Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research
Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research

Coordinated by the OAD in partnership with the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, Physical Sciences (NWO)

This program is INACTIVE

Background:  In many developing regions of the world the standard of education, especially at university level, could benefit greatly through visits by international experts. The IAU strategic plan identifies visiting scientist programmes as a key means to stimulate the development of astronomy in target regions. The visit by an expert scientist or engineer to a developing country/region can have an impact on all areas of development targeted by the IAU strategic plan, namely school level education; public understanding of science; and university level education and research. The Netherlands is home to many excellent scientists and engineers, especially in the field of astronomy. Facilitating visits by some of these experts to developing regions can not only benefit the target country but also broaden the perspectives of the Dutch scientists involved, and allows for opportunities to explore collaborations with developing countries on science, technology and innovation projects.

Who can apply?  Experts based in the Netherlands (read the page on NWO website)

Deadline for applications:  CLOSED 

Applications:  CLOSED 

Terms (Please read before applying for funding):

  1. The visit should be preceded with detailed communication with a well established contact in the region. This could be via a Regional Node of the OAD, as envisaged by the IAU strategic plan, or a personal contact. In either case the proposed visit should have a strategic rationale. The application process will be an iterative one, in which the OAD and the Regional Node (where applicable) will provide strategic guidance. Potential applicants should therefore contact the OAD early in the process.
  2. A plan for the visit should be drawn up and submitted in consultation with the OAD, bearing in mind that the bulk of the preparatory work should be done by the applicant. The online application form contains details required for the plan.
  3. The visitor should be an established researcher/engineer, whose visit will provide a clear benefit to the host country.
  4. The visiting expert should interact closely with the hosting scientists/engineers/educators and their students, and should also deliver topical lectures and seminars that could be of broader interest at the host institution. Possible activities involving all three focus areas should be considered (i.e. areas of school level education; public understanding of science; university level education and research).
  5. The duration of the visit should be a minimum of one week, but longer visits will be encouraged. Multiple visits to the same country will also be allowed, provided an application is made and approved for each visit.
  6. The cost of the visit will be shared by the NWO-OAD grant and the host institution. The grant will be provided primarily to cover the expenses for the visiting scientist to travel to and from the host institution for the visit. The host institution will be required to cover local expenses and arrange accommodation for the visitor. In some special cases of the least developed countries, the grant may provide limited additional funds to supplement the provisions of the host institution.
  7. The maximum NWO-OAD grant contribution will be 2000 Euro. Additional support leveraged from other sources (agencies, foundations, etc) will also be acceptable and will be considered favourably in reviewing the applications.
  8. After the visit, the visiting scientist and the host will be required to provide reports describing the activities of the visit, the impact on the three areas of astronomy for development in the country and recommendations regarding further actions.
  9. Selection will be based on the scientific and educational merits of the application and on the strategic impact of the visit to the country and the region.

Grant Recipients:

This grant was awarded to Prof. Simon Portegies Zwart and Dr. Jarle Brinchmann for a two week visit to Colombia under the AstroTwinCoLo Twinning Programme. For two weeks, they gave lectures to advanced undergraduate students as well as a number of public lectures.

Lectures that were given by Leiden professor Simon Portegies and Jarle Brinchmann:-

AstroTwinCoLo, 2015 – Computational Astrophysics
– 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPdkBLbDPtqoHDcjUweIJqe6GKnOz0-Qw

AstroTwinCoLo, 2015 – Galaxy Formation – 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPdkBLbDPtqq8eulM1dLtSrgr7TIOnTvb