The Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences (IBACS) is excited to announce the IBACS Travel Award Program, which will fund up to ten $500 awards to be used for travel expenses for meetings/conferences where data, directly supported by IBACS, will be presented. Types of expenses eligible include but are not limited to: conference registrations, flights, mileage, accommodation, etc. The Institute’s ability to offer these awards is not guaranteed and will be reviewed on an annual basis. Any travel costs in excess of the $500 allotment are the responsibility of the recipient. These awards are available to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as post-docs. Recipients may not apply for a second award within the same academic year and priority will be given to applicants applying for the first time. This scheme operates with a rolling deadline. Once funds are exhausted, the webpage will be updated and the application will close.
Application status: Open for the 23/24 academic year.
Eligibility requirements:
- The applicant must be a current undergraduate student, graduate student, or post-doc.
- The applicant is not eligible to receive a second award within the same academic year.
- The applicant must be the primary presenter. IBACS will not fund more than one person from the same lab presenting on the same project/poster.
- IBACS has a policy of not giving too many travel awards to the same lab or presenting on same grant, even if the projects are different. We are moving towards a policy of only one award per lab given we can only issue ten award a year. For the time being, we will not issue more than two awards a year per lab.
- The funds must be used for travel to meetings/conferences at which the applicant is the presenter of IBACS-supported research. Examples are:
- (1) Any student who was supported by an undergraduate or graduate fellowship/award and who will be presenting data (orally or in poster) that was collected as a part of that fellowship.
- (2) Any pre- or post-doctoral researcher who was in receipt of funding (for stipend) through a seed grant (awarded to themselves or a faculty PI) and who will be presenting data (orally or in poster) that was collected as a part of that fellowship.
- (3) any non-faculty researcher who played a significant role on a seed grant awarded to a faculty PI and who will be presenting data (orally or in poster) that was collected as a part of that seed grant.
- In each case, a faculty PI has to confirm that the applicant will be presenting data collected as a part of an IBACS-funded seed grant or fellowship and that the applicant played a significant role in the project. Post-doctoral researchers do not need faculty confirmation.
- IBACS is willing to review different scenarios on a case-by-case basis. Potential applicants may inquire by contacting the IBACS Coordinator, Crystal Mills at: crystal.mills@uconn.edu.
Award notification and administration:
Recipients of an IBACS Travel Award will be sent an award letter via email and if a grad student, a copy will also be sent to their advisor. Anyone eligible for a travel card must book their own travel. A travel request (pre-trip form) should be submitted in Concur in advance and the IBACS Coordinator will provide a KFS number. After the trip, an expense report should be completed. Any travel costs in excess of the $500 award are the responsibility of the recipient. Questions regarding the IBACS Travel Award Program may be sent to the IBACS Coordinator.
Travel Restrictions:
- Recipients should be aware of UConn’s travel policy and should reference the travel training and resources page for help navigating Concur.
- Recipients are responsible for knowing any and all travel advisories and restrictions and should plan accordingly.
- Recipients should familiarize themselves with alerts and warnings issued by the U.S. Department of State at: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel.html
Cancellations: