Template
School of Medicine
In conjunction with
TUMSS
Conference Support
Funding
Guidelines &
Application Form
SOM Conference Support Funding Guidelines Application Form
Conference Support Funding
Policy & Guidelines
Closing Dates: 1st April 2015 or 1st Aug 2015
The UTAS School of Medicine provides funds to assist medical students who are attending relevant conferences,
symposia or workshops interstate or overseas. The purpose of encouraging conference attendance is to
showcase high quality academic achievement, develop co-curricular skills and share innovations and contemporary
knowledge with peers.
The following categories apply to this funding, in order of priority:

Delivering an academic presentation: Delivery of an oral or poster presentation at a conference.

Global health related: Attending any conference related to global health, health promotion or health systems.

Academic Career development: Attending an academic conference with an aim to develop your potential career or develop
a particular skill including leadership, activism, advocacy and strategic planning skills.
1. Available Funding
Scholarship for travel, conference registration and accommodation:
Total of 7 stipends offered per year on : 1 s t April (4 stipends )
up to $750 each
and 1 s t A ug (3 stipends )
2. Application Guidelines
The application process is highly competitive with more applications than funds available. The
conference support stipend is set at a modest amount to enable as many students as possible to
share in these funds. It is expected that students may need additional funds apart from the Conference
Support stipend to cover their conference attendance activity.
Funding is to be used specifically for travel, conference registration and accommodation only.
All applicants will be notified via email within weeks of the closing date regarding the outcome of their
submission.
Every attempt will be made to pay successful applicants within 4 weeks after the return from the
conference on the condition of receiving a brief report and tax invoices/receipts demonstrating attendance at
the conference (see section 6).
3. Eligibility Criteria
 Scholarships are open to all UTAS domestic and international m edical students currently enrolled in the MBBS
program
 If the conference is scheduled during semester time, formal leave of absence needs to be sought from the
relevant rotation coordinator or Associate Head of School. The conference stipend will not be granted unless
leave has been approved.
 Applicants can only receive one successful funding stipend per year.
 Applicants are ineligible if funding has already been received from other sources.
 Students undertaking approved research projects, eg Honours who are invited or accepted to present their research
at a conference, are advised to firstly apply for financial assistance from their research team or the SOM Research
Committee. In exceptional circumstances, if alternate funding is not available, Honours and other research students
may be assisted by this Conference Support Fund.
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4. How to Apply

Complete this Conference Support Funding Application Form.

Attach conference brochure or website

Attach abstract of poster or oral presentation (if applicable)

Lodge your completed application to the Dr Nick Cooling, School of Medicine Office,
University of Tasmania, Private Bag 34, Hobart TAS 7000. The a pplicati o ns will be
batched and a djud icated two tim es per year 1 s t April a nd 1 s t Au g

Enquiries can be directed to the Director of Electives & Internationalisation
UTAS Locked Bag 34 Hobart Tas 7001 or by email nick.cooling@utas.edu.au
5. Assessment and Ranking

Assessment and awarding of the conference support stipend will be managed by the Internationalisation
Committee of the School of Medicine together with a nominated representative from TUMSS.
Only complete applications received will be assessed. Applications will be batched and considered twice per
year (1st April & 1st Aug). If applicants are not successful in one funding round they can resubmit for a subsequent funding
round.
All applications will be treated confidentially.
All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by email within 2 weeks of 1st April or 1st Aug
All decisions are final and no further correspondence will be entered into.
If there are large numbers of worthy applicants the assessment Committee may decide to reduce the individual
funding amount in order to disperse the funds more widely
Ranking will be based on the following criteria:
a) Presentation at a conference. Speaker invitations and paper presentations will be ranked more highly than
poster presentations
b) Academic excellence
c) Relevance of conference to academic or professional development
d) Applicability and benefit to other students
e) Quality of the application
Highest preference will be given to applicants that satisfy criteria a) and b)
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6..Conditions of Receiving a Scholarship

Successful applicants will be paid Scholarship funds into their Australian bank account when they can
demonstrate evidence of their conference registration or attendance. Acceptable documents include:
 Tax invoice or boarding pass for flights
 Tax invoice of conference registration or conference proceedings recording the students name or
certificate of attendance
 Tax invoice of accommodation company

Within 2 weeks of returning from the conference, recipients of a Scholarship are required to
provide the Director Electives & Internationalisation with a 1 page report detailing their
experiences, and benefits of the conference. In addition, TUMSS will usually require a report
suitable for submission into Centaur or to be put onto the TUMSS website.

Recipients are encouraged to present their conference experience to their peers either as an
oral presentation or online. Publishing in journals and proceedings is also encouraged.
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Conference Support Funding
Application Form
Closing Dates: 1st April 2015 or 1st Aug 2015
A.
Personal Details
Family Name
Given Name(s)
UTAS Student Number
Date of Birth
__________________________
Year of study __
___
B.
Proposed conference
Name of conference/symposium/workshop:
Location:
Dates:
Applicant activity: Attendance only
Presentation: oral
poster
Other details (eg purpose of conference)
C.
Funding Benefits Statement
Please submit a 200- 500 word statement outlining: a) why you require the funding , b)the academic and personal
benefits you expect to gain from attending the conference and c) how attending the conference would benefit the School
of Medicine , TUMSS or your peers. (complete on separate page if required)
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D..
Funding purpose and amount
How much funding do you request? (Max amount is $750)
What is the purpose of the funding?
Item
Travel
Details
Amount
Conference registration
Accommodation
TOTAL
Please note the actual amount granted is at the discretion of the School of Medicine
E.
Alternate sources of funding
Have you received or applied for funding elsewhere for this conference?
Students who receive funding from other sources are usually ineligible for this Conference support however in
exceptional circumstances or if all funds have not been allocated in a given funding round, the Committee will consider
the application.
F.
Declaration
Before submitting your application, you must declare the following:
I have read and understood the "Guidelines for Applications of Funding".
I have not received funding for this conference from another source
If successful, I will represent UTAS and maintain high standard of behaviour at the event.
If successful, I will acknowledge medical school funding at the event, where possible.
If successful, I will present a written report to the School of Medicine within 2 weeks of the event.
If successful, I will present/write articles/use other means to engage with medical student community
when requested.
G. Applicant’s Statement
I,
declare that the preceding information is
correct and true, and that I have read and understood the conditions by which my application will be assessed. I
further declare that I have read and understood the conditions by which this conference stipend is awarded, and
will adhere to the obligations stipulated by UTAS if my application is successful.
Signature of Applicant
Date
This application should be submitted to : Attention Dr Nick Cooling , School of Medicine Office, University of
Tasmania, Private Bag 34, Hobart TAS 7001.
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