Graduate Research Office Conference and Research Travel Scheme Guidelines

Graduate Research Office Conference and Research Travel Scheme Guidelines / 2016 /
/ Graduate Research Office
Conference and Research Travel SchemeGuidelines

OVERVIEW

Conference attendance is recognised as an important research activity that contributes to the research abilities and profile of a graduate research candidate. Similar benefits can be gained from participating in research coursework or other research training activities at research facilities or institutions of international standing in a candidate’s discipline area. Significant skills and networking opportunities can be gained from these activities.

The Graduate Research Office Conference and Research Travel Schemewas established to provide assistance to candidates to participate in one such important activity.It is a very competitive grand round (approximately 30% success rate) which must target a conferenceor research activity that is international in scope or otherwise highly significant to the research field and of direct relevance to the candidate’s research project. These activities must be shown to add value to core research (eg publication of an article).

Activities eligible for funding under this scheme

presenting a paper, defending a poster and/or actively participating in a discipline specific context at a conference;
participating in a course, placement/internship;
traveling to access relevant, high quality archives; attending highly specialised workshops or research facilities to learn an essential method, technique or information not available/accessible at the home institution; or
undertaking concentrated engagement with experts in the research project area at a reputable international research facility.

Candidates can only be awarded this grant once during the course of the candidature. The funding should contribute to the cost of the most economical return airfare or travel cost, accommodation and meals, and registration fees.

The Scheme will provide up to 50% to a maximum of $2,500 of the funding required to participate in the proposed activity, with the remainder to be provided from the candidate’s School/Institute or other source. If a candidate is undertaking a research travel trip that includes more than one research training activity, they must nominate in their application the one activity for which they are seeking support from the Candidate Conference and Research Travel Fund.

A grant recipient must submit an expense reconciliation anda half page report to the Graduate Research Office on the outcomes/outputs that have resulted from their research travel no more than six (6) months after the supported research training activity has been completed. It is also normally expected that a candidate who receives support from the Fund will provide a seminar/report back to the appropriate area within the School/Institute. (Such an activity may constitute all or part of the report).

There are three opportunities to apply for funding throughout the year. Applications will only be considered if lodged by the closing dates below.

2016APPLICATION ROUNDS

Round 1 - Closing date for applications:29 January 2016

Round 2 – Closing date for applications: 31May 2016

Round 3 - Closing date for applications:30 September 2016

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Late, incomplete or retrospective applications will not be considered (A grant will only be awarded where the conference or research activity has not already occurred or has not commenced at the closing date of relevant round.)
Applications must be sent electronically,as a single pdf, to .

(A confirmation email will be sent by GRO within 48 hours of an application being received).

Applications will be accepted without confirmation of conference/course enrolment/visit or placement; however, funds will only be issued once the candidate has supplied written confirmation.
Any changes to travel plans or to the conference/event to be attended must be communicated to the Graduate Research Office before funds are committed
Funds will be transferred to a School account and candidates will be required to liaise with the appropriate School representative for access to the funds.
A candidate may submit a maximum of two applications in any one round. If two applications are submitted they must relate to two separate conferences/research activities and must be tailored to the application at hand. Unnecessary duplications, for instance in candidate or supervisor statements, could lead to the disqualification of both applications.
Candidates will only be eligible for one grant through the scheme in the course of their current candidature.
Statements must be signed and include a word count for both candidate and supervisor statements.An application will not be considered where a statement exceeds 300 words or a statement is not signed (electronic signatures are permitted).

Acceptable signatures include: pen to paper; embedded jpeg or pdf; an email that is clearly from a UTAS staff account; or use of the signature function in adobe acrobat

Travel quotes must be obtained by conducting a web based search, however all bookings, if successful in the round, must be bookedthroughthe official UTAS travel suppliers.
Excessive or extraneous information hampers the committee’s decisionand may disqualify an applicant.

Committee members do not require conference process paperwork

A brief CV is an economical way of presenting academic achievements (i.e. awards, conference participation, successful grant involvement, publications).

Provide a copy of thesubmittedabstract.

eligibility

To be eligible for conference or research travel funding the candidate must -

Be enrolled in a higher degree by research at UTAS on a part time or full time basis.
Be within the maximum period of their candidature (4 years equivalent full time for doctoral study, or 2 years equivalent full time for masters study) at the time of the proposed conference or research activity.
Have submitted all required reports to date (e.g. research plan, confirmation, annual review of progress). Note:If an annual review is overdue by2months or more, this will constitute grounds for disqualification.
Have presented/defended a poster or given an oral presentation at the annual Graduate Research Conference, also known as SEIR. Candidates commencing prior to January 1, 2011 are exempt from this criterion as are those who can provide written authorisation of exemption from the Associate Dean of Research Training.
Candidates must be actively participating in the research conference, as presenting author of either an oral presentation or poster defence, or panel member of a research workshop. The work presented/discussed must have been undertaken during candidature.

