4.3 Conference Funding
The Program provides funds to support students to present their research at conferences. While conference presentations are the main purpose for these funds, other allowable expenses may include research participant recruitment payment, publishing fees, supply purchases, supplemental coursework tuition, and e-learning resource purchases. Funding is awarded based on academic merit and research alignment with the program’s objectives. All students are eligible to apply via the Conference Funding Application each fiscal year (October 1 to September 30). The maximal amount each year may vary but is typically $750-$1200. Limited funds are available; preference is given to students who will present their research at the conference and those who have not previously received funding. Funds do not carry over to subsequent fiscal years. Upon approval, students are responsible for purchasing their allowable, approved expenses, and submitting a request for reimbursement, generally within 30 days after the travel/conference. Reimbursement requests for approved funding must include only allowable conference expenses (see below) and be submitted by September 15th to allow processing time before the end of the fiscal year on September 30th. Allowable reimbursable conference expenses for out-of-town events include: 1) Conference Registration, 2) Airfare or train travel to conference, and 3) Hotel/lodging. Ground transit to/from airports/train, parking, food/beverage costs, and entertainment costs will not be approved/reimbursed. For local conferences, only conference registration will be reimbursed. Students who are MGB employees must submit their reimbursement request via a Workday Expense Report. Students who are not MGB employees must submit their Non-Employee Business Expense Report via the Payee Information Form. The contact person for reimbursement is the Program Manager. Further instructions can be found on the PhD Rehabilitation Sciences Teams channel and in the confirmation email received after submitting a Conference Funding Application.