CFDM Bursary Guidelines

CFDM bursaries: general information and application guidelines


Purpose

  • The Canadian Foundation for the Development of Microscopy (CFDM) will contribute towards travel expenses of university students to participate in conferences and workshops on microscopy or with significant microscopy content in Canada or abroad.

Eligibility

  • Any student, undergraduate, master’s, doctoral or postdoctoral, full time or part-time, who is attending a Canadian university is eligible, but priority will be given to graduate students.

  • The CFDM bursary can be combined with other travel awards, such as a travel assistance offered by a conference organizing committee, up to the total cost of event attendance. Merit awards can be accepted in addition to the travel awards.

Application requirements

  • The application must be based upon original research of the applicant.
  • Applicants should submit the following documents:
    • CFDM bursary application form completed on the MSC-SMC website;
    • Cover letter specifying eligibility for the bursary, significance of the research, applicant’s contributions to the project, and any other considerations relevant to the bursary (the cover letter should not exceed a length of two pages);
    • Abstract, including figures, written and formatted according to the conference requirements (conference applicants);
    • Explanation of how this activity will benefit the applicant’s research submitted on a separate page or included in the cover letter (workshop or other training applicants);
    • The cover letter and the abstract (conference applicants) or the explanation (workshop or other training applicants) in a single pdf file must be attached on the application form page;
    • A letter of reference from the applicant’s supervisor should be sent separately and should include comments on the involvement of the applicant in the research described in the application as well as the applicant’s potential as a future research professional. The letter should be submitted electronically before the application deadline to Dr. Zygmunt J. Jakubek, Chair of CFDM at the following e-mail address: Zygmunt.Jakubek@nrc.ca.
  • Confirmation of receipt of the application package will be sent electronically.

Evaluation criteria

The Board of the CFDM will review the applications according to the following criteria:

  • Scientific merit,
  • Significance of the research,
  • Creativity,
  • The letter of reference.

Financial information

  • The travel expenses that can be reimbursed are registration, airfare, train tickets, public transportation, accommodation and meals (see Appendix for details).
  • The amount of the bursary cannot exceed the real travel expenses and is limited to $1,000 in Canadian currency per recipient for travel within Canada and $1,500 in Canadian currency for international travels.
  • Original receipts for the travel expenses must be submitted for award of the bursary.

Deadline

There are two competitions each year with the following application deadlines:

  • Spring competition – March 31st (extended deadline of May 31st applies in a year when the MSC-SMC meeting is jointly held with MSA and MAS as a part of the Microscopy & Microanalysis meeting). For the spring competition, priority will be given to participation in the MSC-SMC or jointly held M&M meeting.

  • Fall competition – November 30th.

In all cases, the bursary should be used within one year of the award.

 

Notification

The CFDM will announce the winners of the bursaries shortly after the application deadline on the MSC website and social media. The winners and their supervisors will also be notified by e-mail.

Application Form

 

 

APPENDIX: TRAVEL EXPENSE REGULATIONS

Meals

Maximum meal expense rates allowed in Canadian currency are $10.00 for breakfast, $20.00 for lunch, and $40.00 for dinner. Tips are allowed to a maximum of 15% per meal.

Accommodations

Student accommodations, where available, should be used instead of hotels. Reimbursement is limited to a single room rate per traveller. If reservations must be cancelled, it is the responsibility of the traveller to make sure that cancellation is made in advance so that no charges will be incurred.

Transportations

  • Air - Air travel by regular airlines operating on a daily schedule shall be at economy rate by the most direct route.
  • Rail - Rail fares shall be at economy rate / second class rate (or cheaper promotional rate when available).
  • Automobile - When a private automobile is used, mileage may be claimed at the rate of $0.32 per kilometre. The costs to travel to and from the destination cannot exceed the equivalent air cost at the seven day advance economy rate.
  • Taxi and bus - The claimant will only be reimbursed by submitting paid receipts for expenses. Receipts are not required for taxi and bus fares under $5.

Currency

Foreign travel expenses should be reported in the foreign currency amount to match submitted receipts. The claimant will be reimbursed in Canadian dollars only. A credit card statement can be included to support the foreign currency conversion rate. The daily rate published by the Bank of Montreal will be used in the absence of a credit card statement.

Alcohol

Claimants will not be reimbursed for alcoholic beverages.

Application Form

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