Candidates not eligible to apply –

Candidates who have not presented/defended a poster or given an oral presentation at the annual Graduate Research Conference, also known as SEIR. Candidates commencing prior to January 1, 2011 are exempt from this criterion, as are candidates who can provide written evidence of exemption from participating at the Graduate Research Conference, (see application form).
Candidates who have exceeded the maximum degree period of candidature (i.e. 4 years full time equivalent for PhD and 2 years full time equivalent for Masters) at the time of the application.
Candidates who are pre confirmation.
Candidates on a Candidature Management Plan at the time of application.
Candidates on suspension from candidature during the time of the application or the research activity.
Candidates who are not actively presenting/participating at the conference/workshop where this is the proposed research activity (attendance-only conferences/workshops are not funded).
Candidates who have already received funding under the Scheme.
Candidates who have already participated in the conference or research activity for which they are applying for support, i.e. retrospective applications not accepted.
Candidates where an Annual Review is more than 2 months overdue.

PROCESS

Where a grant is needed for other research activities, a case must be presented for the benefits/skills/value that would come from the undertaking the research activity and the particular infrastructure, expertise being accessed.
Applications will be accepted without confirmation of conference/course/placement involvement however funds will only be issued once the candidate has supplied confirmation of the acceptance of the paper/poster/panel membership, course registration or other arrangements.
Late, incomplete or retrospective applications will not be considered i.e. supervisor and candidate statements, research activity and conference information must be received before the deadline.
Applications will be considered by a committee convened by the Dean of Graduate Research.
In the event that the dollar value of successful applications exceeds the available funding, the Dean of Graduate Research will have the option of reducing the per candidate allocation.
The Scheme will usually provide 50%, to a maximum of $2,500, of the required funds. The remainder is to be provided by the School/Institute or other source (e.g. funding agency, personal funds).
The Scheme will be administered by the Dean or Deputy Dean of Graduate Research, who will approve transfer of funds to individual Schools/Institutes. Candidates will be required to liaise with the appropriate School/Institute representative for access to the funds.
Part time candidates should note that there may be tax implications associated with receipt of funds under this Scheme.
All travel is to be undertaken in accordance with the University Travel Policy and Guidelines. Note that research trips that combine private travel beyond the proportion allowed by the policy (30%) can only include 50% of the airfare for the calculations of total travel expenses. This will affect that maximum 50% that the applications can be made for, so it is essential that any private travel is considered in the application or if the plans change the budget is adjusted accordingly and Graduate Research Office is notified.
Funds awarded must be fully acquitted upon return in line with the University Travel Policy and Guidelines.
Candidates may expend the funds whilst the thesis is under examination, provided the application has been made prior to submission.
Complete all sections of the Candidate Conference and Research Travel Fund Application form and attach all required documentation.
The outcome, as decided by the panel, is final.
Candidates who are unsuccessful in being accepted for participation by the proposed conference or research activity organiser, must forfeit their prize and apply again in a proceeding round.

Guide to applicants

The following information outlines:

Conference and Research Travel Fund criteria and;
The scale used by the Selection Committee to rank applications;
Examples to assist with the preparation of the 2 required statements (from both supervisor and candidate)
Information on presenting a conference/research trip budget.

Rating Scale for Conference and Research Travel Fund

The following criteria are provided to assist with adjudicating applications for the Conference and Research Travel Fund. This information is offered to simplify the application procedure and assist individuals who meet the criteria to present a strong case.

Basic Approach

A 20-point rating scale is used:

Quality of conference/ research activity, relevance and nature of5pts
Academic Record, 5pts
Statements (supervisor and candidate)10pts

Fractional points may be awarded within each category, but the final rating is to be rounded to the nearest whole number.

Each committee member gives an independent rating and the aggregate rating across all committee members is used as a score for the proposal. Discrepancies of three or more points in the ratings are discussed, with a view to narrowing the range. The procedure is then to start with the highest score and work down the list, making appropriate budgetary adjustments where necessary, until funds have been exhausted

In the end, however, the aggregate rating across all committee members is used as a score for the proposal.

The basic principle in rating proposals is to establish criteria for an "ideal" submission, and to scale down from this by judging whether or not specific criteria have been met. Full points are awarded if all of these criteria are met. Fewer points accrue if one or more criteria are not met or if all are met to a less than ideal degree. These criteria are intended to apply to all submissions.

Quality and Relevance of Conference/Research Activity (5points)

All of the following characteristics will be evident in the ideal conference/research activity:

evidence that the conference/course or infrastructure/expertise being accessed is international in scope and leading in the discipline
evidence of participation of leading scholars
(in case of conference) evidence of competitive adjudication, or clear indication of invitation based on reputation/work of applicant

Academic Record (5points)

Up-to-date milestones and with the last review outcome being satisfactory.

