nation to go it alone, with the global nature of some challenges only possible to address through international efforts. For many of the students, this was the first time that they had travelled outside of their home country and certainly the first time they had had the opportunity to experience life in an Australian research environment. Programs for early- and mid-career researchers, such as this one, are crucial to opening the door to international collaborations.

Based on my experience here and the connections I have made, I am very interested in future PhD work based in Australia…Participating in this program as a masters student has been critical for my current and future success. I expect much of my career will be traced back to these 10-weeks—this is likely to become a turning point in my professional life! Ms Amber Datta, University of Montana

Women in Science and Engineering, Asia

Academy Fellow and Foreign Secretary, Professor Cheryl Praeger, chairs the Committee on Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) in the Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA). Professor Praeger has finalised membership of the WISE committee with representatives from China, Georgia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, and Sri Lanka. 

© 2024 Australian Academy of Science

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