PhD Positions at the International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDD) in Social and Agricultural Sciences

PhD Positions at the International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDD) in Social and Agricultural Sciences

PHD POSITIONS AT THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR DEVELOPMENT AND DECENT WORK (ICDD) IN SOCIAL AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

Call for applications

Application Deadline: 15 February 2015.
Scholarship Start: 1 May 2015.

The ICDD is an interdisciplinary and international scientific network of excellence with the head office located at the University of Kassel (Germany) and partner universities in Latin America, Africa and Asia. It co-operates closely with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and various NGOs. The ICDD is funded by the programme “ex)/(ceed – Higher Education Excellence in Development Cooperation” launched by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). In the framework of its Graduate School of Socio-Ecological Research for Development, the ICDD invites students from ODA recipient countries (countries eligible for Official Development Assistance of the OECD) to apply for a PhD scholarship position in a particular academic field at an ICDD partner university:

• Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), Brazil, in economics,
• University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana, in development studies,
• Egerton University (EGU), Kenya, in agricultural science,
• University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), Pakistan, in agricultural science, 
• University of Kassel, Germany, in agricultural science,
• University of Kassel, Germany, in the social sciences,
• Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), India, in labour studies,
• University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), South Africa, in sociology.

The ICDD supports research in four main thematic areas to which PhD projects must relate:

1. Decent work along agricultural value chains
2. Organizing the informal economy
3. Extractivism and rural welfare
4. Rural-urban linkages: transformation processes, livelihoods, and social protection

SCHOLARSHIP: PHD STUDENTS OF THE ICDD GRADUATE SCHOOL WILL BE BASED AT THE PARTNER UNIVERSITY THEY CHOSE (SEE ABOVE) AND ENROLLED IN ITS PHD TRAINING PROGRAMME. MOREOVER, SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES PARTICIPATE IN THE ANNUAL PHD WORKSHOPS OF THE ICDD GRADUATE SCHOOL AND GET INVOLVED IN THE LIVELY ACADEMIC EXCHANGE AND ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE ICDD NETWORK.

The PhD scholarship will be awarded for three years. An extension for a fourth year is possible under certain conditions. The scholarships will cover a country-specific monthly allowance, tuition fees (if applicable), the participation in ICDD Graduate School activities as well as the opportunity to apply for field research funding. Final admission to the ICDD Graduate School is conditioned on the admittance to the PhD programme of the chosen ICDD partner university and a positive progress evaluation by the ICDD in the first scholarship year.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

• A completed or almost completed MA/MSc degree, with excellent results, in a discipline related to the above topics; the applicant’s last academic degree should not be more than six years ago; if an applicant already started with his/her PhD project, it should have started not more than three years ago
• A high proficiency of English (CEFR level: C1 or above), demonstrated by one of the following language certificates: TOEFL, with a minimum score of 550 PBT (paper-based test) / 80 IBT (Internet-based test); IELTS 6.5 or above; the Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English or an equivalent (native speakers and applicants who have completed their first degree fully in English do not have to provide an English proficiency certificate)
• Academic or vocational experience in one of the disciplines related to the thematic field of development and decent work
• Citizenship of an ODA recipient country (countries eligible for Official Development Assistance of the OECD)

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

1.) Online Application

Applications can only be submitted online: Click here to access the online application form

Apart from providing some personal information, information on your academic background etc., the following documents must be uploaded as PDF or WORD files at the end of the online application process:

• A detailed curriculum vitae (including the academic background, the list of publications [if applicable], professional experience, language skills, voluntary work)
• A preliminary PhD project proposal (about 2000 words, including topic, research question, short overview of the relevant literature, theoretical approach, research design and methodology)
• A summary of the Master thesis (about 1500 words)
• Scanned copy of an English proficiency certificate, if required
• Scanned copies of the following documents in the original language with translations attached, if the language of these documents is not German, English, French, Spanish or Portuguese:
  • The certificate and transcript of records of your recognised Master degree, listing all subjects and grades (if you have not yet completed your Master degree, please provide only the transcript and substitute the certificate with a letter from the programme coordinator testifying the date and likelihood of the successful completion of the course)
  • The certificate and transcript of records of your recognised Bachelor degree, listing all subjects and grades
  • Certificates for the completion of additional studies, listing all subjects and grades, if applicable
  • Scanned copies of certificates of previous professional/vocational experience, if applicable.

Please submit your complete application no later than 15 February 2015, 12:00 pm (GMT + 01:00).  

Applications submitted after this deadline cannot be processed.

