Scholarships
The conference organizers are committed to making AIDS 2014 accessible to people from resource-limited settings and communities, researchers, young people, community activists and civil society representatives.
Applying for an International or Media Scholarship Programme
Scholarship applications are now closed.
Applications were accepted from 5 December 2013 to 13 February 2014. All scholarship applicants were notified of their applications’ status in April.
Types of Support
Scholarship applicants were able to request a full or partial scholarship through the online application system.
A full scholarship includes:
- Registration fee for the conference (include access to all sessions and exhibitions);
- Travel (pre-paid airfare at the lowest fare available, from the nearest international airport);
- Accommodation (shared in a budget hotel or dorm for the days of the conference);
- Modest daily living allowance for the duration of the conference (20-25 July 2014, USD 55 per day).
A partial scholarship includes any combination of the above.
Applications Criteria
Applications were open to anyone working in the field of HIV. All applications were made on the same online, profile-linked application form, which was available in English.
Most of the questions asked on the application form were related to personal details and work experience. There were also other questions which asked for further details regarding the applicant’s organization, occupation or involvement in the HIV field, motivation to attend the conference and how the applicant’s organization or community would benefit from the applicant’s attendance at the conference.
International scholarship applicants were asked to submit a letter of recommendation after completing the scholarship application. No international application was considered without submission of the letter of recommendation.
Abstract presenters, workshop facilitators and programme activity organizers were also asked to link the application to the submitted abstract(s), workshop(s) and/or programme activity(-ies). Instructions on how to do this were detailed within the application.
Media scholarship applicants were asked to provide media accreditation and supporting documents, along with the letter of recommendation. No media application was considered without submission of the required supporting documents.
Overview of Scholarship Statistics
Over7,200 applications were received from 181 countries, from all areas of the HIV field.
The applications were thoroughly screened by the International Scholarship Department to ensure that they met the minimum requirements.
A total of 460 recipients were awarded a full or partial scholarship from the pool of applicants based on recommendations and criteria established by the AIDS 2014 Conference Coordinating Committee (CCC), the Scientific Programme Committee (SPC), the Workshop Working Group and the Global Village and Youth Programme Working Group. The CCC charged a Scholarship Review Committee with overseeing the selection process and the overall distribution, as well as reviewing the top-scored general applications.
The majority of scholarships were offered to delegates who would directly contribute to the conference programme through an abstract, a workshop and/or a programme activity. A small number of media representatives were also funded to attend both the conference and a pre-conference briefing. In addition to these groups, priority was given to women, PLHIV and young people.
We would like to thank the members of the committees and working groups who helped shape the scholarship programme this year.
The following is a breakdown of how the scholarship budget was allocated.
For a breakdown of scholarships by gender, age and HIV status click here.
Funding for the AIDS 2014 Scholarship Programme was kindly provided by: Commonwealth of Australia – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities; the Ford Foundation; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Canada - Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development; the MAC AIDS Fund; the Melbourne Convention Bureau; Norway – Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health (OD); OFID, the OPEC Fund for International Development; Oil Search; The CASS Foundation; the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); Wolters Kluwer Health; and the World Health Organization (WHO). The conference organizers would like to thank these organizations for their generous contribution to the programme.