Austrian Govenment Research Grants for International Students 2018/2019 (Undergraduate, Masters & PhD)

Application Deadline: 1st September 2018

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: All (except Austria)

To be taken at (country): Austria

Fields of Study: Natural Sciences, Technical Sciences, Human Medicine, Health Sciences, Agricultural Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, Arts

About Scholarship: Foundation of the Republic of Austria is offering scholarships for international students (except Austrians). Applicants who are descendants of forced laborers (regardless of their country of origin) or people coming from countries that have suffered exceptionally from the Nazi regime, especially from the recruitment of forced laborers. Scholarships are awarded to pursue research on their diploma or master thesis or their dissertation at scientific research institutions in Austria.

Type: grants, research, undergraduates, graduates, postgraduates

Eligibility: Eligible for application are

• descendents of forced labourers (regardless of their country of origin)
• or people coming from countries that have suffered exceptionally from the Nazi regime, especially from the recruitment of forced labourers.
• Applicants must not have studied/pursued research/pursued academic work in Austria in the last six months before taking up the grant.

Selection Criteria: Students meeting the above mentioned criteria can apply to pursue research

• on their bachelor thesis
• on their diploma or master thesis
• or their dissertation.

No scholarships are awarded for Bachelor, Master or Doctoral/PhD studies pursued in Austria, summer courses, language courses, clinical traineeships or internships. The scholarship grant is for research.

Age limit:
Doctoral students: 40 years (born on or after March 1, 1978)
for other students: 35 years (born on or after March 1, 1983)

Number of Scholarships: not specified

Value of Scholarship:

1. monthly scholarship instalment: 1.050 EUR
2. Health insurance: OeAD scholarship holders need to have health insurance that is accepted by the Austrian authorities for the duration of their stay in Austria. The OeAD can help with taking out such insurance. The monthly costs can vary, at the moment you should calculate 55 to 200 EUR (depending on your age, scholarship category and state of health). The costs for the insurance have to be covered from the scholarship.
3. Accomodation: It is possible for OeAD scholarship holders to book accomodation (dormitory or apartment) with the OeAD Housing Office.The monthly costs are 220 to 470 EUR (depending on the level of comfort requested by the scholarship holder). The scholarship holder has to pay an administrative fee of 18 EUR/month to the OeAD Housing Office for the provision of accommodation. The costs for the accommodation have to be covered from the scholarship.
4. Travel Costs: Applicants from countries which are neither members of the EU nor members of EFTA, EEA or OECD can be granted a travel allowance. The lump sum depends on the country of origin.

Duration of Scholarship: 1 – 4 months

How to Apply: The following documents have to be uploaded for the Online Application on www.scholarships.at/:

• fully completed Online Application form “Application for a Scholarship of the Scholarship Foundation of the Republic of Austria” including a CV and a project plan, describing the plans and completed preparatory work for the research stay in Austria
• two letters of recommendation from university lecturers. For these letters of recommendation no specific form is required; they have to contain the letterhead, date and signature of the person recommending the applicant and the stamp of the university / department and must be no older than six months at the time of application
• confirmation of supervision by a supervisor at the chosen Austrian university, university of applied sciences or research institution
• scanned passport (showing the name and picture of the applicant)
• university graduation certificate of your diploma, master, PhD or doctoral studies at a university outside Austria resp. proof of enrollment at a study programme at a university outside Austria
• confirmation, that proves your participation in a study programme (Bachelor, Master/Diploma or PhD) at your home university
• for descendants of forced labourers: processing number or photocopy of the letter of information or other relevant proofs

Visit scholarship webpage for details to apply

Sponsors: OeAD-GmbH on behalf of and financed by the Scholarship Foundation of the Republic of Austria

Government of Korea K-Startup Grand Challenge for Entrepreneurs 2018

Application Deadline: 14th June 2018

Eligible Countries: All

To be taken at (country): Startup Campus in Pangyo Techno Valley, 14 minutes south of Gangnam, South Korea.

About the Award: The Korean government is working to transform the country’s economy for another century of success, ultimately raising employment, the GDP and Korea’s place in the world. In order to do this, the government is supporting talented entrepreneurs and promising startups to turn Korea and Pangyo Techno Valley into a global startup hub in Asia. The top ranked 50 teams selected by the accelerators will be invited to stay in Korea to participate a four-month accelerating program in Pangyo, located south of Seoul. At the end of the accelerating program, the government will host a Demo Day to select the top 25 startups from the program. They will get additional financial incentives, and if they establish their businesses in Korea, they will get additional support from the government.

Type: Entrepreneurship

Selection Criteria: The selection panel will give priority to startups working on disruption in the following criteria, but they will also consider startups with brilliant ideas in any sector:

Number of Awards: 4

Value of Program:

• The top 40 startups selected will be eligible to receive a total of $22,727 each in funding for settlement in Korea
  based on their performances at the ‘Demo Day’ and according to the Settlement Evaluation.
• All 80 startups in the program wil each receive about $11,136 (12,250,000 KRW) to cover living expenses in equal installments over 3½ months.
• State-of-the-Art R&D Labs: Prototyping and testing facilities, expert support.
• Brand New Startup Campus: Global Startup Campus is purposely built 14 minutes from Gangnam and next to Korea’s tech giants.
• Expert Support: Experts from some of the world’s top tech companies with experience taking companies global.
• Corporate Partnerships: Meet Korea’s top tech companies with expertise ranging from smartphones to software to semiconductors.
• Break into Asia: Korea is safe, developed and two-hour flight away from over 1 billion potential customers.
• Grant for Top 25 Startups: The top 25 startups selected at the final Demo Day will be eligible for an additional $27,000 (32,000,000 KRW) grant in equal installments over six months if they establish a legal entity in Korea.
• Grants for Top 4 Startups:
  • Top Prize: $100,000 (120,000,000 KRW)
  • Second Prize: $40,000 (48,000,000 KRW)
  • Second Runner-up: $20,000 (24,000,000 KRW)
  • Third Runner-up: $6,000 (7,200,000 KRW)
• Additional Investments The five accelerators will make equity investments in the most promising startups. Startups will have access to other VC’s and investors who may choose to invest.

