Funding and Prizes

Conference prizes

Three prizes of $500 cash will be on offer during the conference:
•    Best student oral presentation
•    Best student poster presentation
•    Best professional oral presentation**

Student presentations will be judged on several criteria including originality of the research, quality of slides/poster composition, ability to speak clearly and answer questions about the research, etc. Students will be judged by at least four professionals in the field. Students must indicate their intention to compete for the prize on their abstract. See abstract instructions for details and contact the conference organisers if you need more details on judging criteria.

**as judged by the student community. Student registrants will be provided with a card in their registration package to fill in their favourite professional talk during the meeting (excluding keynote presentations). Cards will be collected at the end of the day Friday and all prizes will be awarded at the conference dinner.

Reef 1

Travel fund

A travel fund has been established to help provide assistance to delegates in attending the conference. Two funding categories will be available: Student and Professional . To be eligible for travel assistance individuals must meet the eligibility criteria set out below and have submitted a completed application form. All travel applications must be received by 28 Feb 2010. Applications should be submitted via email to: sharksinternational@gmail.com. Priority will be given to individuals with the greatest need. The maximum travel award will not exceed AU$1,000.

Application package requirements:
1)    A completed application form
2)    Itemized budget showing how the funds will be spent
3)    An abstract of the paper or poster to be presented.
4)    A letter indicating how the support will be used and why it is needed. An indication of other funding that has been applied for or secured should be included in this letter. (not to exceed 500 words)
5)    Letter of support from postgraduate supervisor. (student applicants only)

Student category
Students must be:
•    Currently enrolled in a higher degree program or have completed a higher degree within the last six months
•    Be the first author on an oral or poster presentation
•    Submit a completed student application form

Professional category
Priority will be given to:
•    Individuals with greatest need
•    Early career scientists (i.e. < 5 years since obtaining PhD)
•    Submit a completed professional application form