JIRS CONF/10/1

HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
Graduate School
Research Postgraduate Programmes

Application Form for JIRS Overseas Conference Grant

Name of Student: _______________________________   Student No.: ______________	  Department: _____________

Study Commencement Date: _______________ Email: _________________________  Contact Tel. No.: _______________

Principal Supervisor: ______________________________________  Programme: * MPhil / PhD  Study Mode: * FT / PT
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Conference Details
Title of Conference: ______________________________________________________________________________________
Conference Dates: from ___________ (dd/mm/yy) to ___________ (dd/mm/yy) Conference Location: _____________________
Presenting a Paper: □ No  □ Yes (Mode of presentation: □ Poster     □ Oral      □ Others: __________ )
Title of the Paper, if applicable: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please state your reasons for attending the conference and its relevance to you research:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please attach the conference pamphlet/announcement in support of this application. The acceptance/invitation e-mail/letter for paper presentation at the conference, and an abstract of the paper to be presented, if applicable, should also be provided. 

Estimated Expenditure 

Item
	
Amount
(in RMB)	For Office Use Only
Approved Amount
(in RMB)	
Conference Registration Fee 
( ___________ x RMB exchange rate: __________ )			
Travel			
Total Amount 			

Have you ever been awarded this grant before? * Yes / No

Have you applied for or will you receive other financial support for the proposed activity? * Yes / No

If yes, please indicate source(s) of support:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Amount of grant(s) received from the abovesaid source(s): ______________________ 
(If application result is still unknown, please state “pending”)

On return from the conference, please submit the original receipts, boarding passes/train tickets etc. to the Graduate School for reimbursement.

Student's Signature: _______________________________________		 Date: ___________________________

* Please circle where appropriate

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To: The Executive Associate Dean of Graduate School
Please state reasons for supporting this application and the relevance of this conference to the student’s research: 
(to be completed by the Principal Supervisor) 
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We support the above application. 

Signature:	__________________________________________		Date: ___________________________
Co-supervisor

__________________________________________		Date: ___________________________
		Principal Supervisor

	__________________________________________		Date: ___________________________
	Deputy Director of JIRS

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Approval

For Office Use only
Evidence Enclosed: * Yes / No
No. of Overseas Conference Grants previously received: ____________

	               Not Approved

Approved (Amount: RMB _____________ )	

Comments, if any:	_________________________________________________________________________________

Processed by: _____________________________    		Date: ______________________

Approved by: _____________________________________    		Date: ______________________
            Executive Associate Dean of Graduate School

Hong Kong Baptist University
Graduate School

Application Guidelines for JIRS Overseas Conference Grant

Full-time/part-time research postgraduate students admitted under the HKBU-UIC Joint Institute of Research Studies (JIRS) are eligible to apply for the “Overseas Conference Grant” to widen their academic exposure and provide opportunities for them to meet and interact with scholars from other countries. The grant may be used to provide financial support to meet the costs of air/train tickets and conference registration fees incurred by JIRS students who intend to attend conferences outside the mainland China and Hong Kong. The ceiling of the grant is RMB4,000 for JIRS MPhil students and RMB6,000 for JIRS PhD students respectively. Students may lodge more than one application within their study period subject to the availability of fundings. 

Application Procedures

1.	Student should submit an application form with the support of the principal/co-supervisor at UIC to the Deputy Director of JIRS at least two weeks before the conference is due to take place. Please attach the conference pamphlet/announcement in support of the application. The acceptance/invitation e-mail/letter for paper presentation at the conference, and an abstract of the paper to be presented, if applicable, should also be provided. 

2.	The Deputy Director of JIRS shall endorse the application and pass it to the principal/co-supervisor at HKBU and subsequently the Graduate School, HKBU for approval. 

3.	Applications will be considered only in cases where the applicant’s principal supervisor certifies that the conference is relevant to the applicant’s research. Attendance at a conference in the mainland will not be funded. For attendance of Hong Kong-based conferences, student may apply for the “JIRS Visiting Student Allowance”.  

