Economy and Environment Master’s and Doctoral Scholarship Program Selection Announcement – Year 2017

 

The Choices Institute

Founded in 2015, the Choices Institute is a think tank that endeavors to qualify the debate on sustainability by numerically translating the economic, social, and environmental impacts of public and private decisions. Through studies, analyses and reports, it provides new perspectives and arguments that can overcome the ideological polarization of the conflicting choices inherent to planning (trade-off). The Choices Institute understands that only qualified arguments can support informed decisions, allowing the construction of effective solutions for the sustainable development.

To learn more about the Choices Institute’s work access the website: escolhas.org

The Choices Institute Economics and Environment Chair

The Economics and Environment Chair aims to foster, in Brazil, the teaching and research of contemporary and global socio-environmental issues from an economic sciences perspective. With actions to stimulate cooperation between Brazilian and foreign research and teaching institutions, the Chair intends to the strengthen training and research in this area. To achieve this, the Chair will contribute towards expanding the number of researchers that are addressing the complexity of environmental issues in an objective way, establishing bridges of dialogue between the diverse understandings that are so important for overcoming the dilemmas inherent Brazil’s development processes.

Among the Chair’s objectives is the promotion of research among students (master’s and doctoral) on contemporary socio-environmental issues from an economic sciences perspective, through the offer of scholarships.

Itaú-Unibanco is the principal sponsor or the Economy and Environment Chair.

The Scholarship Program

The Choices Institute Scholarship Program aims to encourage the training of professionals who can develop critical thinking and research excellence on contemporary socio-environmental issues from an economic sciences perspective by awarding scholarships to master’s and doctoral students with outstanding academic commitment.

For the presentation and discussion of their work, the Choices Institute scholarship fellows will have access to the Choices Institute team.  For those interested, Choices can also provide contact with the Chair’s professors/researchers and with managers and experts dedicated to environmental themes.

Through the Nucleus of Studies into Environment and Urban Centers, Insper will be able to support the research of the scholarship fellows, as well promoting Workshops/Conferences to discuss the results of the research carried out.

In addition, fellows will have preferential enrolment in the courses offered under the Choices Chair.

 

1. Prerequisites:

To be able to compete for the scholarship, applicants must:

• Be Brazilian or naturalized Brazilian;
• Be regularly enrolled in a stricto sensu Brazilian master’s or doctoral postgraduate degree program in the Economic Sciences field;
• Only candidates with master’s and doctoral degrees who complete the first year of the course and/or with a minimum of 50% of credits may be admitted to the selection process;
• Demonstrate interest in developing a research project on contemporary socio-environmental issues from an economic sciences perspective, resulting in a dissertation or thesis.
• The topics of interest to the Choices Institute are:
  • Low carbon economy;
  • Valuation of environmental services;
  • Environmental risks of the financial system;
  • Cities and Low Carbon Economy:
  • Water;
  • The selection process will not be restricted to the topics mentioned in item 1.5 above.

 

2. Duration:
   • The maximum duration of the master’s scholarship is 12 months, and the doctorate is 12 months, with possibility of extension for another 12 months;
   • The candidate will not be permitted to accumulate other scholarships in conjunction with the Choices scholarship;
   • The scholarship cannot be used beyond the duration of the master’s and doctorate course regulated by the student’s original graduate program;
   • The verification count of the months specified above will be carried out from the official date of admission;

3. Selection Process:

The selection process for the Choices Institute Economics and Environment Master’s and Doctoral Scholarship Program is composed of two stages, consecutive and eliminatory: application and analysis of the research project and curriculum.

3.1 Stage 1 – Registration:

3.1.1. Applications are permitted during the period from December 16, 2016 to February 3, 2017.

3.1.2. The candidate should send the following documents to institutional@escolhasemail.org e-mail:

1. Letter of interest, containing motivation for applying for the scholarship and its benefits, and contact information (including e-mail)
2. Current Curriculum Vitae;
3. For applicants to the Master’s Research Project Scholarship, a maximum of 10 pages – in Times News Roman font, body 12, single space, footnotes in size 10 and single spacing – that describe the following items: candidate’s name, Postgraduate program, project title, objective, justification, methodology, bibliography to be used, description of the research stages and execution schedule;
4. For applicants to the Doctoral Research Project Scholarship, a maximum of 15 pages – in Times News Roman font, body 12, simple space, footnotes in size 10 and single spacing – that describe the following items: project title, goal, justification, bibliographic review, methodology, description of the research stages and execution schedule;
5. Declaration of matriculation signed and stamped by the coordination of the postgraduate program;
6. History of the course, with its academic performance, signed and stamped by the coordination of the postgraduate program;
7. Reference letter signed by the academic advisor.

