Special Grant Program for International Students (April 2025)

Special Grant Program for International Students / Research Assistant Program of Graduate School of Environmental Science (April 2025)

This program will select students who can likely contribute internationally in their research field, from those applying to doctoral courses at the Graduate School of Environmental Science.
Participating in research as a Research Assistant (RA) is very meaningful to develop your research ability. Each Research Assistant must serve to achieve the objective of a research subject directed by a Graduate School of Environmental Science faculty member. The research subjects are listed below.

Period

Maximum 3 years, with the annual extension subject to evaluation of achievements by a faculty committee.

Qualifications of application (Eligibility):

Students (mainly from developing countries) who seek admission to the doctor courses of the Graduate School of Environmental Science.
〈Notes〉
If the students of this Special Grant Program are also selected as recipients of the doctoral fellowships, they must choose one of them and decline the others.

Payment Exemption / RA Allowance:

Payment Exemption: Total amount of school fees is entirely covered by Hokkaido University (i.e., entrance exam fee of 30,000 yen, admission fee of 282,000 yen, and the annual tuition fee of 535,800 yen for each of three years). RA Allowance (depending on the actual working time): Total 3 million yen (1 million yen annually for three years)
The applicant should meet travel expenses for the entrance exam.

Application Deadline

12 December (Thursday) 2024

Application for the program:

Applicants are required to submit the documents listed below via email. The documents should not be written in a language other than English.

1. Curriculum vitae with the applicant’s photograph
2. Academic transcripts
3. Graduation certificate
4. A list of publications and presentations in scientific meetings
5. A research proposal
6. Direction and comments of potential supervisor and at least one co-supervisor, including proofs of communication between you and the potential supervisors
7. Master’s thesis or other documents in proof of your research ability

Reference and address to apply

Academic Affairs Section
Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University
E-mail: kyomu (at) ees.hokudai.ac.jp

List of possible research subjects (April 2025)

Title:  Applications of Multi-sensor Geospatial Data in Environmental Monitoring
Professor: Ram Avtar

Globally, the number of disasters is increasing and causing disturbances in terrestrial ecosystems. Typhoons, landslides, and forest fires are common catastrophic hazards causing disturbances to forest ecosystems. The impact of these hazards can be minimized using various management practices. Geospatial data with multi-sensor remote sensing techniques can potentially monitor and assess forest cover, deforestation, forest degradation, and recovery during and after these hazards. The development of an early warning system can reduce the impacts of these hazards. Therefore, the aim of this study is to apply multi-sensor geospatial and ground-based information and advanced machine learning algorithms to monitor the terrestrial ecosystem precisely, which can help in policy-relevant solutions. The successful candidate must have knowledge of geospatial data and tools to engage in relevant research.

Title: Construction of photo-controllable on-demand hydrogen evolution systems
Professor: Katsuaki Konishi

Hydrogen (H2) is expected to be a key fuel for the sustainable future as a clean energy source. This project aims to construct photo-controllable hydrogen evolution systems from stable hydrogen sources such as ammonia borane, specifically by using atomically precise small metal clusters that show unique reactivity upon visible light excitation. Through the mechanism-based optimization of metal-cluster-based catalysts, ideal on-demand visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution systems will be explored. A successful candidate is expected to have a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science at the time of joining and he/she is expected to have sufficient knowledge of synthetic organic/inorganic chemistry, optical spectroscopy and crystallographic/microscopic techniques.

Title: Development of structurally and electronically engineered nanoscale and mesoscopic materials by top-down reactions
Professor: Vasudevan Pillai Biju

Nanoscale and mesoscopic materials with controlled electronic, optical, physical, and structural properties are commonly developed by bottom up chemical methods. However, the properties of materials prepared by bottom up methods are closely correlated to their size and shape, requiring tedious size and shape control by precisely adjusting thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of nucleation-growth processes. This project aims to accomplish size- and shape-controlled chemical preparation of nanoscale and mesoscale materials with tunable optical and electronic properties by top-down chemical routes using microscopic materials and chemical reagents.