SGS Conference Grant

Award Overview

Award Category: Doctoral Awards, Financial Assistance, In-Course Awards, International Awards, Master's Awards, Travel & Conference Awards
Student Deadline : NEW longer application window! Online application opens: January 8, 2020 9:30am; Online application closes for both students & supervisors: April 1, 2020 4:30pm
Application Dates : Fall / Winter / Summer
Value & Duration : Variable (based on registration fee and location of event)
Level of Study : Doctoral, Master’s
Required Legal Status : Domestic / International
Results : Mid-December / Mid-April / Mid-August

Application Dates

Cycle	Open	Deadline	Eligible Conference date window	Results
Fall 2019	October 21, 2019	November 29, 2019	July 1, 2019 – June 1, 2020	Mid-December
Winter 2020	First week of Winter session	April 1, 2020	November 1, 2019 – October 1, 2020	Mid-April
NEW! Summer 2020	First week of Summer session	July 31, 2020	March 1, 2020 – February 1, 2021	Mid-August

Purpose

The SGS Conference Grant provides financial support to encourage eligible students to actively present their research at an academic conference during the early stages of their graduate studies.

This grant aims to provide successful applicants with sufficient funds to cover at least the minimum registration fee for the proposed conference. Top-ups, based on the location of conference, may be possible in any given competition depending on availability of funds. Applicants are expected and encouraged to seek support from various other sources in order to supplement their travel and other related expenses. The SGS Conference Grant value is not impacted by other sources of support.

Value & Duration

The value of the SGS Conference Grant varies as it is based on the minimum registration fee for the proposed conference. Top-ups based on location of conference may be possible in any given competition dependent on the availability of funds. The SGS Conference Grant value is not impacted by other sources of support reported by the student on the application.

The grant is not intended to provide dollar-for-dollar reimbursement for conference expenses. As such, transportation, accommodations, and other related expenses are not taken into consideration when determining grant values.

Grants are calculated using the following information:

Conference registration fee;
Location of conference (funds permitting);
Number of eligible applicants per cycle.

Eligibility

NEW: Students may apply for an SGS grant to support conference presentations occurring up to six months after the application deadline and those which have occurred up two months before the application opens (potential eligibility window of 11 months).

Applicants must:

Be registered full-time in a graduate degree program at both the time of application and the conference presentation. Students remain eligible to receive payment of the grant up to their date of convocation;
Be actively presenting their own research relevant to their current degree program;
Be presenting at a conference no later than six months after the application deadline and no earlier than two months before the application opening;
Be compliant with all applicable departmental approval processes as well as U of T Safety Abroad travel requirements, if travelling outside of Canada (including to the U.S.A.). Requirements must be met for all travel regardless of receiving SGS Conference Grant support – see Safety Abroad below;
Submit one application in support of one conference per graduate degree; and
Have not received payment for an SGS Conference Grant during their current graduate degree program (master’s-doctoral “fast-track” and direct-entry doctoral students may receive two grants).

NOTE 1: Students must demonstrate that they continue to meet all eligibility requirements at the time of payment activation.

NOTE 2: Preference is given to students who are in the early stages of their program, therefore SGS Conference Grants are typically not awarded to students beyond the program length required for their degree.

Safety Abroad

Safety Abroad procedures are mandatory for all U of T students travelling outside of Canada, including to the U.S.A., and must be completed before the travel occurs (regardless of receiving SGS Conference Grant support).

Please contact U of T Safety Abroad at safety.abroad@utoronto.ca for further information on the process and/or the requirements below:

The following steps must be completed prior to departure and cannot occur retroactively:

Review the Safety Abroad website for details on what is necessary prior to your travel date;
Complete a profile if you are a first-time user;
Log your upcoming travel dates on the Safety Abroad Registry;
Complete the online Safety Abroad Workshop (valid for 1.5 years); and
Obtain supplementary health insurance (if not already covered).

For travel to a region designated by Global Affairs Canada as “Avoid Non-Essential Travel” or “Avoid All Travel,” students must contact U of T Safety Abroad at safety.abroad@utoronto.ca as soon as possible to learn about the additional requirements they will need to complete.

Application Process

The link to the online application can be found at the bottom of this section. Applicants are required to review all of the information on this web page before beginning an application.

Applicants should be aware of the following:

The applicant will be required to enter their UTORid and password to access the application;
The application can be saved in draft form after completing the second page and will time out after two hours;

NEW: Applicants will have the ability to enter the date by which their supervisor/advisor must complete their portion of the application which will be included in the email issued by the system. This date must be before the SGS submission deadline for the current cycle. It is the students’ responsibility to follow-up with their supervisor/advisor to ensure that they complete their portion in time;
Applications will only be considered complete and eligible for the current granting cycle after the supervisor/advisor has submitted their portion; and
The application cannot be modified after submission. If an error is discovered after submission, a new application must be created to replace the original application. Applicants have the ability to “clone” the first application, edit the information and then re-submit. The application that has received the most recent approval from the supervisor/advisor will be considered.