3.1.3. Only candidates who send the complete documentation as specified in item 3.1.2 will proceed to the second stage.

• Stage 2 – Evaluation of the Curriculum and Research Project

3.2.1      The evaluating body that will judge the CVs and research projects of the candidate shall comprise:

Lígia Vasconcellos – Choices Institute

Rudi Rocha – Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Priscila Borin Claro – Insper

Eduardo Souza-Rodrigues – University of Toronto

Fernanda Estevan – University  of São Paulo

3.2.2 Candidates’ curricula will be evaluated according to their academic performance, particularly in quantitative matters.

3.2.3 Research projects will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. Relevance and originality of the research project;
2. Feasibility of the research in relation to the execution time and methodologies used;
3. Adequacy of the project concerning the thematic area and the general conditions of the Selection Announcement;
4. Clarity, coherence, and textual quality of the project;
5. Theoretical-methodological consistency;
6. Adequacy of bibliographic sources for the development of research.

3.2.4 The result of the second stage will be announced to the candidates by e-mail.

• Scolarchip obligations:

 4.1 At the end of each semester of the scholarship, a partial report explaining the academic and research activities carried out during the period must be submitted;

• Doctoral scholarship fellows who, at the end of the first scholarship year, wish to apply for a scholarship renewal for the second year, must express interest by submitting all partial reports of the first year and literature review regarding the object of the research project for evaluation by the Choices Institute;
• Participate in at least one congress or seminar in the area, with the presentation of academic work, during the period of validity of the scholarship;
• Be available, when invited, to meet with the Choices Institute (distance or face-to-face) to discuss scholarship issues or present research results;
• At the end of the scholarship period, submit a copy of the dissertation or thesis that will be made available on the Choices Institute website;
• All publication, presentation at events or exposition of the work resulting from the research project supported with resources from this Selection Announcement shall mention, compulsorily, the support of The Choices Institute;
• Communicate to the Choices Institute any change related to the execution of the project accompanied by appropriate justification.

 

• Quantity and values of the scholarships:

 The Choices Institute will be offering, through this proposal, 02 master’s scholarships and 01 doctoral scholarship;

• The master’s scholarship will be R $ 1,500.00;
• The doctoral scholarship will be R $ 2,200.00;

5.3.1      The Institute will also provide a research grant equivalent to up to 20% of the value of the scholarship. This value is exclusively for proven research expenditure.

• Selection Timeline:

 

Stage	Date/Period
Release of selection announcement	16/11/2016
Registration period and receipt of documentation	16/11/2016 a 03/02/2017
Result of the selection	06/03/2017

 

• General Provisions:
  • In the event of the dismissal of the scholarship fellows from their respective Postgraduate programs, the board of the Choices Institute must be notified immediately, and any undue amounts received by the scholarship after the dismissal must be returned to The Choices Institute;
  • The implementation of the scholarship will only take effect after signing the signed Grant Agreement, and it is not possible to pay retroactive months;
  • The scholarship holder must open a bank account indicated by The Choices Institute to receive the proceeds;
  • Proposals submitted by any other means will not be accepted, nor after the deadline of receipt established on schedule (item 6);
  • A single proposal per tenderer will be accepted. In the event of a second proposal by the same applicant, this shall be considered a substitute for the earlier, the last proposal received only being considered for review ;
  • The Choices Institute reserves the right to undertake the periodic monitoring of the implementation of the research project, through e-mails, special forms or meetings;
  • The scholarship grant may be cancelled by the Choices Institute Board of Directors for occurrences of such severity that warrant cancellation, without prejudice to other arrangements applicable ;
  • Questions and clarifications about this notice should be sent exclusively to the e-mail address institucional@escolhasemail.org
  • The omissive cases herein will be settled by the Choices Institute Board of Directors.

 

São Paulo, November 16, 2016

Lígia Vasconcellos

Scientific Director of the Choices Institute