IEEE South Australia Section Student Travel Assistance Fund

Overview

The IEEE SA Section has established a fund to provide financial assistance to students travelling to electrical, electronic and computer engineering related events. This Travel Assistance Fund is intended to be accessible to all students in South Australia, with preference being given to IEEE (student) members. The purpose of the fund is to assist with travel expenses for individuals participating in events related to the IEEE's technical and professional interests. These include, but are not limited to,

Participation in an IEEE or other technical conference, workshop, or symposium, to present a paper, seminar, or tutorial.
Presentation of a talk, seminar, workshop or tutorial to an organisation or conference.

The fund is intended to be used to supplement expenses that normally would be incurred personally by the applicant (not by the applicant’s employer or sponsor). It is therefore expected that the applicant has exhausted all other avenues for funding before applying for the IEEE SA Travel Fund.

Funds Available

The Travel Assistance Fund is currently limited annually to the amount of $6000. The maximum amount an individual can obtain in any funding round is $1000 for participation in an overseas event or $300 for participation in an interstate event. Only in special circumstances will funding be given for participation in an event in South Australia. In all cases the amount offered will be dependent on the total expense incurred. The funds will be provided by way of reimbursement upon presentation of receipts after the event.

Application Procedure

Applications will be solicited in two rounds per year. The dates of each round are:

Round 1: Applications close 28 February. Notification of acceptance/rejection by 31 March
Round 2: Applications close 31 August Notification of acceptance/rejection by 30 September

It is intended (but not mandatory) that half of the Travel Assistance Fund will be allocated in each funding round.

If an application is rejected in one round, then the applicant cannot submit an application for the same event in any subsequent round. A successful applicant in one round cannot apply for funds in the subsequent two rounds (even if for different events). Applications should include the following information (where relevant):

Name, affiliation and contact details of applicant
Membership grade and number
Reason for travel (including brief description of event)
Destination, travel budget
Expected sources and amounts of other funding
Amount requested
Indication of the type and status of the publication (e.g. full paper peer reviewed, abstract, accepted, submitted)
Copy of submitted or accepted publication
Copies of referee’s reports
Plans for presenting a seminar upon return (see Conditions of Funding)
Any other relevant information

Applications should be submitted in electronic format by email to:

south.australia@ieee.org

All applicants will be notified of the outcome by the notification date for the given application round.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be judged by the elected officers of the IEEE SA Section Executive Committee. The following are the criteria the selection committee will be applying:

Relevance of the event, and the applicant's contribution, to IEEE interests.
Contribution the applicant can make to other IEEE members and the general community via a presentation and report after the event.
The significance of the contribution, including:

Whether the contribution is an invited paper, peer reviewed paper, keynote address or an abstract.

The ratings given by referees in the reviews.

Preference will normally be given to IEEE (student) members.
Whether an award has previously been made to the applicant.
Any other matters deemed relevant by the selection committee.

Conditions of Funding

A successful applicant must agree to the following conditions to be eligible to receive funding:

Provide receipts, or evidence of travel expenses, upon return. These must be evidence of personal (out of pocket) expenses paid directly by the applicant, not by the applicant’s employer or sponsor. IEEE will only reimburse the applicant, not the applicant’s employer or sponsor.
Prepare a report on the event attended, the applicants’ involvement and any outcomes. This must be delivered to the Section within two months of the attendance to the event. The applicant must agree for this report to be made publicly available by the IEEE SA Section (e.g. on a Web site).
Deliver a presentation on the applicants’ involvement in the event. This may be, for example:

It is the applicant’s responsibility to organise the presentation and obtain endorsement from a relevant IEEE entity (this endorsement is mandatory). The presentation may be in conjunction with another activity of one of the Chapters, RIGs or Student Branches. A proposal for this presentation should be included in the application.

The funds may be made available upon presentation of receipts, on the condition that the report and presentation will be completed by the applicant.

Contact

Contact the IEEE SA Section Secretary for any enquiries regarding the travel fund.

Download a copy of the guidelines here.