The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) Travel grants, made available by the IEEE Biometrics Council through its DEI travel grant program, aim to broaden the community by welcoming a more diverse pool of researchers. In particular, we want to support the participation of researchers who self-identify as marginalized and/or underrepresented in the community (e.g., scholars who come from non-WEIRD – Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Developed – societies, scholars from LGBTQ+, and underrepresented ethnic backgrounds) and who lack other funding opportunities to support their participation.
We believe that this grant is particularly important for increasing the participation of scholars from these underrepresented groups. We also believe that it can trigger future research collaborations and lead to the increased involvement of underrepresented attendees in future editions of the conference. This support particularly targets earlier-stage researchers and applicants in need of financial support.
Awards of up to a maximum of $1,000 will be provided, with the exact value depending on the geographical area (to maximize our reach), diversity (to improve inclusion), topics (to expand into new areas), number of applications received, and participation in the conference (including special sessions, workshops, and the doctoral consortium).
The grant is in the form of reimbursement and will be transferred to the grantees after the conference. Conference attendance is mandatory for eligibility. All receipts for expenses covered by the grant were submitted to the Finance Chair after the conference.
Applications are open between March 1 and April 20, 2024
Eligibility
To be eligible for a travel grant, the candidate must:
- Be a member of the IEEE Biometrics Council (for IEEE members, BC Council membership is free and can be arranged from the IEEE membership portal: IEEE BIOMETRICS COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP).
- Have a paper accepted at FG 2024, or be accepted to the Doctoral Consortium.
- Self-identify as a member of an underrepresented or marginalised group, including but not limited to the following:
- Underrepresented racial, ethnic, and gender groups.
- Individuals with disabilities or other hardships.
- Researchers from low-income countries, as identified by IEEE (see: List of Eligible countries).
Both student and non-student authors can apply for the grant. The grant program is open to all, but applications from members of the local Chapters of the IEEE Biometrics Council are especially welcomed.
Application Procedure
An application for the travel grant should include the following:
- A short academic CV (including a list of the strongest publications),
- A short cover letter discussing:
- How the applicant meets the eligibility criteria.
- What existing funding (amount and sources) is available to attend the conference.
- Other important information for the application.
- A short budget break-down for the trip (estimated expenses for flight tickets, lodging, other accommodations, etc.).
- Should you be awarded a DEI travel grant, will the combination of existing funding and the grant be enough to support your attendance at the conference.
- Title and Paper ID of the accepted paper (in any track) together with the decision letter.
- A recommendation/supporting letter (from the supervisor or affiliated institution).
Submission procedure
Please send your application package as a single zip file to FG 2024 DEI Chairs ([email protected]) with the subject “[FG2024 DEI Grant Application]”.
Submission timeline
- Application submission deadline: 20 April, 2024
- Decisions communicated to the applicants, including the amount of grant: 28 April, 2024
- FG 2024 conference: 27–31 May, 2024
- Receipts submitted by the applicant to the Finance Chair: 30, June 2024
- Transfer of the grant: August/September 2024
Disclaimer
The travel grants can only be used by authors of an accepted paper or Doctoral Consortium participant, cannot be transferred (to co-authors or similar) and can only be awarded for in-person attendance.