Introduction
The Forum has been offering bursaries providing assistance with conference attendance since 2005 using generous contributions made initially to the Jeremy Greenland bursary fund and more recently from its own reserves and generous contributions from friends. To date, more than £50,000 has been provided to recipients from across the globe, all have contributed to the conference programme.
During the registration process for the 2023 conference we have asked delegates to make a donation to the bursary fund which will be used to assist participants for the 2025 Conference. Thank you to all those who have contributed.
In 2019, 17 conference participants benefited from the bursary fund which enabled them to attend the conference, present their work and network with colleagues from across the globe. Each have been asked to provide a blog piece about their experience at the conference.
2015 Bursary Experiences and Recipients
Contributing to the Bursary Fund
The Forum is always looking to expand the reach of the Conference and include diverse voices from around the globe. The Bursary Fund is used to fund applicants to allow them to participate in the Conference to share their ideas and to learn from others. For Bursary Award Winners, the UKFIET Conference is a valuable professional opportunity and is beneficial to the Conference providing a diverse set of voices.
Applications for assistance to attend the conference always exceed the funds available for this purpose. In 2017 the introduction of a donation to the bursary fund was included in the conference fee. As delegates register for the conference they are given the option to opt out from making this donation. This has enabled us to increase the number of opportunities we can offer the opportunities that the donations will help to provide will be invaluable, as seen in the reflections provided by previous beneficiaries. In 2019 ACER UK also made a donation to the Fund as well as sponsoring a room at the Conference.
Grant Criteria
Grants are awarded based on the following criteria:
- Hardship: the applicant is unable to attend the conference without financial support;
- Contribution to the Conference: the applicant has had an abstract accepted for presentation as a paper in the conference programme.
- Professional Development: Participation in the Conference will clearly contribute to the applicant’s professional development.