How to Apply: Apply here

Visit Programme Webpage for details

Award Provider: Ministry of Science, Industry and Planning, National  IT Industry Promotion Agency

India’s Public Banks Are Its Lifeline: Privitisation Will Ruin Them

Moin Qazi

The world’s investment leader, Warren Buffett, once said, “It’s only when the tide goes out that you realise who has been swimming naked”. When the banking system hit the rocks and the tide turned, the naked were caught disrobed.

Similarly, sometimes it takes a pitch-black economy to reveal who and what in the financial firmament really shines. It is only when darkness falls that one can see the stars twinkle. The moonlight coming from the otherwise bleak sky of the financial world, has been made possible thanks to honest taxpayers, who are transfusing precious blood to the currently bleeding banks.

The current crisis in the Indian banking sector led to calls for privatisation of public sector banks (PSB). However, the private sector is no paragon of great virtue. Moreover the faithful supplicants of privatization are ill-informed of the real issues. The huge crowds that throng public banks and put up with various inconveniences indicate the enormous faith that the public has in these banks. The challenge today doesn’t involve providing ultra-sophisticated banking to the 10% upper crust. Instead, the true challenge is to provide basic financial services to India’s 90%, who may not be the source of great revenue to banks. Almost all government pensioners bank exclusively with public banks.

We should never forget the cutting edge role public banks have played in financial inclusion. These banks have been the backbone of socio-economic agenda for the government. In any particular rural area, the role of a PSB is not confined only to banking. It also encompasses a more holistic developmental agenda.

PSBs are the one-stop shop for all financial needs of the local rural populace, including insurance, financial literacy, remittance and receipt of welfare subsidies and grants, amongst others. The government’s socio-economic programmes have to use the banking conduit for movement of funds. Those who talk of privatisation should visit the remote branches of public banks, where managers live at great risk to personal lives, and are mentoring the local population, not just in financial literacy, but, also technical, business and agricultural literacy.

It was public banks that revolutionised rural India in the social banking era of the 1970s. The expansion of bank branches in rural areas was particularly noteworthy. The figure rose from 8,261 in the year 1969 to a whopping 65,521 in the year 2000. The share of households accessing institutional credit rose from 32% to 61.2% between 1971 and 1981.

It was this emphasis on those excluded from the formal financial stream that led to a slew of measures in the field of finance, and drove so many bankers into the arena of the battle against poverty. It is tragic that even as the country is grappling with massive problems confronting its struggling masses, the ignoble billionaires now have regular rides to the public trough.

Politicians are equally guilty of undermining the integrity of banks. They stacked the decks with populist sops using banks as spigots for burnishing their election credentials. This was apart from the huge loans they have forced banks to shovel to their buddies. In India, the proportion of dodgy loans, involving the borrower not making interest payments or repaying any principal, has surged to   the highest among the world’s largest economies. The question is—why should ordinary people bear the burden of the fat cats, who keep indulging their desires by dipping into public savings? These free loaders are gleefully and remorselessly winnowing scarce bank capital. The government has to goose these banks with spruced up balanced sheets to make them lend again. Ironically, instead of being chastised, they are lauded as captains of the industry and adorn glorious positions in industry associations.

India’s pile of soured loans, whose value degrades like an unstable isotope, is a classic example of how powerful and politically influential tycoons undermine the rules to secure credit and then default on it. The thudding losses posted by banks and the desperate attempts by government to detoxify balance sheets show how difficult it is for the rescue plans to deliver.  When borrowers become insolvent, their loans are added to an existing mountain of debt. Each time it happens, banks have to make heavy write-downs, plowing the dud loans like rotten potatoes, ultimately choking the credit line. To keep these banks going, the government has to regularly keep injecting capital into them.

Most big defaulters have the money to employ legal experts who can play the judicial system—it is here where the law flounders. India has some of the most draconian laws in books which are ineffective against powerful dodgers. We keep producing new laws when the existing ones are adequate and just need more teeth to obtain results. We show such promptness in condemning waivers for poor farmers, but, we lack the courage to tame the big fishes because they have enormous clout.

Banks are known to become aggressive in turning mortgage defaulters to the streets. Scores of indebted farmers are tying the noose out of sheer humiliation. Then there is a class of salaried people who rarely default, but, are chased down for their small unpaid bursaries. The bankers seem to be totally helpless when it comes to malfeasant promoters of big businesses. The stink of their scams has leached its poison into the entire financial system.

Scammers and swindlers have outfoxed a system which no longer appears impregnable. The bank’s safeguard systems are buttressed by state institutions, such as regulators, bankruptcy procedures and courts .But what finally underpins the security of the whole ecosystem is trust. When institutions such as banks, which are supposed to embody trust, are shown to be brittle, it leads to concerns of how fragile the economy is. This failure has shown just how deeply lacerated the core of our economic life has become. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) now no longer appears to be the financial seer and therapist that   was lionized for   insulating the domestic economy from the financial turmoil of 2008.

