As one of its contributions to development co-operation, K.U.Leuven offers each academic year scholarships to deserving students from developing countries to do their PhD in the largest university in Flanders, Belgium.

Also commonly referred to as the IRO scholarships (IRO in Dutch stands for Interfacultaire Raad voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking), this scholarship programme has supported more than sixty Ph.D. graduates over the past five years. After obtaining their doctorates at K.U.Leuven, these Ph.D. holders are now valorising their degrees in their home countries either in university academic research or in various sectors of industry.

Essential to the application for the IRO scholarship and to completing a doctoral programme successfully is the choice of a good doctoral research topic and supervisor. New applicants are now provided two alternatives: either by selecting amongst the priority research fields offered by the doctoral schools or by submitting their own personal research proposal.

K.U.Leuven, which is situated at about 20 kilometers from Brussels, the capital of both Belgium and Europe, is the oldest university of the Low Countries. As such, it has a long-standing tradition of hospitality towards students and scholars from abroad. At present, almost 4,000 international students (about 10% of the total number of students at K.U.Leuven) have found their home away from home in Leuven.

Closing date: November 30, 2008

For more information, please visit the official announcement.

RESEARCH ASSISTANT (FOR PHD STUDIES)
Position opens: January 2009
Project duration: 2009 – 2012 (4 years)
Project title: Simulation Based Solutions for Industrial Manufacture of Large Infusion Composite Parts (INFUCOMP) – Framework program 7 of the European Commission

K.U. Leuven is responsible for the work package of the project: “Characterisation of the fabric deformation”

Objectives of the work

1. The modelling work follows two parallel (but interrelated) routes;
   a. macro-model development for models to be implemented in existing state-of-the-art draping software PAM-FORM;
   b. and mathematical meso-modelling to extend the WiseTex software, with the aim to replace/reduce testing and provide (future) direct input to FE analysis.
2. Compare the macro-models; one (or both) will be selected and used for drape modelling and provide input for infusion/mechanical performance data.
3. New tests on the selected project fabrics will be performed to gather essential data on deformation, shear and through-thickness compression behaviour. Data will be used for fabric modelling and, furthermore, permeability testing/modelling.
4. Experimental work will contribute to ‘standardisation’ of fabric testing and, where necessary, new procedures will be proposed. It is expected there will be a useful contribution to future standards.

PhD Scholarships in Characterisation of the Fabric Deformation, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium … read more »