The First Overseas Conference Travel Fund (FOCTF) was established by members of the Society to help young researchers present their work at an overseas conference. The Society recognises that New Zealand’s geographic isolation can disadvantage emerging researchers. Outstanding research deserves to be disseminated in global venues and events, and researchers must interact with other professionals to further their knowledge and careers as marine scientists. The FOCTF was established to achieve these goals.

The number and value of awards allocated following each of the two application deadlines will be at the discretion of the council, and dependent on available funds. The award may not be made if there are no suitable applicants. Awards for conferences in the Pacific (including Australia) will not exceed NZ$1500.

Application rounds each year close 1 March and 15 August.

Application Guidelines

Eligibility

1. 1. This must be your first overseas conference.
      • Applicants who have attended overseas conferences virtually will still be accepted
      • Applicants who have completed a previous degree overseas and attended a conference in that country will also be accepted
   2. You must be attending the conference in person
   3. Conference attendance must take place within 12 months of the application closing date
   4. You must be enrolled in a postgraduate degree
      • Greater weight is given to students enrolled in a Ph.D.
   5. You must be a member of NZMSS
      • Greater weight is given to students who have previously presented an oral paper or poster at an NZMSS conference
   6. This application must have your supervisor’s support

Instructions

• The application must be typewritten. Please provide details or type ‘Yes’ in the appropriate box. Applications exceeding specified word limits will be declined
• In addition to filling out this form, please include:

1. 1. Completion of the supervisors box and their signature
   2. A single page CV (including any publications you have authored)
   3. Your academic record (scanned and included in this PDF)
   4. An abstract of the oral paper or poster you are presenting

• Send all files electronically as one PDF document to secretary@nzmss.org
  • File Name: NZMSS_FOCTF_app_[closing-year-month]_­[applicant name]
  • Subject Line: NZMSS FOCTF Application [Closing Month & Year]

Assessment

• Applications will be independently reviewed by at least three referees (NZMSS Council members) not associated with any proposals.
• The referees will not confer until they have assessed and ranked the applications independently.
• Applications will be assessed based on:
  1. Quality of the research
  2. Conference relevance
  3. Relevance of research to New Zealand
  4. Student merit

2023

Savannah Goode, (Victoria University of Wellington)

2022

Shinae Montie (University of Canterbury)

Trevyn Toone (University of Auckland)

Sophie Roberts (University of Auckland)

Georgina Flowers (University of Waikato)