4.	Applicants will be informed of the result through e-mail. On return from the conference, student should submit the original receipts, boarding passes/train tickets etc. to the Graduate School for reimbursement. The successful applicant will need to open a savings account at a local bank in Hong Kong and update the corresponding bank account information on UIS accordingly such that the grant could be transferred to the student’s account upon verification of the receipts. Please note that the grant will be paid in HK Dollars equivalent to the approved RMB amount according to the book rate of the approving month.

5.	Any expenses outside the designated amount shall be at the student’s own expenses. The applicant shall not claim further reimbursement with receipts for meals and incidentals. 

6.	The award of the grant is conditional upon the student continuing to be a registered student of JIRS at the time the conference is held. The grant approved only applies to the conference specified in the application and cannot be used for other purposes. 

7.	Please note that the Overseas Conference Grant does not support students attending conferences through participation in tour packages (which normally cover transportation, accommodation, meals and sight-seeing activities).

8.	Applicants must abide by the following “Terms and Conditions of JIRS Subsidies” as a condition of entitlement to the approved grant. 

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Terms and Conditions of JIRS Subsidies

1.	Purpose of Award
The JIRS Subsidies, a composite for the Visiting Scheme Stipend, Visiting Student Allowance, and Overseas Conference Grant, are granted on merit to eligible full-time/part-time JIRS research postgraduate students to provide them with financial assistance for their daily subsistence and other expenses that may be incurred during their visit(s) to HKBU/attendance to overseas conferences within their study period.  Such provision is to ensure that students need not look for other sources of income to support themselves so that they are able to devote full efforts to their designated research projects/studies.

2.	Eligibility
All research postgraduate students of JIRS are eligible for the JIRS Subsidies (part-time students, however, are not eligible to apply for the Visiting Scheme Stipend).  Students may apply for the JIRS Subsidies with the recommendations from both the Principal Supervisor and Co-supervisor. Applicants may simultaneously be recipients of other scholarship awards provided that the award does not violate the terms and conditions of the other awards.

3.	Administration of JIRS Subsidies
The JIRS Subsidies are administered by the Executive Associate Dean of Graduate School who will decide on the amount and duration of the award, under the guidelines laid down by the JIRS Management Committee.

4.	Conditions of JIRS Subsidies
4.1		The award of JIRS Subsidies is conditional on the recipient undertaking coursework or research activities for a specified period.  Unauthorized leave may result in the cancellation of the subsidies.  Recipients not performing satisfactorily in their studies, or duties, may also lose their awards or have their subsidies suspended for a prescribed period of time.
4.2	The JIRS Subsidies are offered for a specified period only and subject to satisfactory performance and the availability of funds. 
4.3	The award of Visiting Scheme Stipend will automatically cease in the month the recipient has completed his/her visit to the University within the normal study period. Under normal circumstances, the stipend will be applicable for up to 4 months for MPhil (one visit only) and up to 8 months for PhD students (two visits only) respectively. The minimum duration for each visit is 1 month. 
4.4	The Visiting Student Allowance is offered to students on short-term visits to HKBU, each trip not exceeding 1 month. Students who are receiving the allowance may not apply for the Visiting Scheme Stipend at the same time. 
4.5	The Overseas Conference Grant is offered to students who would like to attend conferences outside the mainland China and Hong Kong. Applicants may lodge more than 1 application within their study period until the ceiling of the grant has been reached.  
4.6	The JIRS Subsidies recipients are not employees of Hong Kong Baptist University, and the subsidies are not salary payment.

N.B.	The above terms and conditions may be changed from time to time by the University.  In the event that changes are made, the updated terms and conditions always supersede the earlier versions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Personal Information Collection Statement
Persons who supply personal data in their applications to the Graduate School for various purposes are requested to note the following:
1.	Personal data provided in the applications are to facilitate the process of their applications and will not be used for other purposes.
2.	Personal data provided will only be used by University staff.
3.	After the applications have been processed, relevant data will be transferred to the student / staff record system of the University.
Under the provision of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, request for personal data access or correction may be made and addressed to:

Graduate School
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			Baptist University Road Campus
Hong Kong Baptist University
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Kowloon 
Hong Kong