GET A SCHOLARSHIP

Thanks to our generous supporters, local and international alike, you have a chance to receive a participation scholarship to join the event.

Together with our supporters we are proud to announce scholarships to a number of students, who actively participate in the conference (with poster, workshop, tutorial, hackathon). A small number of scholarships will be offered to students who do not contribute to the program actively, but have shown exceptional interest in the relevant fields, and are preferably in the first year(s) of their studies.

Participation Scholarship

The purpose of our participation scholarship is to encourage women in the field of computing to:

  • Accelerate in their career through learning from others and asking for help when necessary;
  • Converse with others on how best to manage their work life balance; and
  • Meet with their peers in order to build on their networks of expertise.

This scholarship award is a note of appreciation for your participation. It covers a free womENcourage registration and free one-year ACM Student Membership.

The applications should be filled online before the closing date. Check out the submission deadlines and apply now. The applications require an abstract indicating the relevance of womENcourage to the applicant. More detailed guidelines can be found below.

We aim to provide scholarships to as many different academic levels, universities, and across as many different countries as possible to promote the ACM and encourage networking of our participants in their chosen fields. Active contribution and volunteering are the basis of our scholarship, which is open to all genders and all fields directly related to computing. Because as we mentioned in this year’s slogan, we are “Bridging Communities to Foster Innovation”.

For more information please contact us at womencourage2021_scholarships@acm.org.

Guide to a Successful Application

What are the application review procedures?

  • The applications should be filled in online before the closing date. The applications require an abstract indicating the relevance of womENcourage to the applicant.
  • The review process will take approximately one month.
  • Applicants will be notified of the outcome of the review process via the email provided by the learner on the application form. The date of notification is indicated in our Important Dates.
  • Attendance at the event is required to receive the scholarship.
  • If successful, the applicant will be required to furnish bank details and, where required, taxation details. It is important to have these details ready in advance as organising bank transfers takes time. This information will be required immediately after notification of success of the application. The money will be paid directly into the applicant’s bank account. Cheques will not be provided.
  • It is expected that the scholarships will be paid three to four weeks after the final date of the womENcourage Celebration of Women in Computing. If there is an intermediary bank, it can take longer. womENcourage and their representatives will not be held responsible for any delay in receiving the participation scholarship.

Who is eligible?

  • Applicants must be an undergraduate or postgraduate student in good academic standing in full-time education or in exceptional circumstances an early career educator or researcher.
  • The applicant must be currently studying in a European university or equivalent educational institute. Since this year’s event will be hybrid/virtual, students from outside of Europe are also welcome to apply.
  • The applicant’s field of study should be a computing or directly related field.
  • The applicant must not have received a womENcourage grant or participation scholarship in the previous year (2020). If you did not receive a scholarship in the previous year but did in any other year you may apply again this year.
  • The applicant may have a poster/workshop/tutorial accepted but it is not essential. A small number of scholarships will be offered to students who do not contribute to the program actively, but have shown exceptional interest in the relevant fields and are preferably in the first year(s) of their studies.
  • In the event of multiple authorship, each author should apply separately for the participation scholarship and will be considered separately.
  • The applicant must provide a curriculum vitae of no more than 2 pages length in PDF format.
  • The applicant’s supervisor or lecturer must fill out the required form. Without this form the applicant will not be considered for the scholarship and their application is deemed invalid.
  • Applications must be made through the online system. Email applications will not be considered.
  • The email address provided by the applicant on the form must be the student’s university email account (e.g. student.name@university.com).
  • The participant must accept the scholarship within the given time frame (normally 2 weeks) from the date of notification. If the scholarship is not accepted, it will be reallocated to the next eligible participant.

How can I apply?

  • Applications can be made through the online form.
  • Remember to think carefully about why you would like to go to the event when filling in the form.

I am a part-time student, can I still apply?

  • Yes you can apply. We do not distinguish between full time and part time students.

I am a male, can I still apply?

  • Yes you can apply. We strongly encourage diversity.

If I get a poster accepted does that mean I get a scholarship?

  • The poster applications and the participation scholarships are separate processes. You must apply separately for this scholarship.
  • Where a poster has multiple authors, each author interested in the scholarship must separately apply for the scholarship. Each application is separately evaluated based on the merits of their application.
  • Having a poster accepted does not guarantee nor exclude you from an award.

What happens if I cannot attend?

  • You must notify us as early as possible so that we can give the award to the next eligible scholarship applicant.
  • If you do not respond to the award email by the allocated date we will assume that you cannot attend and will forward the award to the next applicant.

What are the selection criteria?

  • Each application will normally be reviewed by at least three reviewers. To ensure fairness an application will not be reviewed by a reviewer from the institution or any with any affiliation with the applicant. The reviews of the committee are then reviewed by a further group of reviewers before the final selection of awardees are made. Some points to keep in mind include:
    • Is your statement of relevance tailored for the womENcourage? Does it focus on the aims and objectives of the womENcourage participation scholarships? Consider why you wish to attend this event.
    • Do you have a poster accepted to present at the conference? 
    • Do you have a workshop or tutorial accepted to present at the conference? Note that the workshop and tutorial presenters have free registration. But you can still apply for the scholarship for other benefits (ACM membership, travelling support).
    • Will you apply to attend the Hackathon at the event?
    • Did you fill in all of the fields in the application form? Make sure that each field has the correct information. Does the applicants name on the Scholarship match that of the one on the poster/paper application? Does the name match exactly with the details of your bank account? If you have made any mistakes, please email the participation scholarship committee.
  • Ask your supervisor(s) if they can fill in the recommendation form. If they are unavailable during the time period immediately after the closing date you should consider selecting another recommender. Check with your recommender if they have filled in their required section after the closing date for applications. The recommender must be a lecturer/professor/dean from the university of which you are currently a student. The recommender cannot be an applicant for a scholarship nor can it be another student. Without the recommendation letter from your university your application cannot be considered.
  • We hope to sponsor as many applicants as possible from a variety of academic levels, universities and countries to help encourage diversity. 
  • We encourage applicants of all genders to apply for the participation scholarship and any other scholarship which becomes available.
  • Note: The information in this document is subject to change.

What are the requirements if I am awarded the scholarship?

  • Applicants must attend all of the dates of the womENcourage event.
  • Applicants agree to authorize usage of their tagged and untagged images from the event as appropriate for advertisement purposes.
  • Applicants may be asked to assist with the event. It is important to be responsive when such an invitation to assist with the conference organization is made. In some cases, failure to carry out the volunteer work can result in loss of the scholarship except in the case where health or other reasons preclude them from carrying out tasks — yet, this will not be the case in womENcourage 2021.
  • The applicants will be required to sign an attendance form and present national identification with a photograph such as a passport or driver’s licence.
  • It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that their visa’s and other travel arrangements have been organised in advance of travelling.
  • Applications for scholarships after the closing date will not be possible.

What happens if I don’t get the scholarship?

  • There are many sources of funding some of which come from our generous sponsors.
  • Refer to the ACM-W website for ideas.
  • Check EUGAIN COST Action for conference travelling support, available to early-career researchers from inclusiveness target countries involved in the COST Action.  
  • Check Google Travel and Conference Grants.

Scholarship applications open1 May 2021
Scholarship applications due10 June 2021
Notification of accepted scholarships10 July 2021