Scams are a product of a deadly concoction of greed and immorality. However, abuse of the financial system has been made possible because of the system’s weaknesses. In an age which heralds technology as the silver bullet, we should not overlook the most important source of competitive advantage—the people. Compliance and controls are weak the world over. They are, to a large extent, dependent on people running it.   A process is only as good as the people managing it. The most agile auditors will also have to struggle to stop managers, who are determined to hide their dirty laundry from view.

The reason for protecting the borrower against the creditor is that the much-reviled moneylender looms large in our collective psyche. The scenario now is totally different. Big borrowers are not like helpless farmers and the lender today is not the cruel sahukar but, the public bank. When these large businessmen default, they rob each one of us taxpayers. In several cases, precious and scarce bank funds are being used to finance the opulent lifestyles of the rich.

The turmoil has prompted calls for improvising risk management models, which seem to have created an illusory sense of security. However, models and machines cannot act as a surrogate for human expertise. Money management is no more a genteel world. Bankers will now have to bring in hard-boiled traders’ instincts to make it safe and secure. In a prophetic warning, way back in 1913, John Maynard Keynes wrote in Indian Currency and Finance: “In a country so dangerous for banking as India, (it) should be conducted on the safest possible principles”. Our departure from the time honoured metrics has come at a heavy cost.

The Indian financial sector is at crossroads now, and its leaders will now have to use their financial alchemy to overcome its most challenging moment. Perhaps, it is one of those occasions where Rudyard Kipling’s advice can be the best guide: “If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too.”

It will not be out of place to quote the former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, from his Homer Jones Memorial Lecture, delivered at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri on April 15, 2009. “A crisis offers us a rare window of opportunity to implement reforms-it is a terrible thing to waste. The temptation will be to overregulate, as we have done in the past. This creates its own perverse dynamic… Perhaps rather than swinging maniacally between too much and too little regulation, it would be better to think of cycle-proof regulation. ”

President Trump signs executive orders attacking federal employees

Nick Barrickman

President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders Friday making it easier for federal agencies to discipline and fire employees. The unilateral moves follow the president’s vows during the 2016 election to “reduce the federal workforce through attrition” and otherwise shrink the number of government employees to their lowest level in decades.

The orders will give federal managers the power to fire workers alleged to be “struggling” in their performance after “improvement periods” lasting up to a single month. Previously, workers in such a status were given from 60 to 120 days to improve, depending on the agency.

The orders will likewise force government unions to negotiate labor contracts with departments at a faster rate, tie layoffs to performance instead of seniority, charge unions rent for using federal office space, and limit the amount of official time an employee can spend attending to union-related affairs.

“These executive orders make it easier for agencies to remove poor-performing employees and ensure that taxpayer dollars are more efficiently used,” stated White House Director of the Domestic Policy Council Andrew Bremberg. Far from the bureaucratic behemoth that conservatives have painted it as, civilian employment within the federal workforce, numbering 2.7 million, has dropped to levels lower than during the 1960s as a result of multiple bipartisan cutbacks over the past quarter century.

The executive orders build upon legislation enacted last June. The Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, passed by Congress in response to numerous scandals at the Department of Veterans Affairs, has led to over 1,600 staff firings, mainly of food service, nursing and housekeeping workers, in the past 11 months, according to statistics from the American Federation of Government Employees union.

Such policies reflect measures enacted at the state level, including in Indiana, where then-Governor Mike Pence tied employee pay to performance. Far from getting the government to behave more efficiently, the current executive orders will have the effect of continuing the assault on federal workers and draining resources from public agencies already starved of funding.

Trump’s legislative efforts were preceded by the Obama administration’s 2014 Veterans Choice Act, which limited the amount of time an employee could have to appeal a wrongful firing. According to the Economix blog of the New York Times, the Obama administration set a record for the number of government employees laid off during the its first three years.

The attack on federal employees occur as Trump has enacted measures to repeal regulations on major Wall Street finance houses that barred risky speculation which contributed to the 2008 financial collapse, increase rent for low-income families receiving federal aid, and restrict funding to clinics that perform abortions. In each case, the Trump administration has gone after segments of the US population that are the most vulnerable in order to whip up support from the more socially backward layers of his supporters.

“This is more than union busting—it’s democracy busting,” declared AFGE President J. David Cox, Sr. “These executive orders are a direct assault on the legal rights and protections that Congress has specifically guaranteed to the 2 million public-sector employees across the country who work for the federal government.” Despite Cox’s fake-militant rhetoric, the AFGE, the largest federal employee union, has collaborated with both Democratic and Republican administrations, accepting hiring and pay freezes for its members.

The latest efforts to squeeze federal employees come as the Trump administration continues to build up the military, the intelligence agencies and other repressive arms of the federal government. While denouncing federal workers in general, Trump has voiced a far different appraisal of the fascistic thugs who make up the bulk of the workforce of the border security and immigration agencies.

Trump’s most recent federal budget includes an increase in funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement of over $600 million. Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union released a detailed report showing the widespread abuses of underage immigrants held in detainment camps by Customs and Border Patrol agents.

Previously, civilian federal employee wages rose in general parity with military pay. That ended in 2011, when the Obama administration enacted a civilian pay freeze which did not affect the military. Trump re-instituted the pay freeze upon entering office last year.

In February, the Trump administration signed into a law a spending budget of over $700 billion for the fiscal years of 2018 and 2019. Such largesse caused Military.com to remark at the time, “It’s the biggest year-over-year windfall since the budget soared by 26.6 percent, from $345 billion in 2002 to $437 billion the year after, when the nation was fighting in Afghanistan, invading Iraq and expanding national defense after the 9/11 attacks.”

Workers’ unrest in the Netherlands

Harm Waling

Elementary school teachers are to strike May 30 in the southern provinces of the Netherlands, as part of a wave of working class struggles that brought the number of strike actions in the small country to 32 in 2017, the highest number since 1989.

According to the Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS), a record number of 147,000 workers participated in the strikes in 2017. A year before, there were 25 strike actions but these involved only 11,000 workers, far fewer.

The number of working days lost to strikes soared from 19,000 in 2016 to 306,000 for 2017. Significantly, strike actions have become more frequent each year since 2011, except for a small decline in 2016. CBS states on its web site that in 8 out of 10 cases the strikes were initiated and ended by the central trade unions, mostly over conflicts about the Collective Labour Agreement (CAO). Almost 20 percent of the strikes were initiated solely over wage issues.

The role of the central trade unions FNV and CNV has been very much the same as in the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States and elsewhere, which is always one of suppressing workers’ unrest and “toning down” of strike actions. The unions consider nationwide strikes too “disruptive,” and argue strongly for regional, one-day strikes and sometimes for “protest marches,” which are little more than street parades.

The political influence of the unions, represented by the social-democratic labour party PvdA, is all but depleted, as PvdA saw its parliamentary seat-count drop dramatically in last year’s national election. The Dutch “Polder Model,” which consists of continuous negotiations between government, employers and trade unions, has been very successful in suppressing popular unrest, but as CBS statistics show, the Dutch working class is beginning to resist.

Teachers in Dutch elementary schools held several national strike actions in 2017, demanding improved school funding, which has been cut drastically over recent years, and for higher wages and a reduction in workload. Specifically, elementary school teachers demand equal pay compared to their colleagues teaching in high school and the creation of more support jobs such as classroom assistants and administrative workers.

Full tuition funding for college students is being converted into student loans, so graduates start their adult professional lives already carrying enormous debts.

The teachers union tries to dampen down strike action and argues for regional strikes, and the government says there is not enough money to meet the demands. In reality, school funding has been cut dramatically for the past decade due to austerity measures, funneling the money to large banks and corporations through bail-outs and tax cuts. The abolition of the dividend tax in the Netherlands is one of the most recent examples of government hand-outs to the already rich and to international finance capital.

According to Dutch labour law, a trade union can be set up by as few as two people. They have to be co-workers and have their statutes validated by a solicitor. Dutch elementary school teachers have made use of this and founded their own, single-use trade union, taking matters into their own hands and organising the strike actions via social media.

It is because of this action alone that the government was forced to raise the education budget by approximately €700 million. But this is not nearly enough to repair the damage caused by austerity measures and does little to nothing to relieve the pressure on educators. In contrast, the Dutch military saw its budget increase by €1.5 billion to build up towards the military spending level of 2 percent of GDP demanded by NATO.

The teachers’ strikes are still ongoing. Regional strikes resemble a relay race, with the southern provinces taking their turn to strike on May 30. During the national strikes, the national media reported on the standpoints of both the employers and the trade union. It also mentioned some responses from teachers explaining how badly they need proper education funding. Public support was hardly given a voice in the media, while hostile statements from parents could be read in any newspaper article on the subject. During the regional strike actions the national media turned deafeningly silent.

Bus and train drivers working for privatised public transport companies have been negotiating with employers via the unions for equal pay compared to their colleagues working for the national railway company NS. A train driver working for NS earns up to 10 percent more than his or her colleague working for the private company Arriva.

More importantly, workers also demand loosening of the tight duty rosters. In some cases, bus drivers work nine-hour shifts, driving for four hours straight until they have a 15-minute break. If drivers fall behind schedule due to heavy traffic, they see their break-time reduced and in some cases there is not enough time left to even go to the toilet.

In order to gain public transport concessions, private companies have to compete ever more aggressively, squeezing every last drop of labour power and money out of their workers. In 2017, regional bus drivers held “public-friendly” actions, allowing people to travel for free. A court ruling prohibited this, characterizing the refusal to collect fares as “stealing from the company.”

In early January 2018, in a stunt to generate attention to their plight, bus drivers had cars with trailers carrying portable toilets driving behind the bus. When negotiations and the publicity stunts failed, and “public-friendly” actions were prohibited, workers went on national strike on April 30 and May 1.

More than 80 percent of regional public transport (bus and train routes in the provinces) was shut down with only some bus routes operating to keep airports and hospitals accessible. An article on the web site of Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad stated that the employers organisation VWOV filed a lawsuit demanding strike action be prohibited, accusing the unions of making unjust use of the right to strike, but the judge ruled in favour of the workers. According to the court, the workers’ right to strike in this case was more important than the “damage and hindrance” a national strike would cause.

Again the trade unions cowardly backed down from national strikes, considering it too “disruptive” and turned towards regional relay-strikes. FNV negotiator Paula Verhoef said on the television programme Nieuwsuur: “We do realise [the strikes] are inconvenient for passengers, so there will not be another national strike, but we will pressure regionally.”

Media reports concentrated on unsupportive reactions: Students have trouble attending college or exams, people can’t go to work, and grandparents can’t visit their grandchildren. The comments section of the popular Dutch news site NU.nl shows a good number of such reactions, but there are also many comments of solidarity. Some bus drivers commented with their personal experiences. One of them stated that if he’s 10 or maybe 12 minutes delayed due to heavy traffic, he only has 3 to 5 minutes left for a quick sandwich, coffee, cigarette perhaps and/or restroom visit.

Ireland votes to repeal anti-abortion amendment

Steve James

Ireland voted by a wide margin on Friday to repeal the reactionary Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution and legalise abortion on demand. The unexpectedly decisive outcome is a blow to the authority of the Catholic Church. It will strengthen demands for anti-abortion laws to be relaxed or repealed in Northern Ireland.