Applicants are encouraged to:

Verify the accuracy of their supervisor/advisor’s email address to ensure the application is sent to the correct email address for completion;
Notify their supervisor/advisor early, let them know the SGS Conference Grant application will require their approval, and advise them of the deadline; and
Be mindful of the deadline date to ensure their supervisor/advisor completes their portion by the SGS submission deadline.

Supervisor/Advisor Information

For the purposes of this grant, the supervisor/advisor identified on the application must be a faculty member who currently holds graduate faculty membership at U of T and is familiar with the applicant’s current progress within their program.

Applicants who do not have a supervisor/advisor should ask their graduate unit for assistance in identifying an appropriate graduate faculty member who can fulfill this role for the approval process.

Online Application

Step 1 – Student Application

Be sure you meet all eligibility criteria before filling out the application form.

Click on the “Online Application Form” button. Sign in using your UTORid.

You will be brought to a “Dashboard” page. Using the left hand side menu, click on “Forms”, then “Form Library”, and “SGS Conference Grant Application”.

Complete all pages, review and hit the “Submit” button at the bottom of page 6.

You will be asked to provide the following information:

Supervisor/advisor’s email address (for the approval process);
Details of the academic conference (e.g., title, location, registration fee, website URL);
Details regarding the presentation (e.g., title, first author);
NEW: Date by which your supervisor/advisor must complete their portion of the application – ensure that this date is well before the appropriate cycle’s deadline (see Application Dates above); and
Proposed budget for the conference/travel (for information purposes only).

Step 2 – Supervisor/Advisor Portion

Once submitted, the identified supervisor/advisor will:

Receive an email with a web link that they must use in order to review and approve the application.
Be asked to review the application and confirm that the
- applicant is in good academic standing;
- proposed academic conference is appropriate at the current stage of the applicant’s program;
- applicant is actively presenting their own research related to their degree at the conference;
- conference registration fee reported by the applicant is correct; and
- proposed funding from the applicant’s department/Faculty (if any) is correct, to the best of their knowledge (for information purposes only).

Step 3 – Confirmation Email

Once the supervisor/advisor has submitted their portion, the system will send a confirmation email to both the applicant and the supervisor/advisor within 24 hours.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the details of their supervisor portion within the confirmation email.

Technical difficulties with the application must be reported immediately to conferencegrant@utoronto.ca

Online Application Form

Results

All applicants will receive an email with their result via their U of T email address.

Successful applicants will receive information regarding the offer amount and the terms and conditions of the grant. Successful applicants can request to apply their grant to a different conference after receiving the results of their application – full details regarding requests for changes are provided in the Changing Conference section below.

NOTE: Once results have been distributed, the value of an offer cannot be increased.

Additional Info

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an “academic conference”?

For the purposes of this grant, an “academic conference” means that the:

Abstract/poster submissions are peer reviewed before acceptance is granted;
Conference is sponsored by a scholarly association/society, university or institution.

Due to the high number of applicants, a limited amount of funds to allocate within each application cycle, and to better manage expectations, only academic conferences are eligible for the SGS Conference Grant.

What does “active participation” require?

Successful applicants must actively present their research (relevant to their current degree program) as a poster presenter or speaker/member of a panel/roundtable.

When is the right time to apply?

SGS Conference Grant application cycles will now be available three times throughout the year (see Application Dates above).

Why are Safety Abroad procedures mandatory?

U of T Safety Abroad supports students and the University community by:

Offering students support in understanding risks associated with the location of their international activity and working with students to develop measures to mitigate those risks;
Monitoring situations abroad and advising students on any emerging issues;
Providing emergency support when regional or personal emergencies arise.

Safety Abroad procedures are mandatory for all U of T students travelling outside of Canada, including to the U.S.A., and must be completed before the travel occurs, regardless of receiving SGS Conference Grant support (see Safety Abroad above).

What if I don’t complete Safety Abroad procedures before my travel?

Forfeiture of an SGS Conference Grant offer may occur if a recipient does not meet all of the eligibility and payment collection requirements (see Eligibility and Safety Abroad above, Payment Activation below).

If I am eligible, am I guaranteed the grant?

Due to the high number of applicants and limited amount of funds to allocate within each application cycle, and to better manage expectations, preference will be given to students who are in the early stages of their program. SGS Conference Grants are typically not awarded to students who are beyond the program length required for their degree (see Eligibility above).

Can I receive more than one SGS Conference Grant?

Eligible students may receive one SGS Conference Grant per graduate degree program (master’s-doctoral “fast-track” and direct-entry doctoral students may receive 2 grants max) (see Eligibility above).

What if I am attending multiple conferences this year?

Eligible students may submit one application in support of one conference within each cycle.

