Grants for early career researchers at member universities to attend and take part in conferences.
Applications open: 1 May 2025
Applications close: 26 June 2025, 15:00 UTC
Early Career Conference Grants help to ensure that emerging researchers – and the universities that employ them – can benefit from the valuable opportunity of attending and taking part in in-person conferences in Commonwealth countries outside of their country of work.
For emerging academics, taking part in conferences can have a profound impact on their teaching and research. These events are a chance to share research, learn about the latest developments in an area of work, and build valuable professional networks.
Researchers find themselves better informed and better connected with new knowledge that can be shared and multiplied among colleagues and students.
All awardees will be required to complete a report on completion of their award.
What does the grant include?
Grants are a maximum of GBP 2,000 which can be used to cover:
- Conference registration fee
- Flights
- Accommodation
- Visa costs
- Travel and health insurance
How to apply
Applicants must:
- Be an early career researcher/academic at an ACU member university.
- Be within 7 years of the start of their academic (research/teaching) career, with the exception of those who have had career breaks. A career break is a period of time out from employment for personal or professional reasons, including to care for children.
- Identify a conference that they would like to attend in a Commonwealth country, taking place between August 2025 and 31 July 2026.
- Applicants need to be either chairing a session, presenting a paper, or presenting a poster as part of their conference attendance to be considered for a grant.
- Review the application guidance and FAQs.
- Submit an application through the online application form.
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- If you already have a MyACU account, you can access the grant application form through this platform when applications open.
- If you do not already have a MyACU account, please ensure that you first register for an account here, then follow the instructions in the registration email to log in to the system before accessing the application form when applications open.
Applicants cannot:
- Have previously travelled for work purposes (including conferences) outside of their region of employment since the start of their academic career.
- Be a previous recipient of an ACU Early Career Conference Grant (previously known as Early Career Academic Grants).