The vote immediately triggered a crisis in British ruling circles. The Democratic Unionist Party, which holds the most seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly and props up Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative government with its 10 MPs at Westminster, opposes any change in Northern Ireland’s anti-abortion laws.

The vote took place only after repeated twists and turns by both the ruling Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, the largest opposition party. The Oireachtas, the Irish parliament, is expected to legislate the repeal of the Eighth Amendment before the end of the year.

At that point, women in Ireland within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy will finally be able to exercise the basic democratic right to abortion. Between 12 and 24 weeks, abortions will be allowed only in cases involving serious risk to the woman.

Currently, women face up to 14 years in jail for having an abortion, and thousands every year make the emotionally gruelling trip to Britain for termination.

In all, 2,153,613 votes were cast with, 1,429,981 (66.4 percent) in favour of repeal and 723,632 (33.6 percent) against. Turnout was 64.1 percent.

Of the 40 constituencies, 39 voted for repeal. Constituencies around Dublin recorded “yes” margins of well over 70 percent. The highest repeal vote was in Dublin Bay South (78.5 percent). Only rural Donegal voted against repealing the amendment, and then only by 51.9 to 48.1 percent. The next closest vote was in Cavan-Monaghan, where 44.5 percent opposed repeal against 55.5 percent in favour.

Support for repeal appears to have been particularly pronounced amongst young people. One exit poll reported up to 87 percent of 18-24 year olds in favour. Among women under the age of 25, 90 percent voted in favour.

The number of young people registering to vote was reported by the National Youth Council of Ireland to be “unprecedented.” Most of the 125,000 new registrations are thought to have been youthful voters. The referendum itself only emerged after years of intense campaigns, protests and strikes demanding abortion rights, in which young people were heavily involved.

The result signals a shift to the left among broad sections of the Irish population. It is connected to protests internationally, involving millions of workers and young people, against intolerable conditions of life and in opposition to the right-wing, anti-democratic trajectory of the official political set-up.

In the United States, over one million students demonstrated against gun violence and mass shootings in March of this year. Student protests erupted in France last month against anti-democratic higher education “reforms” and in support of rail workers who are striking against French President Emmanuel Macron’s policy of social attacks and privatisation.

While support for repeal was highest amongst youth, according to exit polls, it was supported by all age groups apart from those over 65. It is a significantly more decisive result than a 2015 referendum in which 62 percent of voters on a 60 percent turnout supported the right to same-sex marriage.

Among the powerful interventions leading to the repeal vote was the stance taken by the parents of Savita Halappanavar, who died in 2012 because she was denied an abortion. Halappanavar died in a Galway hospital of septicaemia from complications arising from her pregnancy. She had repeatedly requested an abortion, which could have saved her life. The 31-year-old Indian woman was told by staff at University Hospital Galway that to procure an abortion was impossible as “this was a Catholic country.”

Following Friday’s vote, Halappanavar’s father, Andanappa Yalagi, speaking from India, told the Guardian, “We’ve got justice for Savita and what happened to her will not happen to any other family now. I have no words to express my gratitude to the people of Ireland at this historic moment.”

The result is a disaster for the Church. Support for the Church in a country scarred by generations of abusive treatment at the hands of priests and bishops is in sharp decline. Such is the collapse that Catholic organisations, which played a decisive role in the right-wing campaign that led to the Eighth Amendment in 1983, declined this time around to comment at all for fear of increasing the sentiment against them.

According to the Sunday Business Post, the Catholic Communications Office was not even invited to provide a bishop or priest for one of national TV channel RTE’s debates.

Commentary on the result was characteristically vindictive. The Catholic primate of all-Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, complained, “We have elevated the right to personal choice above the fundamental right to life itself.” He bemoaned the fact that "this country is now on the brink of legislating for a liberal abortion regime.”

The bishop of Limerick, Dr. Brendan Leahy, called the outcome “deeply regrettable and chilling for those of us who voted ‘no.’” He continued, “It is a vote, of course, that does not change our position.” The pope has thus far declined to comment.

The so-called “Brexit effect” did not materialise in the vote. A number of recent polls had suggested that although the repeal side was always ahead, distrust of the Dublin political establishment was leading, particularly in rural areas, to a right-wing populist groundswell of opposition to repeal. Writing in the Spectator, journalist Pádraig Belton suggested that “a fiercely-fought referendum battle has instead weaponised every single divide that was lurking latent in Irish society: rural versus urban, young versus old, rich against poor.” But rural Ireland also voted for repeal.

The clear outcome portends major class conflicts. The Irish bourgeoisie is attempting to manage the decline of the Church, an institution on which it has relied for the entire existence of the Irish state, and which has served for many decades to suppress the class struggle.

By selecting openly gay Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach last year to replace Enda Kenny, the ruling Fine Gael signaled that it was turning away from the Church toward a strategy of relying instead on layers of the wealthy, socially liberal, pro-capitalist upper-middle class as a social prop.

Prior to taking office, Varadkar supported the last four tax-cutting government budgets. As acting minister for health, he cut €12 million from mental health spending. As minister for social protection, Varadkar attacked the most vulnerable in society under the guise of clamping down on welfare fraud. In office, he has championed the role of Ireland as a low-tax investment haven within the European Union amid the turmoil and instability triggered by the British decision to quit the bloc.

