For many years the Canterbury Branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand has made travel awards to young scientists to present their work at conferences. The Branch's resources are limited, the awards have not been large, but have assisted applicants in personal scientific research projects, and have enabled many to present the results of their studies at conferences, both in New Zealand and overseas.

The Student Travel Awards scheme currently operates on a monthly basis from February to November. Applications for consideration should reach the branch by the first of each month. Applicants will be notified around the middle of the month after the monthly council meeting. Funds will be distributed among applicants up to the indicated maximum values.

Guidelines (Revised April 2009)

1. Awards are regarded as Grants-in-Aid to assist New Zealand citizens*, in particular those unable to obtain significant assistance from other sources. Awards are not normally available for the presentation of research associated with full-time employment.
2. Awards are normally made to young scientists based at a tertiary institution in Canterbury, New Zealand who are engaged in thesis work and will present their results at scientific meetings. In some cases this can include students completing their final year of a Bachelors Honours degree, e.g. BSc(Hons), BE (Hons), BAgSc(Hons).
3. Travel awards will normally be not more than $250 for New Zealand conferences, $500 for Australia/South Pacific and $1000 for other countries including Perth, Australia. If an award has been granted previously then a $1000 "lifetime" maximum will normally be applied.
4. No award will be made for an application directly relating to logistic support for thesis study.
5. Applications should be made at least 4 weeks in advance of the conference. Deadlines for 2010 will be the 8th of each month. Decisions will usually be made within a month of each deadline.

*Proof of Citizenship is required with the application, a scan or photocopy of the photo page of you passport is sufficient. If you are not travelling internationally and don’t have a passport then please contact us for advice.

Application Form

Download the Guidelines and Application form (Word 50kb or PDF 132kb) and Mail or Email (preferred) to the Travel Awards Sub-Committee, Canterbury Branch RSNZ, Sarah Gunningham, University of Otago, Christchurch, P O Box 4345, Christchurch, Tel: 364 0558, Email: awards@canterbury.rsnz.org.

In the past the branch has made awards for Research and Science Promotion.  No such scheme is currently operating