For 2010, the University has established a fund to support research students to attend a conference to present a paper.  The second round for applications is now open.

Who is eligible?

You must be:

• A PhD student at the University of Essex, in your minimum period
• You must have been accepted to present a paper at a conference (you may apply if you have a proposal pending)
• The conference must be of national/international standing

You must have submitted a proposal to present a conference paper by the time of application. In the event of an award being made, confirmation that the paper has been accepted must be provided two months before the date of the conference. If your paper is not accepted, you will not be funded to attend the conference.

 In addition, you must have: 

• Applied for support for funding from your department

The availability of other funding, for example for research council funded students, will be taken into account.

 How will applications be judged?

 Applications that meet the eligibility criteria above will be assessed as follows:

• The statement provided by the student covering:

  • the benefits of attending the conference for their research and professional development

• The statement of support provided by the supervisor

How much money is available?

£11,000 is available for the second round. Individual grants will be made up to a maximum of £1,000 per student. Only one application may be made by each student.  Students who received funding in the first round are not eligible to apply in the second round.

What can the money be spent on?

The fund is available to cover the costs of the fee for conference attendance, return travel to the conference and accommodation while attending the conference.

When is the funding available?

The monies will be available from May 2010 and must be reclaimed by 31 April 2011. The funding is not available to reimburse costs retrospectively (ie. for conferences before 1 May 2010).

Conditions of award

Successful applicants will be required to provide a short report setting out the benefits of having attended the conference.

How do I apply?

Applications should be made using the application form below. The form needs to be submitted with a supporting statement from your supervisor, and handed in to your department.

Your department will rank all the applications received and forward the top three to the Graduate School for consideration as part of the University-wide competition.

When do I need to apply?

Your application form should be submitted to the Graduate Administrator in your department by 4.00pm on 30 April 2010.

Successful applicants will be notified in June 2010.

Conference Fund application form. Please note that application forms cannot be submitted electronically.

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