Mosaic

Ethnic minorities are currently under-represented in Dutch academic research. The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science are keen to promote diversity and are concerned about the present loss of talent to the academic world. In 2002, NWO commissioned an investigation into the causes of under-representation by gathering information on the number of ethnic minority researchers working in the Dutch universities and their experiences in the universities. A survey shows that almost none of the universities' academic staff are drawn from the Netherlands' main imigrant communities – especially those from Turkey, Morocco, Surinam and the Antilles. On the other hand, recently both the number of students from these minorities enrolling at universities and the proportion of them succesfully completing their degree courses have increased. Clearly, something is keeping these graduates from moving on into doctoral research. The problem appears to be twofold: academic institutions do not identify well potential doctoral students form the minorities, persuading them to stay on, and potential doctoral students are often unaware of the opportunities and lack the necessary network.

Based on this information, NWO and the Ministry of OCW conceived a programme that aims at helping representatives of ethnic minorities into the world of science. This Mozaïek (Mosaic) programme started in 2004.

Who can apply

Applicants must comply with the following three criteria:

1. Both their parents must have been born in one of the target countries (see list at the back of the Mozaïek brochure)
   or:
   both the candidate and at least one of his/her parents must have been born in one of these countries;
2. The candidate must have graduated from or be a final year student at a Dutch university and have completed the entire university degree in the Netherlands. There are a number of possible exceptions to this criterion, for details please see the Mozaïek brochure;
3. Only graduates who have not accepted a position to study for a PhD at the time of the awarding of the grant may submit an application.

What can be applied for

Subsidies will be awarded in the form of a lump sum (personal grant). For a four-year period of doctoral research, the maximum amount will be EUR 200,000 (in total for staff costs and associated research costs).

When can be applied

• The closing date for submitting brief research ideas was 31 January 2012 23:59 hrs
• The closing date for submitting full proposals is 22 May 2012 23:59 hrs

Extra Information

Applications must be written in English.

Criteria

The assessment criteria are fully specified in the brochure. An English brochure is available.

Procedure

Full information on participation, criteria and procedure can be found in the brochure. Read this brochure carefully!

The procedure in a nutshell: Interested persons have the opportunity to apply at NWO until 31 January 2012 by submitting a brief research idea using the application form at the bottom of this page. Each candidate also submits a recommendation letter by a proposed supervisor at one of the Dutch universities. A maximum of 40 candidates are invited to the workshop days. During these workshop days they will get advice on how to develop their initial idea into a detailed research proposal. They will then present their detailed proposals to a selection committee. In case of sufficient quality approximately 20 thesis proposals can be approved. The results will be made known by the end of July 2012.

Committees

The Mosaic committee represents all NWO Divisions.

Budget

There subsidy round in 2012 has an available budget of 4 million euro which will be used to award approximately 20 Mosaic grants.

Financiers

NWO has decided to make 2 million euro available for the Mosaic programme. The ministry of Culture, Education and Science has contributed 2 million euro as well. A number of universities may provide additional PhD positions.

Contacts

• Coördinator Mozaïek
  e-mail: mozaiek@nwo.nl

Documentation for applying electronically