Netaji Subhas/ICAR International Fellowships for Agriculture Scholars 2018/2019 – India

Application Deadline: 15th June, 2018

Eligible Countries: International

To be taken at (country): Select Agriculture Universities in India and abroad listed here and here

About the Award: The NS-ICARIFs are available for pursuing doctoral degree in agriculture and allied sciences, in the identified priority areas, to the (i) Indian candidates for study abroad in the identified overseas Universities/Institutions having strong research and teaching capabilities and (ii) to overseas candidates for study in the Indian Agricultural Universities (AUs) in the ICAR-AUs system.

Eligible Fields of Study: Crop Sciences, Horticulture, Biotechnology and nanotechnology, Animal Sciences, Natural Resource Management, Agricultural Engineering and Fisheries.

Type: Fellowship, PhD (Doctoral Degree in Agriculture and Allied Sciences)

Eligibility: 

• Master’s degree in agriculture/allied sciences with an Overall Grade Point Average (OGPA) 6.60 out of 10.0 or 65% marks or equivalent will be the eligibility requirement for the NS-ICAR IFs.
• The fresh candidates should not be more than 35 years of age on the last date prescribed for receipt of applications. The upper age limit for In-service candidates will be 40 years on the last date for receipt of applications.
• Age on the closing date for receipt of applications will be considered for eligibility. 
• Also, date of completion of qualifying degree will be the date of completion of both course and thesis work as declared by the university. Netaji Subhas- ICAR IF would be available for both, fresh and in-service candidates. However, the fresh candidates should have completed their qualifying degree not more than two years before the specified date in the year of admission. The in-service candidates from India should be employed in the ICAR-AU system.
• The Council will identify and announce the priority areas of research and the list of institutions for admission, one year in advance, for availing the Netaji Subhas- ICAR IFs.

Number of Awardees: Thirty(30) fellowships

Value of Scholarship: The fellow will be entitled to the following:

• To-and-fro, economy class air ticket for international travel, by the shortest route, from the airport, nearest to the residence/ work place of the candidate to the airport, nearest to the destination University in respect of both Indian and Overseas candidates (Air tickets to be provided by the Council).
• The fellows will be entitled for economy-class-travel cost reimbursement from port of arrival in India to the destination University in India and back.
• Indian Rupee 40,000 per month
• The fellowship amount for the first six months, as first installment, will be released by the Council to the fellow through government notified/ approved bank to be deposited in the bank account of the fellow on receiving his/ her acceptance for the fellowship and admission letter received from the host University.
• Thereafter, the amount of fellowship will be released to the fellow, every six months, after receiving the academic progress report from the fellow duly certified by the concerned advisor/ supervisor/ head of institution.
• The fellow will meet all other costs including medical insurance etc. from the above fellowship or from his/ her own resources.
• During the tenure of fellowship, an in-service fellow may continue to receive his/her salary, types of leave and benefits etc. from the parent organization as per rules.

Duration of Scholarship: Three (3) years

How to Apply: Candidates should fill the Application form. Filled in application along with supporting documents should be submitted (one hard copy by post and one soft copy by e-mail) to:
The Assistant Director General (EQR), Education Division, ICAR,
Krishi Anusandhan Bhavan II, Pusa,
New Delhi-110012
Email:  adgeqricar@gmail.com

Visit Scholarship Webpage for details

Award Provider: The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)

Important Notes: The other frontier areas in agriculture and allied sciences may also be appropriately considered.

International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) PhD Scholarship for Developing Countries (Fully-funded to Italy) 2018/2019

Application Deadline: 14th June 2018 at 13:00 CET.

Eligible Countries: Developing Countries

To be taken at (country): Italy

About the Award: An interdisciplinary doctoral programme offered in collaboration between ICTP, the University of Trieste and Italy’s National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics is now accepting applications for its November 2018 start.
The PhD programme in Earth Sciences, Fluid Dynamics and Mathematics. Interactions and Methods (ESFM) promotes the preparation of students through the investigation of the scientific themes developed by the research groups belonging to the departments and the research institutions directly involved in the programme, as well as through international collaborations with qualified foreign institutes that provide students with the opportunity to attend training programs abroad.
The programme is taught in English. This year, there are 10 fully funded three-year scholarships to support attendance. In addition, applicants from certain developing countries may have the payment of the admission exam fee waived.

Type: Research, PhD

Eligibility: Eligible candidates must hold an academic qualification, which can be considered to be equivalent – in terms of duration, level and disciplinary field –  to the Italian degree which allows to undertake Ph.D. studies in Italy. The candidate must hold the degree by September 30, 2018 (or by October 31, 2018 in case of an Italian degree).

• The program is taught in English.
• Research is carried out in cutting-edge facilities, on the main university campus, at the local Area Science Park and at national and international laboratories, in collaboration with Italian and international research institutions.
• Scholarships are open to students graduated in foreign universities.
• The scholarship -funded by ICTP- is reserved to candidates from countries not belonging to the list of “High-income economies” (according to the World Bank criteria).

Number of Awards: 10

Value of Award: All transportation, meals and accommodation expenses for the participating scholars will be covered.

Duration of Program: 3 years

How to Apply: Application information

Visit Programme Webpage for details

Award Provider: International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)

Seedstars World Competition for Startup Entrepreneurs 2018 – Up to US$1.5million

Application deadline: Go to Seedstars website below to see specific deadline for each African city.
(Also see specific Programme Dates for African cities below).

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: Africa, Asia, Latin America, CEE and MENA

To be taken at (country): Switzerland (Final awards show)

Area of Interest: Entrepreneurship in any field

About the Award: On this 2018 edition of the tour, they will visit over 25 cities across Sub-Saharan Africa to host bootcamps and pitch competitions, adding countries such as Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to its tour. The winner from each country is invited to the final at the Seedstars Global Summit in Switzerland to compete for up to $500,000 in equity investment and additional multiple prizes and perks.

