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Supporting Research

As a worldwide reference on solar research, the SIDC is committed to share and expand its expertise through interaction with upcoming as well as more mature researchers. The SIDC’s Academic and Educational Program includes:

PhD Research Work

The SIDC observational infrastructure, in space and on the ground, produces cutting edge data on the physical nature of our star. PhD students contribute significantly to the exploitation of these data and their interpretation through theoretical modeling and simulations. Once per year, an Open Call is issued for “ROB PhD Grants” to attract new, promising young researchers. SIDC scientists act as promoters, co-promoters, supervisors, or jury members of the PhD students, through this and other grants.

Research Visits

Several teams within the SIDC have set up guest investigator programmes, which invite PhD students as well as more senior researchers to collaborate on the team’s research topic, while learning to use their specific data. These collaborations mostly take the form of research visits where the teams work closely together for a couple of weeks. For more information on current calls for guest investigators, please contact the GI team. Practical information for visitors can be found in our welcome book.

The STCE also has a visitor programme on which the SIDC researchers can invite collaborators for a research visit.

Academic Lecturing

The SIDC is part of the Belgian research community and hence its senior researchers contribute at universities in Belgium and abroad, to lecturing academic courses in solar physics and space weather. These lectures expose the students to the disciplines in which SIDC excels.

Master Thesis Work and Stages

Students conducting their Master thesis work or stages are welcomed in the research teams of SIDC for what is often their first real hands-on experience in research. Also engineering students are much appreciated for their contributions in pioneering and development projects. Foreign students can be supported by ROB grants for a research visit.

Specialised Trainings

Besides research, SIDC is also tasked to contribute scientific services to society. Therefore when the SIDC scientific disciplines connect to societal needs, the expertise is shared through specialised trainings and schools, often organised in collaboration with external partners. One example of this are the substantial contributions that SIDC researchers bring to the Space Weather Introductory Course of the STCE.

Workshop Organization

The SIDC is very experienced in the organisation of various types of meetings. In the past we have set up a vast number of meetings, ranging from small-scale workshops and trainings, to the widely attended European Space Weather Week.