Graduate Student Awards Fund
Graduate students are invited to apply for the SERG International 2023 Graduate Student Award
Background
To honour the hard work and dedication of practitioners of forest pest management, SERG International (SERG-I) has established an annual Graduate Student Awards Fund (GSAF) to support graduate students who are doing research directly related to SERG-I’s areas of interest (http://www.serginternational.org/ in the Graduate Student Awards Application link). The main purpose of this Fund is to support students early in their careers by providing an opportunity to attend the annual SERG-I Workshop where they can present their own research and interact with many key researchers and managers responsible for forest pest management in Canada and the United States. The upcoming Annual Workshop is scheduled for Feb 6-8, 2024 at The Fort Garry Hotel, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Submission Deadline
- Submissions must be received by November 20th, 2023.
Award Value
- Annual awards will be made available for up to 5 students.
Award Conditions
- The award consists of $500 cash, waiver of SERG-I Workshop Registration Fee and reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred for attending the Workshop including: economy return air fare; hotel; taxi; and per diems (at federal rates).
- Each successful Award winner is required to attend the SERG-I Workshop and make an oral presentation of his/her research work. An associated abstract and summary report are required for inclusion in the Workshop Proceedings and may be posted on the SERG-I website.
- Awards will be presented at the SERG-I Annual Workshop.
Award Restrictions
- A candidate can only receive a Graduate Student Award once during each graduate degree.
- A candidate receiving funding as PI for a SERG-I project cannot apply for a Graduate Student Award.
Application Process
- Awards are open to Masters or Doctoral students who are engaged in research in one or more of the four areas of research specified below.
- The major supervisor of the student applying for an award must provide a Letter of Support outlining the merits of the nominee and graduate degree being pursued.
- The applicant must enclose a Student Summary Statement in which he/she discusses, in no more than two pages, his/her research program, enthusiasm and interest for attending and presenting at the SERG-I Workshop, and how the project adheres to one or more of the SERG-I research areas.
- Completed applications, including the Letter of Support and the Student Summary Statement, must be submitted by email to the Program Lead of SERG-I (kbporter61@gmail.com). The Program Lead will forward applications to the Selection Committee in advance of the SERG-I Annual General Meeting held in conjunction with the annual Forest Pest Management Forum (late November or early December). Successful GSAF winners will be notified by the SERG-I Program Lead shortly thereafter.
- Incomplete applications will not be considered.
SERG International co-ordinates research in the following areas:
Forest Pest Management Products:
- Product efficacy - including conventionally applied products as well as the development of alternative tactics such as viruses, nematodes and biological herbicides, etc.Improvement of
Application Technology and Techniques:
- Application technology - including aerial and ground based application techniques which provide improvements in environmental and efficiency goals.
Environmental Impact and Benefit of Forest Pest Management:
- Fate of applied products in terms of deposit, drift, impact and behaviour in the environment including impacts on biodiversity and ecological processes.
Developing Forest Pest Management Strategies:
- Develop working strategies for the management of forest pests.
