New academic opportunities @ UNCTAD Virtual Institute - Student special!

I am pleased to forward the following academic offers proposed by members and partners of the Virtual Institute network. I hope you find them of interest.

EXTENDED DEADLINE - March 14
How sustainable is your thesis? The LATN network will award one prize of USD 2000 and two of USD 1500 to three post-graduate theses (Masters and/or PhD) dealing with themes of sustainability and green growth. Two special mentions of USD 500 will also be awarded.

LATN welcomes theoretical, empirical and comparative work, or case studies, that seek to analyze and provide innovative responses to challenges created by sustainability for Latin American countries, from the economic and social/institutional perspectives. The work must be original and individual, and written in Spanish, English or Portuguese.

Interested students must submit their entries in PDF format to [email protected] by March 14. Eligible theses must be finalized by 15 December 2014.

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Fellowships available for 2014-2015 Master's in Mauritius - Deadline April 30

Vi core member, the University of Mauritius, invites applications for the 2014-15 edition of its Master Programme in Social Protection Financing. The one-year, full-time programme is designed to provide students with the economic and business management tools required to contribute to the organization and evolution of social welfare programmes.

The International Development Research Centre will award fellowships covering transportation, tuition, medical insurance and some living costs to eligible candidates from sub-Saharan African countries selected to participate in the programme.

A maximum of 30 students will be accepted; priority will be given to serving officials from African social security institutions and ministries (managers, actuaries, financial and policy analysts), and from organisations representing African workers and employers. Other applicants will be considered if space permits.

Applications must be submitted no later than April 30. For more information, contact: [email protected].

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The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) invites post-graduate students to send innovative contributions to its new Young Scholars Think Piece Series. The Series aims to provide promising young researchers with an opportunity to present their research on a wider platform than is possible within a university setting, thereby contributing to the diversity of ideas within the development community.

The first edition welcomes think pieces of up to 2,000 words that speak to issues relevant to social development in mineral-rich contexts and/or related to extractive industries.

Selected scholars will be published on the UNRISD website, get feedback from its social development experts, connect with its network of academics, policy makers and civil society activists, and be recognized as a contributing scholar to United Nations research on social development.

Deadline for submissions is March 21. For more information, contact [email protected].

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The World Trade Organization will award CHF 5000 to the winner of this year's WTO Essay Award for Young Economists. The award will be announced at the annual meeting of the European Trade Study Group, and the winning essay will be published in the WTO Working Paper Series.

The paper, not to exceed 15,000 words, must address issues related to trade policy and international trade cooperation. Author(s) of the paper must possess or be engaged in the completion of a PhD degree and, if over 30 years of age, be no more than two years past a PhD defence.

Essays and author(s) CVs must be submitted to [email protected] by June 1.

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Best regards,

Susana Olivares
Virtual Institute
UNCTAD - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
Division on Globalization and Development Strategies
Palais des Nations
1211 Geneva 10 - Switzerland
Phone: +41 22 917 5823 Fax: +41-22 917 0050
Web: http://vi.unctad.org