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What does the South want?
How to feed and employ a growing population? How to compete in world trade? Developing countries want to build their own local expertise, but face the risk of brain drain. The answer is: training local experts at their home institute in a partnership with Wageningen University . That is the unique aim of the Wageningen Sandwich PhD Fellowships
What is a sandwich PhD project?
A PhD project, anywhere in the world, usually takes four years. The disadvantage of a ‘standard’ PhD project is that the four years are spent in one place only: either at the local university or abroad. A sandwich PhD project is different. Students enjoy the support of both their home institute and their supervisor at Wageningen University .
The PhD student starts with a stay of six to eight months in Wageningen to work out a full project plan, study literature and take introductory courses.
The actual research takes place in the student's own country under local supervision, for about three years. Regular contact with the supervisor in Wageningen goes by email. In between, the student often brings a short visit to Wageningen and the supervisor may visit the student's institute.
When all data are collected, the PhD student returns to Wageningen to finish the PhD thesis in approximately six months. The local supervisor comes to Wageningen to act as co-promoter in the graduation ceremony.
Quality control
Applications for a sandwich fellowship outnumber by far the available places. Only the best candidates with the most original and innovative research proposals are selected.
After acceptance, sandwich PhD students enrol in one of the Wageningen Graduate Schools, which are accredited by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences. The full project plan is once again reviewed, students follow a tailor-made education and training programme, participate in international and local symposia, take postgraduate courses, and publish their work in high-standing journals.
Advantages
The PhD students conduct research that is in the interest of (and funded by) their home country and often fits within a larger national research and development programme.
The shared responsibility of the local institute and Wageningen University creates a unique and fruitful combination of location-specific knowledge and international scientific exposure. That is beneficial to the student and contributes to capacity building of the local institute.
Sandwich PhD students develop an international scientific network, but remain strongly committed to their home institute. Their PhD degree often gives a boost to their local career: brain gain instead of brain drain.
Costs
The out-of-pocket costs of a Sandwich PhD Fellowship are € 40.000, covering eighteen months of stay in Wageningen, travel costs of student and supervisors, insurance, visa costs, etc.
Moreover, Wageningen provides supervision, education and training, and a waiver for the university fee, which represents another € 30.000.
The home institute or another sponsor covers local supervision and research costs.
Impact and future
Since the sandwich PhD programme started, in 1986, more than one hundred students graduated successfully. In fact, about sixty of the two hundred PhD students that graduate each year in Wageningen originate from a developing country: more than at all other Dutch universities taken together.
With fifteen fellowships per year, the Wageningen sandwich PhD programme accounts for twenty percent of all international PhD students. Eighty percent are fully funded by governments, local institutes, industry, international funds, etc. While this illustrates our strong international linkages, many of these students (and their home institute) would benefit from a longer stay in Wageningen than their current fellowship allows. Also, there is still room for more PhD students. Therefore, Wageningen University seeks to expand its sandwich PhD fellowship programme through partnerships with other organisations involved in capacity development in the South.