Student Sponsorships

Guidelines for reviewing applications for sponsorship of students attending the Arid Zone Ecology Forum

At the Arid Zone Ecology Forum (AZEF) meeting in Kakamas in September 2000 a decision was made (at the AGM) to financially support university and technikon students’ attendance of future AZEF meetings. The main purposes would be 

  • to assist students who did not have the financial resources to attend AZEF meetings and
  • to encourage participation from previously disadvantaged people and institutions.

The procedure should be as follows:

Details of student sponsorship will be given in the AZEF’s first and second announcements. The closing date for applications for sponsorship will be exactly six weeks before the starting date of the AZEF meeting. The attendance of a select number of students will be sponsored for each AZEF meeting. An amount of 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of the student’s registration fee will be sponsored. In exceptional cases, consideration will also be given to subsidizing students' travelling and accommodation costs.

The applications will be assessed by at least three members of the AZEF steering committee. The assessment of applications must take the following into account:

  • The student’s financial position, and or
  • Whether the student is from a previously disadvantaged institution.

The following criteria will be used when evaluating the applications:

The student must present a paper and/or poster at the AZEF meeting. The paper/poster must be the results of work that has been conducted (i.e. not a project proposal). The student’s paper/poster abstract must be examined to determine the relevance of the research to the arid zone. The research (and proposed presentation) must also be of a high standard. The student must be a South African citizen (however, in exceptional cases non-South Africans studying at South African institutions will be considered for sponsorship). Although not of primary importance, consideration will be given to sponsoring the attendance of previously disadvantaged students, especially those conducting studies at previously disadvantaged institutions.

Applications for sponsorship must include the following:

  • Covering letter (with a motivation from the student why he/her requires financial support). Abstract for paper/poster presentation. Proof of registration of university or technikon.
  • Letter from student’s supervisor which provides a motivation for the need for financial support for the student’s attendance of the meeting.

  • Download sponsorship form here