Offered Since: Not specified

Selection Criteria:

• Maximum 2 years since founding date
• Maximum USD 0.5m funding
• Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
• Need to use technology to solve a local or regional issue

The Seedstars World team is searching for one additional criterion – the startup’s regional and global scalability.

Selection Process: At each Local Event, the top 10-15 pre-selected startups are invited to pitch in front of an expert jury and quality audience to determine the winner. The event brings together key entrepreneurs, investors, corporates and institutions from the local ecosystem combined with a unique global Seedstars World flavour. The winner of each Local Event gets a free trip to the Final Event and loads of cool tech prizes.
The winner of each Local Event will be invited to Switzerland to represent his startup and country at the global finals. The Final Event is a weeklong adventure consisting of a bootcamp, international conference and investor forum. It’s an amazing chance to meet with investors, build a global network and grow your business.

Number of Awardees: several with on grand winner

Value of Award

• Equity investment:There is a prize package consisting of USD500,000 in equity investment and more in cash and in-kind prizes. You’ll be exposed to VCs, corporates and angels searching for investment opportunities. Maximum USD 0.5m funding
• Coverage & Prestige:All Seedstars World events are heavily covered by local and international press with around 500 articles on Seedstars last year. Represent your country at the worldwide Seedstars Summit in front of an international audience.
• Partnerships & Family:Join the close knit Seedstars Family of talented entrepreneurs in 65+ countries. Find potential partners and business opportunities through the community and at the various events.
• Learn & Grow:We hand pick top-quality mentors from all over the world with experience in relevant industries. Benefit from the knowledge of corporate leaders, serial entrepreneurs, accelerator directors and investors.

Duration of Scholarship: 2 days for the Local Event + 7 days if you are selected for the Seedstars Summit (includes: online application, preparing for pitching event, coaching, traveling and attending the events).
Specific Programme Dates for Local Competitions:
The pitching events in Africa confirmed by Seedstars so far are:
Casablanca — 22 June (*now postponed to 6 July)
Algiers — 28 June
Harare — 29 June
Kigali — 20 July
Tripoli — 7 August
Nairobi — 10 August
Lagos — 17 August
Kampala — 24 August
Dakar — 7 September
Gaborone — 14 September
Abidjan — 14 Sept
Dar es Salaam — 21 September
Kinshasa — 21 September
Maputo — 28 September
Doula — 28 September
Luanda — 12 October
Bamako — 20 October
Accra — 26 October (*now postponed to 13th July)
South African finals — 2 November
Addis Ababa – 30 November

How to Apply: Startups from Africa an apply here.

Visit Seedstars Webpage for details

Award Provider: Seedstars World

Important Notes: You must be prepared to talk about your startup in public. Pitch and application documents must be in English or you must provide a translator. Your startup can be from any sector but must be for profit.

Google Impact Challenge Nigeria for Nonprofits and Social Enterprises ($250,000 grant) 2018

Application Deadline: 4th July 2018

Eligible Countries: Nigeria

About the Award: Your community. Your ideas to make it better. For the first time, the Google Impact Challenge is coming to Nigeria! The Google Impact Challenge Nigeria asks local innovators how they would make their community–and beyond–an even better place. The public and a panel of local Judges vote for the ideas with the most potential, and Google.org pairs each winner with a package of strategic support, funding and Google volunteers.
How it Works:

• Organizations Apply: Eligible nonprofits and social enterprises submit their proposals to create economic opportunity in Nigeria.
• Finalists Selected: Google and our partners will review applications and select 12 finalists.
• Public Votes: From the 12 finalists, the public will have three weeks to vote for their favorite idea.
• Final Event and Winners Announced: All 12 finalists are invited to pitch their ideas to our panel of Judges at a final event. The Judges will select three Challenge winners from these finalists, and also announce the people’s choice winner.
• Training and Support: Each of the four winners will receive a $250,000 grant and training from Google. The remaining 8 finalists will receive a $125,000 grant.

Type: Entrepreneurship

Eligibility: To be eligible to enter the Google Impact Challenge Nigeria, your Organization must meet the criteria listed
below:

• be a legally registered Nigerian business or nonprofit;
• suggest a project with a clear charitable purpose, as determined by Google and/or Google’s donor advised fund, the Tides Foundation, in their sole discretion;
• not discriminate against any person or group of people in either hiring/employment practices or in the administration of programs and services, including on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or ethnicity;
• agree that if you receive an Award, it will not be used for religious instruction.

Selection Criteria: 

• Community Impact: Does the proposed project create economic opportunity in Nigeria? Does it improve the lives of people in our country?
• Innovation: Does the project present unexpected solutions to unmet needs?
• Reach: Does it have the potential to scale directly or to serve as a model for other communities? Will its scope grow over time?
• Feasibility: Is the project plan (or business plan) well thought-out, and the team well-equipped to execute on it?

Number of Awards: 4

Value of Award: 

• Training and Support: Each of the four winners will receive a $250,000 grant and training from Google. The remaining 8 finalists will receive a $125,000 grant.
• Finalists get access to Google.org funding, mentorship and resources.

How to Apply: APPLY TO THE CHALLENGE

• Before applying, review the criteria and the rules.

Visit the Programme Webpage for Details

Award Providers: Google

Young African Scientists in Europe (YASE) Conference Fellowship (Funded to Toulouse, France) 2018

Application Deadline: 15th June 2018

Program Date: 6^th July 2018

To Be Taken At (Country): France

About the Award: Toulouse will host the conference YASE 2018 – Young African Scientists in Europe to give African doctoral students and post-doctoral scientists who are expatriate in Europe information and elements to choose if they want to carry on their scientific career in Africa.

