Deadline: 15 May 2019
The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is inviting nominations for its 2019 Young Researchers Awards with an aim to foster innovative research and discovery in biodiversity informatics by graduate students whose master’s and doctoral studies rely on GBIF-mediated data.
Award Information
The 2019 programme will provide a pair of €5,000 prizes recognizing the work of two graduate students—preferably, one master’s and one PhD candidate—nominated by GBIF Participant countries.
Eligibility Criteria
- Candidates must be enrolled in a university graduate programme to be eligible for the award. Candidates must be either:
- citizens of a country participating in GBIF or
- students at an institution located in a GBIF participant country.
- Nominations can come from either the candidate’s country of citizenship or the country of the candidate’s host institution.
Selection Process and Criteria
- The GBIF Science Committee will review the nominations and select winners of the Young Researchers Awards.
- The criteria for the awards include:
- Originality and innovation
- Use of and strategic significance for data accessed through GBIF
- Measurable effectiveness and impact in advancing biodiversity informatics and/or the conservation of biological diversity
- Proposals that are not selected may be updated and resubmitted for consideration in subsequent years.
- Awardees are expected to acknowledge GBIF support when disseminate research results via peer-reviewed publications, presentations at professional meetings, and other media.
How to Apply
Candidates should prepare their proposal and nomination packets to include:
- Research summary (200 words)
- Project description (maximum 5 pages, 12-point Arial) that describes
- The need for the research and the question(s) it addresses.
- The role of data accessed through GBIF in addressing these questions. Research proposals must clearly demonstrate how the study incorporates data mobilized through GBIF. Students with questions about GBIF-enabled data should work with academic advisors, their GBIF national node, the GBIF Secretariat or members of the Science Committee to increase their understanding.
- The research scope, plan, methodologies, relevant literature citations and timetable.
- If relevant, a description or an excerpt from a data management plan that outlines how data related to the research is published or will be prepared for publication through the GBIF network to GBIF.org.
- Curriculum vitae of the student applicant including full contact information at the home institution.
- Supporting documents
- An official letter from the student’s faculty mentor/supervisor certifying that the applicant is a student in good standing in the graduate programme of the university.
- At least one, and no more than three, letters of support from established researchers active in a field that encompasses and incorporates biodiversity informatics (e.g., genetics, species composition and traits, biogeography, ecology, systematics, et al.)
For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/2CasTTa