Presenting research at conferences is an important part of the postgraduate experience. It allows students to gain valuable feedback to hone their research and network with other members of the wider academic community.
Postgraduate Academic Travel Grants aim to encourage and support postgraduate students travelling to present at appropriate conferences. Recipients should present a paper or poster at a recognised academic conference, and the travel should benefit, enhance and develop the student’s individual research or study related to the course they are undertaking at Cambridge. A supporting statement from the student’s supervisor must endorse each application.
Every student can apply to the College for a Postgraduate Academic Travel Grant of up to £350 a year during each of their first three years of postgraduate study, with any unused amount carried over to accumulate to a potential maximum of £1,050, to help with the costs of attending conferences and workshops.
79 students received a Postgraduate Academic Travel Grant last year (2023-24)
The impact of this fund
The College awarded £37,000 as Postgraduate Academic Travel Grants last financial year, 2023-24.
Ben Wetherfield (G20) received a Postgraduate Academic Travel Grant to present at the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Optics + Photonics Conference in San Diego.
"I felt really inspired to be there, especially at a pivotal moment in my PhD, where the end was in sight, and where I could start to cast my mind forward to future directions. I had the invaluable opportunity to expand my network and discover the work of groups and researchers I might not have encountered otherwise. "
Katie Mann (G21) was able to attend a two-week workshop at the Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research (IQMR) at Syracuse University, New York last summer, thanks to the support she received from a Postgraduate Academic Travel Grant.
“The workshop proved to be invaluable for me and helped me re-think the research design of my dissertation project and, in fact, re-frame some of my research questions. I participated in research design and methodology modules on interpretive methods, re-thinking small-N comparisons, and ethnographic methods. I also joined research design sessions in which PhD students submitted their research designs and received feedback from students and faculty. I received substantial and very valuable feedback on my project that has given me the tools to think through some of the research dilemmas I am facing while in the middle of my fieldwork. I am most grateful for the relationships I have been able to build with faculty and fellow PhD students from other institutions, whose work is closely related to my own and with whom I am now setting up a reading group with to review each other’s work.”
You can read more examples of the impact of Postgraduate Academic Travel Grants on the Student Stories page.
A donation of £350 would cover the cost of one Postgraduate Academic Travel Grant
With a postgraduate student body of around 350, the cost of Postgraduate Academic Travel Grants could total £122,500 each year.
Any amount you are able to donate to this fund will help the College to continue to support its postgraduate community by ensuring that students are able to access invaluable opportunities to interact with, and learn from, other talented researchers around the world.