After receiving the result of their application, successful applicants may request to apply their grant to a different conference from the one they initially proposed (see Changing Conference below).

What if the registration fee for my conference is not available yet?

Since the amount of the conference’s registration fee is needed in order to calculate successful applicants’ offers, applicants should try to obtain the previous year’s registration fee as an estimated amount to state in their application.

In order to collect the payment, successful applicants will need to provide a receipt showing the paid registration fee amount, along with the other required documentation (see Payment Activation below).

Can I collect the payment before I attend the conference?

The payment may be collected in advance of the conference if successful applicants are able to obtain and submit all of the required documentation before the conference occurs (see Payment Activation below).

Can I use other funding to attend my conference?

As this grant provides modest financial support, applicants are expected and encouraged to seek support from various other sources in order to supplement their travel and other related expenses. The SGS Conference Grant value is not impacted by other sources of support (see Value & Duration above).

What if I can’t attend the conference I proposed in my application?

After receiving the result of their application, successful applicants may request to apply their grant to a different conference from the one they initially proposed (see Changing Conference below).

Applicants may also choose to decline their current offer and apply again in the next SGS Conference Grant application cycle, provided they will still meet the eligibility and payment collection requirements (see Eligibility and Safety Abroad above, Payment Activation below).

What if I don’t know my UTORid and password?

UTORids are located on students’ TCards. Students can activate their UTORid and/or reset their password through the UTORid Management web page.

The Information Commons Help Desk can also be contacted for further assistance.

Award Holder Information

Payment Activation

NOTE: Forfeiture of an SGS Conference Grant offer may occur if a recipient does not meet all of the eligibility and payment collection requirements (see Eligibility and Safety Abroad above).

To receive payment of the grant, awardees must submit the following required documents no later than 30 days after their conference presentation:

A completed online SGS Conference / Research Travel Grant Payment Activation Form;
- Awardees will be expected to confirm on this form that all Safety Abroad requirements were completed prior to travel outside of Canada (see Eligibility and Safety Abroad above);
Proof of Safety Abroad pre-departure workshop completion status by submitting a screenshot showing recipient’s name and confirmation of completion (starting Fall 2019);
Proof of conference attendance and active-participation (conference’s title and location, applicant’s name and title of presentation must be visible), which includes:
- Screenshot of online conference program on conference organizer’s website; or
- Official certificate of attendance/participation from conference organizer
Registration fee invoice.
1. Receipt issued by the conference organizer showing the amount of the paid registration fee and the title of the conference
  - If the registration amount listed (as advertised) is significantly lower than the proposed registration fee amount the applicant specified within their application, the value of the grant may be adjusted accordingly. However, SGS Conference Grant offers cannot be increased (see Value & Duration above)
  - If the invoice is in a currency other than Canadian dollars (CAD), the applicant must provide a conversion showing the foreign currency amount and its equivalent amount in Canadian dollars (CAD)
2. If registration fee will be waived / covered by the conference organizer:
  - Applicants may enter the advertised registration fee amount (at the student-rate) into their application and receive an offer that consists of both the registration fee and location top-up amounts, if the applicant will also be able to provide the following items:
    - A screenshot from the conference organizer’s website (title of conference visible) showing the advertised registration fee amount at the student-rate, and
    - Email / letter from the conference organizer (listing title of conference and applicant’s name) confirming that the applicant’s registration fee will be waived / covered

Failure to submit the required documentation by the appropriate collection deadline will result in cancellation of the grant.

After submission of the online SGS Conference / Research Travel Grant Payment Activation Form, please allow two to three weeks for payment through ACORN.

For detailed instructions and access to the online SGS Conference / Research Travel Grant Payment Activation Form, review the Payment Activation Instructions.

Grant recipients are responsible for adhering to the payment requirements of any other funding sources related to the same conference/travel (e.g., their Faculty, a supervisor’s grant, an external award agency). This includes retaining and submitting the same or potentially different documentation/receipts to other administrative offices.

Collection Deadlines:

- Uncollected grants will automatically become void as per the appropriate deadline:
  - 2019 Winter/Spring cycle = October 15 or the last day of the applicant’s last registered session, whichever is earlier
  - 2019 Fall cycle = no later than 30 days after conference presentation
  - 2020 Winter cycle = no later than 30 days after conference presentation
  - 2020 Summer cycle = no later than 30 days after conference presentation

Changing Conference

After receiving the result of their application, successful applicants may request to apply their grant to a different conference from the one they initially proposed, provided their supervisor/advisor approves and the conference occurs within the appropriate cycle’s timeframe (see Application Dates above).

Please note that once offers have been distributed, the value of the offer cannot be increased and may be subject to a reduction, as per the new conference’s registration fee and/or location.

The Conference/Research Travel Grant Change Request Form must be uploaded to the online payment activation form with the other required documentation (see Payment Activation above).