About 25,000 young African scientists are currently preparing a PhD in Europe (160,000 in Africa itself). While the need for scientists and engineers in Africa is growing, how many of them will contribute in the coming years to the scientific and technological development of their countries?

Often isolated in their laboratories, not always aware of the specificities of scientific employment in Africa, they wonder and worry. When they return to Africa after some years spent in Europe, how can they enter the higher education and research system? How can they maintain international collaborations? How can they remedy to the lack of experimental means in their home countries? What actions can be taken in Europe to support the scientific development of African countries?

Conferences, panels and discussions in YASE 2018 will be devoted to these questions and many more. The 250 attendees, doctoral students and post-doctoral scientists, will meet and exchange informations and perspectives, and will begin to create networks. They will also listen to leading African researchers and representatives of public institutions and companies and ask them questions : that will improve their knowledge of the development of research and of scientific employment in Africa.

Type: Conference, Fellowship

Eligibility: African PhD students working in a European country other than France.

Selection Process: Grant recipients will be wellcomed in Toulouse by three IAST Research Fellows:

• • Kofi Asante, sociologist;
  • Nick Crawford, historian;
  • Slimane Dridi, evolutionary biologist.

They will propose to selected candidates in their own fields of science a special programme during the ESOF week, with group meetings, discussions about your research work and theirs. They will be ready to answer all your questions about PhD, postdoc, research career…

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: Winners of this proposal will be reimbursed of their expenses up to 415 € (travel, accomodation, registration for both YASE and ESOF; receipts needed).

How to Apply: 

• Write a one page summary explaining: what you are doing as a PhD, why you are interested to attend YASE, and which IAST research fellow you are interested to meet and why.
• Send it with this form, together with a copy of your African passport and a copy of a university registration proof.

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Award Providers: Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST)

National Cancer Institute (NCI) Research Training Travel Scholarships for Developing Countries 2018 – Hong Kong

Application Deadline: 22nd June 2018

Eligible Countries: Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC)

To Be Taken At (Country): Hong Kong.

About the Award: Scholarships will be provided to key LMIC health care professionals to attend the 2018 IPOS Research Training Academy in Hong Kong.
The number of scholarships and capacity to cover expenses related to the IPOS Congress from October 31-November 2 following the RTA will depend on funding, and scholars need to be available for this period as well.

Type: Research, Training

Eligibility: 

• Professionals in LMIC must be within completion of their academic training and establishment of their independent careers (i.e., within 6 years after completion of their academic training). Exceptions may be made for participants who have had delays from extenuating circumstances (i.e., leave of absence from work for maternity/paternity, sickness, etc.).
• They must also be based in and conduct their research in LMIC in a variety of clinical or academic fields appropriate to the field of psycho-oncology (e.g., physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, epidemiologist).

Other criteria for eligibility are described below
Full eligibility criteria for the NCI Travel Scholarship application (please note that all criteria must be met):

• • Be a professional within completion of their academic training and establishment of their independent careers (i.e., within 6 years of completion of their academic training);
• • Be based in and conduct their research in LMIC in a variety of clinical or academic fields appropriate to the field of psycho-oncology (e.g., physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, epidemiologist);
• • Country of residence in Low-income and lower-middle income countries as defined by the World Bank: https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups;
• • Fluent in oral and written English;
• • Provide a photocopy of a national passport from the country of residence valid for the required period after departure from Hong Kong (November 3, 2018) – Please check with your appropriate embassy or consular authority to ensure your passport is valid for the required period;
• • Have no known criminal record;
• • If this is required (depends on the country of residence see link below), commit to obtain a Visit/Transit Visa from Hong Kong and show proof of this valid Visa to IPOS at least 2 months before the RTA (before August 28, 2018) https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/visit-transit/visit-visa-entry-permit.html; You can find the Visa form here: https://www.immd.gov.hk/pdforms/ID1003A.pdf
• • Be eligible to obtain a Visa from Hong Kong if a Visa is required: https://immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/visit_transit.html;
• • Commit to attend the three-day Research Training Academy on October 28-30 if selected to obtain a NCI Travel Scholarship;
• • Provided IPOS fundraising is successful, commit to attend the three day IPOS Congress in Hong Kong (on October 31-November 2) as well as specific events within this congress as mandated by the RTA Organizing Committee: http://www.ipos2018.com/;
• • Commit to developing a research project during the Research Training Academy and present it briefly in a 15-min presentation on the last day of the Academy;
• • Commit to being mentored during 6 meetings over one year by an IPOS researcher for continued scientific support in implementing a research project;
• • The Scholarships will comply with the Fly America Act, which will require that all domestic and international travel funded be purchased from a US-flag air carrier. The Fly America Act applies to any segment of a trip where a US-flag carrier is an available option;
• • Be open to sharing a hotel room in double occupancy during the Research Training Academy and Congress (with same sex pairing).

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: NCI Travel Scholarships will cover costs of training, flight, hotel and meals

Duration of Programme: October 28-30, 2018.

How to Apply: Please email your Scholarship Application Form including the Check List, a current copy of your Curriculum Vitae (CV) in English and a copy of your passport no later than June 22, 2018 to the following email: applications2018RTA@ipos-society.org. PLEASE NOTE THAT APPLICATIONS WITHOUT A 5-PAGE CV AND COPY OF PASSPORT WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Visit the Programme Webpage for Details

Award Providers:  International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS)

Important Note: Please note that travel arrangements and accommodations will be organized by IPOS for recipients of the NCI Travel Scholarship. There will be no possibility of extending or altering these plans.