PNB Graduate Travel

COVID-19 Adjustments

The 2021 April 24th deadline has been extended to June 30, 2021 for summer 2021 only. Travel is restricted and we do not know at this time when travel will open for in-person conference attendance. However, some students may be interested in attending conferences virtually to present virtual posters or virtual talks. In this case, expenses are expected to be much reduced, but there may still be conference registration fees. The PNB Graduate Travel fund will consider applications to cover a portion of these costs (matching funds from your supervisor are still required). Please see below for additional instructions.

EXTENDED Deadline 30 June 2021: For virtual conference registration fees between 01 May 2021 – 30 September 2021

Deadline 25 September: For virtual conference registration fees between 01 October 2021 – 30 April 2022

New online PNB Graduate Travel Application form

Paper is so last century. Going forward, please use the online PNB Graduate Travel Application:

• PNB Graduate Travel Applications (Survey)

Please note that PNB has a limited budget to support graduate travel, therefore the application process is a competitive one. The following criteria will be evaluated when reviewing travel support applications:

• To be eligible for PNB travel funding, you must be first author and present your own research as a poster or talk. Any deviation from this (e.g. you ARE presenting the research but you are second author) must be presented as a special request to the graduate chair.
• Unfortunately, PNB travel funding is not available for out-of-time students. A student is considered out-of-time if they are in their 3rd year at the masters level or in their 5th year at the doctoral level.
• Meet the deadline! There are two PNB deadlines in each fiscal year:

Deadline 25 September 2021: For travel between 01 October 2021 – 30 April 2022

Deadline 24 April 2022: For travel between 01 May 2022 – 30 September 2022

Late applications are problematic because we have a limited budget and the amount that students receive is a function of how many students apply. That means that a late application has to be dealt with outside of the budget. If you miss the deadline, your award is very likely to be considerably less than you would have received otherwise.

• Have you explored all possible avenues of obtaining travel grants (Supervisor, GSA: Graduate Student Association, Yates) before submitting an application for travel funding to PNB?

Graduate Students Association (GSA) deadlines and links

Typically the GSA application periods are the month of September, January, and May for travel in fall, winter, and summer, respectively (check the GSA site for exact dates which vary slightly from year to year).

You might be wondering about the selection process for GSA travel funding. Is it even worth applying? YES, IT IS WORTH APPLYING! The GSA selection process for funding applications is largely a random process within each faculty group. GSA accepts applications three times per year: September, January, and May. In each of these periods, the GSA travel awards are given out on a randomized basis, in which all eligible students who have completed the requirements of the application are put into five different pools based on their faculty. From there, an algorithm is used to randomly select one applicant from each pool until all the awards for a said period are given out. The bottom line is that your GSA application is not going to be rejected based on unstated criteria or some other mysterious evaluation. As long as you are eligible, you have a chance. However, if you do NOT apply, you do not have a chance.

• Have you secured matching funds from your supervisor?

The PNB graduate travel award serves as matching funds, in the sense that the amount awarded will not exceed the contribution of the faculty supervisor to the travel. PNB will match the supervisor contribution up to maximum $300 to $500 (depending on total number of applications we receive).

• Have you justified a reasonable budget?

Include only transportation, registration, accommodation, and food (PNB does not fund society dues or poster printing)

PNB funds a maximum $40/day for food, on official conference program days only

• Maximum PNB travel award per student per fiscal year (May to April) is $300 to $500 (depending on total number of applications we receive)

Carefully consider these criteria as well as the other information requested on the travel application form. Then complete the online PNB Graduate Travel Application:

• PNB Graduate Travel Applications (Survey)

Things you should remember when travelling (tips from Sally):

• When sharing meals with others, ask for separate checks.
• All meal receipts must be itemized.
• Charge all alcohol to a separate check - alcohol cannot be charged to any Research Accounts.
• If meals are charged to your hotel room, you must provide an itemized receipt; if you do not get one, you are required to call the hotel and have one sent to you.
• An itemized hotel receipt is required unless the hotel is booked on a online website (eg. Expedia, Travelocity etc).
• When sharing accommodations, ask for separate receipts upon check-out.
• When booking airfare and/or hotels, please try to book your own, but if it is necessary to book together, please DO NOT book together with students in another lab, if you can avoid it. This presents a problem with using multiple grant numbers when the expense reports are submitted.

Things to remember when submitting your Expenses to Sally for reimbursement:

• In order to be reimbursed, you will first have to assign a delegate to your account in MOSAIC.
• When handing in receipts for reimbursement, let Sally know if you received funding from the department or the GSA. Also, let Sally know if you received any travel awards and what account number your supervisor would like her to charge.
• Provide a conference programme (noting name of conference, location, and dates of conference). A schedule at a glance is sufficient and can be printed off the internet.
• Provide the itemized airfare/train itinerary with cost of airfare AND boarding passes.
• Provide all original receipts, unless they are on-line receipts. Please do NOT take photos of receipts and email them to Sally.

• Important: When charging your credit card, the receipt must say "charged to Visa/Mastercard ... noting the last four digits of card number", if your receipt does not say this, you must provide your credit card statement showing proof of charge.

• If you are missing any receipts (eg. boarding pass, taxi receipt etc.) you must complete and submit a "Missing Receipt Form".
• If amounts are in a currency other than Canadian dollars, you must provide proof of exchange, a credit card statement (an online statement) or a banking receipt showing the exchange rate you paid when exchanging money. If you cannot supply proof of exchange, Sally will use the University Exchange for USD or the Bank of Canada rates for all other currencies on the date of purchase.
• If meals are being charged to an Departmental/University/PDA/Start-Up grant, only "Meals with Receipts" can be claimed. "Meals-per-Diem" are can only be charged to Tri-Council grants (NSERC/CIHR/SSHRC).