2.)Two letters of recommendation: Apart from your application, two recent letters of recommendation must be provided from professors or course instructors qualified to assess your academic achievements. The referees must sign the letter and send it as a scanned copy from the referee´s email account to:

• phdreference[at]icdd.uni-kassel.de 

Alternatively, the letters of reference can be sent in a sealed envelope by post directly to:

Executive Director of the International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDD), University of Kassel, Kleine Rosenstr. 1-3, 34109 Kassel, Germany.

The letter of recommendation must also arrive at the ICDD no later than 15 February 2015.

If you are selected for admission, officially authenticated photocopies of all the documents and translations will have to be presented.

For further information contact the ICDD Graduate School staff

Phone: + 49 (0)561 804 7395

Email: phdapplication@icdd.uni-kassel.de

Dec 01 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

Don't Wait for WTO to Reform Food Subsidy





It is highly significant that all 160 member countries of the World Trade Organisation have reached consensus on what would be the first global agreement on trade liberalisation in two whole decades, that on trade facilitation and easier customs procedures. The deal would reduce transactions costs, red tape, and corruption at sea ports and cargo airports, by standardising norms, improving logistics and reducing delays in the movement of goods. Trade experts estimates that global incomes could rise by as much as $2 trillion.India did succeed in stalling the deal by several months on the issue of subsidy expenditure on food security; it has now been agreed that food stockholding programmes in the devel oping world will not be subject to WTO dispute procedures, until a permanent agreement is arrived at a later date. Note that in the Bali ministerial last December it was decided that there would be a four year window for the purpose, but there would now be no such deadline. Yet the Modi government needs to promptly reform our high cost food subsidy regime and the effective nationalisation of grain stockholding and attendant trade, with its cost-plus padding and routine inefficiencies. One recent report mentioned how FCI loaders earned up to Rs 4 lakh per month thanks to generous overtime payments. What is desirable is higher stockings for private trade, and streamlining of public grain procurement to avoid distress sales.
In tandem, we need to purposefully boost trade in both goods and services, to realise huge economic gains. It would be extremely costly to be trade-myopic. The WTO, instead of always seeking unanimity , should actually be seeking more pluri-lateral agreements among like-minded nations, with others welcome to sign on at a later date.

Dec 01 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

50% drop in new cases in three years





Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu account for 3.6 lakh HIV patients -around 50% of the country's 7.7 lakh cases reported as of May 2014. Around 1.7 lakh patients hail from Andhra and Telangana alone.Karnataka has a little over one lakh HIV patients, and Tamil Nadu, 80,685.
Maharashtra follows Andhra Pradesh, with 1.43 lakh patients. Andhra, Te langana, Maharashtra and Karnataka are the only states with HIV-infected population exceeding 1 lakh, according to the Union health ministry .
Health experts said the rising numbers in the south were due to increasingly efficient screening over the past few years. Besides, while cumulative numbers are high, the number of fresh cases reported every year has plunged since 2010. According to the health ministry , the number of new HIV cases reduced by almost 50% across the country in three years -from 3.1 lakh fresh cases in 2010-11 to 1.5 lakh cases in 2013-14.
Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka saw a sharp fall in the number of fresh cases reported every year.
The drop in fresh cases is due to increasing awareness among the public, especially the risk-prone communities of sex workers, homosexuals and transgenders, said Bakthavatchalam A, deputy director of Association for Rural Mass India.
After Tamil Nadu's 80,000-odd cases, Gujarat is listed with 40,121 cases.States such as UP, Rajasthan and MP, which are larger in area and population, have not recorded many cases, according to data from the Union health ministry .





Dec 01 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

UP, MP, Assam fail to stem infant mortality

Himanshi Dhawan

New Delhi





Disparity In States Performances Despite Funding

A decade after India committed to a national health policy to provide improved access to healthcare, there is growing inequality in infant health across India. Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Maharashtra have improved on their already superior health outcomes while poorer performing states like Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Madhya Pradesh have slid, a study has found.Lowering of infant mortality rate is a priority of the National Rural Health Mission and part of the UN millennium development goals that India has committed to. In India, IMR has declined from 57 per 1,000 live births in 2006 to 42 per 1,000 live births in 2012.
Think tank Swaniti Initiative's analysis of state-level IMR data from 2006-2012 suggests that despite huge infusion of funds in NRHM, there is growing national disparity in infant health. None of the poorly performing states were able to achieve a rate of decline close to what the best performing states have achieved. The interstate inequity grew between 2006 and 2012, despite NRHM providing additional funding to such states. Out of the seven states with the lowest IMR in 2006, four achieved a de crease of 29% or more.
According to Swaniti “Infant mortality is impacted by access to nutritional food and sanitation. Improving healthcare is insufficient to address the structural causes of high infant mortality .“
For the full report, log on to http:www.timesofindia.com

MAINSTREAM, VOL LII, NO 48, NOVEMBER 22, 2014

Does the India-US Bilateral Agreement on Food Security Matter?

