Shell and NWO launch a new initiative in 'Computational sciences for energy research'
Shell and NWO start a joint large scale public-private partnership in basic research in the energy domain. The total initiative comprises research projects for 75 PhD positions and a major investment in the Dutch knowledge infrastructure, such as new tenure track positions and novel hardware at Dutch universities.
This multi-year initiative will be executed by the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM), within the framework of the Dutch Topsectors, initially focusing on Energy and Chemistry. Whereas the axis Shell-NWO is central in this initiative, other companies are explicitly invited to join and to invest in the collaboration.
Shell will invest circa 20 million euro in cash, an investment which will be used to fund 75 PhD positions at the Dutch universities. NWO's investment will amount circa 21 million euro, creating a total budget for the programme of 41-50 million euro, dependent on the participation of other companies. The majority of Shell's investment comprises the programme on 'Computational sciences for energy research', covering themes within the Topsectors Energy and Chemistry. The remainder of Shell's investment will be directed to two other programmes, i.e. 'Solar Fuels' and 'Uncertainty Reduction in Smart Energy Grids'.
An important driver for Shell to invest in this initiative is to use the programme as a recruitment pool for computational scientists for its technology centre in Bangalore in India. Bangalore will become a global centre for computational science for Shell. The 75 PhD positions will be filled with MSc/MTech graduates interested to build a career in the Shell Technology Centre in Bangalore.
A strong motivation for NWO to participate in this initiative is to further strengthen the computational sciences in the Netherlands. Its participation comprises a large scale investment of circa 7 million euro in the Dutch knowledge infrastructure, e.g. for new staff like tenure track positions and novel hardware. A number of NWO divisions are involved in this initiative, i.e. FOM, Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Earth and Life Sciences and Technology Foundation STW. This collaboration across a range of computational science disciplines is therefore uniquely positioned to give a long-needed boost to this scientific field. The combined Shell-NWO initiative will also lead to a further reinforcement of the connection between the Dutch and the Indian knowledge communities.
Submit research proposal: deadline Monday 15 October 2012
The final call for proposals with a programme description, guidelines and other relevant information for this pilot is published. Click here to submit your proposal. For more information please contact Rudy Kouw, +31 (0)70 344 07 55.
Application and selection process for PhD candidates: 12-25 October 2012
The Shell application window remains open from 12 October to 25 October 2012 for the academic session starting September 2013. Further process will include telephonic/face-to-face interviews in November 2012 at select locations in India. The exact schedule would be duly communicated to shortlisted candidates. Please contact Shell for more information.