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Oct 9, 2023

Hons; Masters; Doctoral Bursary in Biological Invasion studies at SANBI

BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS STUDENT BURSARIES FOR 2024

Closes: Friday, 3 November 2023 Location: South Africa

1 x Hons; 3 x Masters; 4 x Doctoral Bursaries are available to conduct research as part of the South African National Biodiversity Institute’s work on biological invasions. Projects relevant to one of SANBI’s focus areas will be considered (status report and monitoring; incursion detection and response planning; eradication planning and co-ordination; risk analysis; and taxonomy). For more details see the following resources:

See potential projects here

Potential Projects

Hons or MSc

· Evaluating the efficacy of Harrisia bonplandii control in response to ecological factors and its ecological and livelihood impacts

· Assessment of the uses, invasive potential and management of Castanea sativa in South Africa

MSc

· Progress towards eradication of Hydrocleys nymphoides in South Africa

· Assessment of the invasive potential and management of four Melaleuca species in South Africa

· Unravelling the eradication feasibility and management of two cactus species in South Africa

· Detection and risk analysis of the most common unlisted alien cacti in South Africa

MSc or PhD

· The invasions ecology of bromeliads—are epiphytic invasions a growing concern?

· Getting the measure of invasions and their control

· Systematics of genus Rumex and assessment of the invasion risk of alien Rumex species in South Africa

PhD

· Regulating fruity invasions—passion fruit in South Africa as a case study

For other projects, please contact us before submitting an application to check if your proposal is suitable.


Bursary values Hons: 60,000 + fees; MSc: 115,000 + fees; PhD: 161,000 + fees.

All bursaries are paid directly to the postgraduate student and academic fees paid directly to the host institution on receipt of an invoice. Applicants for an MSc or PhD can be considered for a one-year project development internship should the applicant be unlikely to finish their studies within the prescribed period of time. In such cases, a candidate will be offered an internship interview. A project development intern is expected to re-apply for a bursary the following year.

Requirements and running costs Candidates must be pro-active, enthusiastic, and interested in doing excellent research that will help improve our understanding and management of biological invasions. Bursaries are only available to South African citizens registered at universities in South Africa and will be awarded in line with national equity targets and the need to diversify the research landscape (students to be based at historically disadvantaged or new public higher education institutions are encouraged to apply). All students need to apply to a university themselves and the bursary is conditional upon them securing their position in such a programme. Project running expenses are covered separately to the bursaries and vary depending on the project. Funding either for registration of part-time studies or for running costs of other projects might be considered providing the project is strongly aligned to SANBI’s mandate and all the documents are provided.

Application procedure Applications must include:

  1. a cover-sheet available at: https://tinyurl.com/yeywbwyw

  2. a one-page project outline for Honours applications or a two-page project outline for Masters and Doctoral applications;

  3. a full CV;

  4. letters of reference from two academic supervisors;

  5. a statement of support from a prospective academic supervisor;

  6. a statement of support from a SANBI staff member who is to act as a contact or co-supervisor;

  7. a certified copy of academic record;

  8. a certified copy of highest degree;

  9. a certified copy of ID

Send all documents as a single pdf file in the order specified above to: students@sanbi.org.za; sanbi.dbi.bursaries@gmail.com Subject: SANBI Biological Invasions Bursary application

SANBI reserves the right not to fill these bursaries. If no response has been received within 28 working days of the closing date, candidates may assume that their applications were unsuccessful.

Enquiries: Academic: Prof John Wilson (jrwilson@sun.ac.za) Application process: Ms René du Toit (r.dutoit@sanbi.org.za) Post by SANBI

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