Saturday 22 November 2014, by Kavaljit Singh

After months of stalemate, India and the US have agreed to resolve their differences over food stockholdings which would open the way for future implementation of the Trade Facili-tation Agreement (TFA) of the WTO—the biggest trade deal in its entire history.
On November 13, 2014, Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, issued a statement announcing a bilateral agreement with the US. “We are extremely happy that India and the US have successfully resolved their differences relating to the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes in the WTO in a manner that addresses our concerns. This will end the impasse at the WTO and also open the way for implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agree-ment. We are confident that the membership will take the matter forward in the WTO in a constructive spirit,” she said.
The US Trade Representative, Michael Froman, also welcomed this agreement with India which “reflects shared understandings regarding the WTO’s work on food security”. However, both countries have refused to share the finer details of the agreement. Hence, one cannot analyse the pros and cons of the agreement at this moment.
The Peace Clause
According to media reports, the two countries have agreed that the peace clause—which protects member-countries (breaching farm subsidy caps under the Agreement on Agriculture) from being challenged under other WTO agreements—will continue indefinitely till a permanent solution is found by the WTO. The US has agreed to India’s demand to rewrite the entire peace clause of the Bali Agreement so that it gives adequate protection to member-countries against legal challenge in case farm subsidy caps are breached.
In July 2014, India had refused to ratify the TFA on the ground that the text of Bali Ministerial Declaration is not clear whether the country could continue its food subsidy programme beyond 2017. India wants to modify the text to ensure that the interim agreement arrived in Bali extends beyond 2017, in case no permanent solution on food security is reached.
India will share its proposal at the WTO’s General Council at its upcoming meeting (scheduled in December 2014) in Geneva. The Indian Government expects that this agreement with the US would put new pressure on those member-countries of the WTO who had disproved its concerns earlier. The government expects that the General Council would endorse its proposed rewording of the peace clause and thereafter multilateral talks on implementing the TFA and amending the Agreement on Agriculture would proceed ahead.
The Importance of National Food Security
Food security is a politically sensitive issue as more than a quarter of the world’s hungry live in India. The right to food is enshrined in the Indian Constitution and New Delhi spends more than $ 60 billion annually on price support to farmers, input subsidies and public food distribution system. The government views stockpiling as an important component of its food security programme. Although India has not yet breached subsidy caps, the government is duly concerned over the possible breach of caps in the case of wheat and rice in the near future.
For the past many years, India has been demanding a review of the outdated farm subsidy rules of the WTO which base subsidy calculation on reference prices of 1986-88 while food prices have increased manifold in this country and elsewhere since then. It is interesting to note that this issue was taken up at the Bali Ministerial Conference in December 2013 only after it was linked to the Trade Facilitation Agreement.
The Timing
Nevertheless, the timing of this bilateral breakthrough is very important. This deal came just two days before the G-20 Summit in Brisbane (Australia) where leaders were expected to discuss the progress on the post-Bali work programme (especially the TFA) of the WTO. Undoubtedly, this deal has rescued the World Trade Organisation from potential irrelevance after the repeated failures of multilateral trade talks since 2008 besides the growing proliferation of bilateral and plurilateral agreements throughout the world. In sum, it has added a new momentum to multilateral trade negotiations at the WTO.
Politically speaking, the bilateral agreement with India could be seen as the third major victory for the US President Barack Obama, following the US-China pact to cut tariffs on IT products and an agreement with China on carbon emissions signed this week. By securing these agreements, Obama has firmly asserted the leadership of the US in advancing the global trade agenda and attempted to silence his critics at home.
The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has portrayed this pact as a major victory at home and at his first G-20 Summit in Brisbane. It is a win-win situation for both political leaders as they together initiated this process during Modi’s visit to Washington in September 2014.
Still Some Questions
What chance of success at the WTO? After all, it is an agreement between just two member-countries of the WTO. Of course, there is no guarantee that the rest 158 members of the WTO (especially the European Union and an Australia-led group of more than two dozen countries) may accept India’s proposal to modify the Bali Agreement text and fall in line. As these member-countries had no say in the delibe-rations between India and the US, they may question the sanctity of such bilateral deals without their knowledge and participation.
Some may even question whether a bilateral deal is the best approach to resolve differences over farm subsidy issues at the WTO—the legal and institutional framework of the multilateral trading system. Hence, some scepticism is obviously warranted.
Kavaljit Singh is the Director of Madhyam, a policy research institute based in New Delhi. The Madhyam website is www.madhyam.org.in

e-Libraries, Wi-Fi Enabled Classrooms in India soon 

Higher education in India could get the desired fillip through emphatic usage of technology and coming together of industry, government and academia, experts suggest. If government efforts go well, students across India may soon have access to a massive national e-library and Wi-Fi enabled classrooms in schools. Shedding light on government’s ICT commitment, Amita Sharma, Advisor, Ministry of Human Resource Development, has said that work towards building a massive national e-library and providing Wi-Fi connectivity in classrooms has already been initiated.