(If a candidate is on a confirmation of candidature extension, they are ineligible)

substantial/considerable promise based on record to date
clear program of research, as evidenced in annual reviews/confirmation
record of refereed publications or equivalent discipline based recognized output (relative to candidature)

Statements (10points)

candidate’s statement clearly demonstrates the relevance and benefit/s of conference/course attendance/ research activity to their research
supervisor statement provides unequivocal support, demonstrates benefit/s of the candidate participating in this conference /research placement, the capability of the candidate and the candidate’s record to date.
statements adhere to the length requirement (maximum 300 words each, 12pt, pdf format)

Supporting Statements

These statements are crucial in the decision process. In particular, the supporting statement from the (preferably) primary supervisor is critical to the assessment of applications, and applicants should ensure their supervisor is aware of the requirement and of the closing date.

The supervisor’s statement is an opportunity for the supervisor to showcase the candidate (e.g. provide information on achievements and ability) and to reinforce the impact of the conference/research activity would have on the candidate’s progression.

The statements by the applicant and supervisor need to clearly demonstrate the benefit to the applicant of participating in the conference or research activity.
Applications for which no supervisor’s and/or candidate statement is/are received by the closing date will be ruled ineligible (we will accept an email version prior to close of business on the closing date).

Two examples of strong supporting supervisor statements would be:

(Conference)

I would like to state my unequivocal support for Bill’s application for funding to attend this conference, the International Association of Calligraphers. This is a key venue for him to demonstrate his research in Roman scripts to colleagues in the field, particularly so when the theme of this years meeting focuses on Latin scripts. Bill’s talk, titled “Christian proselytism and the spread of the Roman alphabet” has been chosen, from a submitted abstract, by the organizing committee and is the only graduate talk to be included in the symposium. While providing general exposure to an international research community the meeting also provides Bill a unique opportunity to meet experts in his field of research, in particular Prof Sally Write, Univ. Washington, who is chairing the session that Bill is speaking in and is the author of numerous leading texts in the area. Further, Bill has written and organized to meet with Drs. Jim Sailsbury and Fiona Barrington, who are attending the meeting as plenary speakers and who are experts in classical Roman scripts’.

(Research visit)

I am writing in support of the conference/research travel application from Mohammed Marrakech to work with Prof Cain Able at Newfoundland University, with the possibility of finding greaterresearch exposure at academic events in the region. Prof Able spent his study leave atour lab last year and it was then that he and Mohammed started to discuss their ideas with me.Mohammed’s PhD is in the same area of fish vaccine and probiotic development, which is themain focus of Prof Cain’s research. Mohammed has been very keen to test his oral delivery ofvaccines and probiotics on a different fish disease model and he will have this opportunity atProf Able’s lab. Mohammed has been working hard to overcome all the technical challenges he hasencountered. Mohammed is motivated, well organised and committed to the project. He hascompleted first draft of his first chapter, which he has written up as a manuscript; thismanuscript will be submitted to a scientific journal later this year.Mohammed is an enthusiastic student. Due to high costs of travel and small population size, PhDstudents working on fish health in Australia are isolated. Mohammed will gain significant benefitsfrom working in Prof Able’s lab in Idaho and meeting with other researchers in the US. Thecollaboration with Prof Able will result in material for two research chapters and applicationof methods in further research in Tasmania. Mohammed will present his current results and will beable to get constructive feedback from scientists who are experts in his research area but arenot directly involved in his project.I am strongly supporting this application.

Generic and unsubstantiated supporting statements from supervisors do little to assist the candidate. For example, ‘I strongly support Bill’s request for funding’; or, ‘His work is of outstanding quality’ or simply, ‘the proposed visit to the University of Massachusetts Law Library will be of immense benefit to his research.’

Estimating and Justifying the Budget

All applications must be accompanied by quotes for travel and accommodation. This evidence supports budget estimation.

Travel and Accommodation: support will be provided for economy travel.Allbookings must be madethrough the University preferred travel providers. An indicative cost should be sought by conducting a web based search for a return flight to the destination of the research activity and provided in the budget information.

Meals/incidentals: as a guide a reasonable amount would be considered equivalent to half the Australian Taxation Office published per diem rate for the country or city you are visiting. Please consultthe ATO’s legal determination on reasonable travel allowance expenditure (TD 2014/19).

At times the amount requested may exceed that considered reasonable.For example, the hotel is an inclusive part of the conference or there is very limited choice of accommodation, in which case applicants need to make this clear. Applicants are also advised that in accordance with UTAS rules for overseas travel, un-receipted expenses up to $10 per meal ($30 per day) are acceptable when reconciling expenses.

Last updated July 2016Page 1