Borrowing from the metaphor ‘the world is your oyster,’ the ICAIS Oyster Program Bursaries provide some financial support to enable participation in the conference, and with that, the opportunity to advance careers in the field of aquatic invasive species through networking and collaboration.
In keeping with our goal of increasing diversity among ICAIS participants, this year’s Oyster Program will again provide a limited number of travel bursaries to applicants from countries where financial burden is an obstacle to participation. The number of bursaries, and the amounts granted, are dependent upon available funds and the number of applications received. Evaluation of applications will be strongly weighted towards applicants who have submitted abstracts for oral or poster presentations.
Eligible applicants must be either:
- Citizens of countries that are classified by the World Bank as Upper Middle Income, Lower Middle Income, or Low Income, where resources to support attendance at international conferences is inadequate or non-existent.
- Citizens from higher income countries who self-identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, persons of colour) who demonstrate a financial need.
Applications closed on November 13, 2023. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their applications by December 8, 2023.