According to her, the government is also working on creating MOOCs content under the Swayam platform. “Work is under progress and students will soon be able to log into the web and access free content created by our own premier institutes,” she informed, adding that IIT Bombay had already signed an agreement with Edex to take this forward.

“While the government is taking aggressive initiatives to improve the scenario of higher education in the country, close collaboration with the industry should also be encouraged to build world-class academic institutions to nurture Indian students and attract global talent,” said Dr. R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Advisor, Government of India.

He was speaking at a session on ‘Technology, Excellence & Innovation in Education in higher education’ during the Indo-US Technology Summit 2014 organised jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry, the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and the US Department of State.

While talking about the emerging technologies, which hold the potential of revolutionising the higher education system, he listed some key classroom breakthroughs like cloud computing, mobile learning, tablet computing, MOOCs, open content, learning analytics, gamification, 3-D printing, virtual and remote labs and wearable technology. In his closing remarks, he said that technology-driven higher education was a must to help drive the vision of creating a ‘knowledge economy’.

The session was also attended by Dr. Robin Angotti, Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Washington, who focussed on the need to usher thoughtful innovation in present day classrooms. Prof. Sandeep Sancheti, Vice-Chancellor, Manipal University, Jaipur, also shared his personal experience how new IT-driven tools in the classroom helped him convert an extremely complicated subject like Electromagnetic Theory into an engaging area of interest.

Despite the massive usage of technology to transform higher education in India, there are a number of aspects limiting its access and adaptability. Highlighting some of these, Dr. Dinesh Awasthi, Director, Entrepreneurship Development Institute, said that bandwidth, affordability and most importantly barriers of language were some key areas that could be addressed through technology. Another challenge being faced by the students was the inappropriate student-professor ratio, pointed out Mr. Sankaran Raghunathan, Staff Representative for India, Broward College. He said that the issue of demand and scalability could be addressed by introducing software-driven learning tools that can enhance the reach and bridge the time zone and geographical differences.

While higher education in India called for extensive use of technology, the role of educator also needs to be revisited, said Vinnie Jauhari, Director, Education Academy, Microsoft USA. There is a need to inculcate the new-age professional competencies like critical thinking, team work, attention to detail, problem solving, teamwork with the help of technological integration, she added. However, irrespective of the many challenges, Indian students comprise a large under graduate population in world’s top 200 universities. Given the enormous repository of domestic talent, the academic system should focus on research and innovation, which if backed by strong industry involvement can bring Indian students to the forefront and make them globally competitive, said Prof. Swapan Bhattacharya, Director, NIT Surathkal.

Deloitte ranks Edureka as India’s Fastest Growing Technology Company 

Edureka (Brain 4ce Education Solutions Pvt. Ltd.) has been declared the fastest growing technology companies in India in a ranking of the 50 fastest growing technology companies in India. The Deloitte Technology Fast 50 India 2014 has ranked Edureka on top of the list based on percentage revenue growth over three years. Edureka grew at a whopping 2768 per cent in the past three years.

The Technology Fast 50 India program, which was launched in 2005, and celebrating its Tenth anniversary this year, is conducted by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Private Limited (DTTIPL), and is part of a truly integrated Asia Pacific program recognizing the India’s fastest growing and most dynamic technology companies (public and private companies) and includes all areas of technology – from internet to biotechnology, from medical and scientific to computers/hardware. The program recognizes the fastest growing technology companies in India based on their percentage revenue growth over the past three financial years.

Lovleen Bhatia, Edureka’s CEO & Co-Founder, has credited this achievement to the company’s innovative course delivery model, professional relationship with their customers and a dedicated and diligent team. “Edureka is delighted to have received the award. This recognition certainly would further motivate our team’s aim to extend a highly professional online alternate education platform for learners globally,” he said.

Edureka was founded by two ex-Infosys employees & IIT alumni – Lovleen Bhatia and Kapil Tyagi and is among the fastest growing online education platforms offering live instructor led technology and business courses to professionals and students across the globe. With a dropout rate of only 10% and huge student market base in India, USA, UK and Australia, Edureka plans to offer 100 courses in multiple niche domains by end of 2014.

- See more at: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2014/11/deloitte-ranks-edureka-as-indias-fastest-growing-technology-company/#sthash.QlLFrPS3.dpuf