Higher education and beyond - Conference

The Department of Sociology of Education, University of Berne and the Department of Sociology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich ( Switzerland ) are holding an international conference in co-operation with the Centro Stefano Franscini (CSF).
Theme: This conference will focus on both the access to and the benefits of higher education for individuals and societies from a comparative perspective.
The conference will centre around three key issues to be addressed through proposed contributions:
(1) Inequalities regarding access to higher education.
(2) Credentials of higher education.
(3) Higher education and the economy.
(4) Methods of analysis of educational transitions/ selection problems.
Format: The conference will take place over one week (Sunday evening to Friday noon ).
Contributions: We invite social scientists to contribute to the conference with a plenary presentation about 20 to 25 minutes long.
The Deadline for handing in papers is 31 January 2010. You will be informed whether your paper has been accepted or not by 28 February 2010.
Grants and Subsidies: All participants will receive a subsidy of CHF 50 per night for conference accommodation at the Hotel Monte Verita.
Email: andreas.hadjar@edu.unibe.ch
Dr Andreas Hadjar, Department of Sociology of Education, University of Berne, Muesmattstrasse 27, CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland.
For further information: Center for International Cooperation, room 1-414

    International PhD Program in Materials Science

Job Description: The Graduate School of Excellence Materials Science in Mainz in Mainz (Germany) invites suitable candidates to apply for a position in our International PhD program Applicants must hold an outstanding Masters degree (or equivalent) in Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Mathematics or related fields. It is not necessary to hold the degree at the point of application. However, the degree must have been awarded prior to the start of the thesis. Thesis projects are offered in the following research areas:
. Spintronics
. Magnetism
. Computer simulation studies
. Ultracold quantum gases and quantum optics
. Nanosciences
. Experimental Soft Condensed Matter Physics
. Polymer Sciences
Candidates should be fluent in written and spoken English. German is not required.
Details of the PhD projects, online-registration and online-application can be found at
www.mainz.uni-mainz.de/151.php
The closing date for applications is February 19, 2010.
mainz@uni.mainz.de
For further information: Center for International Cooperation, room 1-414

    Call for 3 PhD students on Civil Engineering

Job Description: The Structural Concrete group of the Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (www.isise.net) has a research project in progress, called "ISS - Intelligent Super Skin. Enhanced Durability for Concrete Members", funded by FCT - the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, aiming to significantly improve the durability of concrete structures.
The ISS research project is organized in three sub-projects, each one with self-sufficient
objectives, but with strong synergetic relations among them: development of an ultrahigh durability concrete (UHDC) with self-sensor properties; mechanical characterization of the interface between this new UHDC and a normal concrete substrate, including the proposal of a modified shear-friction design expression for this type of connections;
implementation of a 3D modelling of quasi-brittle fracture of concrete using an embedded discrete crack approach based on an existing 2D finite-element code. A PhD grant will be attributed for each of these sub-projects, being each thesis supervised by the research project leader together with one young researcher with the required specific expertise.
Applicants should send by email (ejulio@dec.uc.pt ), until February 28, 2010, their Curriculum Vitae and a motivation letter addressed to Professor Eduardo S. Júlio, University
of Coimbra, Portugal.
Contact address: ejulio@dec.uc.pt
For further information: Center for International Cooperation, room 1-414

  Open Research Position

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is the result of the merger of the University of Karlsruhe and the Research Center , Karlsruhe . It is a unique institution in Germany , which combines the mission of a university with that of a large-scale research center of the Helmholtz Association. With 8000 employees and an annual budget of EUR 650 million, KIT is one of the largest research and education institutions worldwide.
The Young Investigator Group Facial Image Processing and Analysis in the Institute of Anthropomatics, at the Computer Science Department of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has an open position for a Candidates should hold a Master's degree (or Diplom) in the areas of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or in a related discipline. They should have a solid background in image processing, computer vision, and pattern recognition. Excellent C++ programming skills under Linux as well as good oral and written English skills are expected. The employment will be awarded for a period of up to four years starting in April 2010. Please send your application, including CV, transcripts, letter of motivation, names of at least two references to Dr.-Ing. Hazm Kemal Ekenel ekenel@kit.edu . Further information can be obtained from:
e-mail: ekenel@kit.edu
web: http://cvhci.ira.uka.de/~ekenel/
For further information: Center for International Cooperation, room 1-414