SGAC has partnered with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Communication and Navigation (NASA SCaN) to bring 3 SGAC members to attend the 19th Space Generation Congress (SGC) and the 72nd International Astronautical Congress (IAC) on 21 – 23 October and 25 – 29 October, 2021 respectively in Dubai, UAE.

Application deadline: 16 July 2021, 23:59 GMT

Description

The Space Generation Congress (SGC) is the annual meeting of the Space Generation Advisory Council held in conjunction with the International Astronautical Congress. Participants are selected top university students and young professionals with a passion for space. With SGC, SGAC aims to hone and promote the voice of the next generation of space sector leaders on the topic of international space development.

By attending the Space Generation Congress (SGC), delegates will learn, share their knowledge, network with fellow students and young professionals in the space industry, and meet the industry’s leaders and experts.

All output produced by the Space Generation Congress (SGC) is compiled into a report to be presented at the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, as well as other conferences around the World.

 Learn more: https://spacegeneration.org/sgc2021

Award

The total value of the award is USD 11,000 split among 3 SGAC members to attend the following events:

The grant will be provided as total or partial reimbursement to cover:

  • Round trip travel costs to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, via economy airfare.
  • Lodging at the official SGC hotel.
  • Visa costs (if any).
  • Space Generation Congress registration fee.
  • International Astronautical Congress registration fee.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit your complete application using the Scholarship Submission Form.

You will need to prepare and submit the following documents:

  • CV (2 pages max, font size 12)
  • Motivation letter (one-page max font size 12) highlighting your motivation for attending the SGC and IAC 2021.
  • An essay of max 500 words answering the following question:

“Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) serves as the Program Office for all of NASA’s space communications activities. What challenges and opportunities do you foresee in the future of space communications with the development of Lunar and Mars Base Camps?” 

Please submit your documents as unlocked PDF files under 2 MB. Your name should be included at the top of all pages. Your submission should follow the competition guidelines below.

Guidelines

Eligibility

  1. The scholarship is open to all students and young professionals from any UN Member or permanent observer State.
  2. All individuals shall be SGAC members between the ages of 18 to 35 inclusive (up to the day of their 36th birthday) on the 30th of October, 2021.
  3. Competition organizers and judges are not eligible for this award.
  4. Winners should not receive support from any other source to attend SGC and IAC. Should the winners receive such support midway through the program, SGAC should be informed and a solution will be sought.

In the interest of spreading opportunities to more members, SGAC reserves the right to prioritise applicants who have not recently received another SGAC scholarship of a similar nature. “Recently” is defined as having received a travel grant in the past 2 years, in the same category (either international or regional/national) as this posted award. International awards include scholarships for international events such as SGC/IAC, SGFF and Space Symposium, while regional/national awards refer to events, such as the Space Generation Workshops (SGW), national space generation events (SG[country]) or other regional or national conferences. In the event that the SGC 2021 is forced to be held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this scholarship will not be counted as an international travel grant, and winners are eligible to apply for another travel grant in the next 2 years.

Submission

  1. The language of all submissions must be English.
  2. All submissions must be made by 16 July 2021 23:59 GMT. Any submissions after the deadline will not be considered.
  3. In case of a lack of quality of submissions, SGAC and the Scholarship partner have the right to extend and or cancel the competition.

Responsibilities of the Winners

The winning author shall:

  1. Attend the entire 19th Space Generation Congress 
  2. Support the running of the 19th Space Generation Congress. These tasks offer great opportunities such as being the rapporteur of a 19th Space Generation working group and helping with writing a group report.
  3. Contribute to the SGC 2021 final report
  4. Submit a short report (2 pages excluding pictures) and a short video (1 minute) describing their experience at the 19th Space Generation Congress and the 72nd International Astronautical Congress for inclusion on the SGAC website, newsletter or social media and that of our partners. Example of content: speakers that were particularly interesting, group discussions that stood out or other event highlights.

All responsibilities shall be fulfilled and reports etc. submitted not later than the 1st of December 2021. In case the scholarship awardee(s) do(es) not complete the scholarship requirements on time, the scholarship funds will be transferred to SGAC general budget to continue supporting the mission and work of SGAC.

These tasks offer great opportunities such as being the rapporteur of an SGC working group and helping with writing a group report, being the front face of SGAC at the SGAC booth and meeting interesting people.

Reimbursement

  1. The award will be paid out after the 19th Space Generation Congress, no later than 30 days after fulfilment of all responsibilities listed above.
  2. The scholarship award reimbursement is conditioned on the awardee fulfilling the scholarship requirements not later than December 1st, 2021.
  3. In case applicants or the winning author receive funding for the 19th Space Generation Congress by any other organisation, the Scholarships Coordinators shall be informed. If the applicants don’t inform the Scholarships Coordinators, SGAC holds the right to not reimburse the winning author. SGAC aims to reduce the number of double scholarships and will work with the winners to develop a solution in these cases.
  4. Applicants are advised to not engage in any expenses until they have formal confirmation that the competition has been awarded. The SGAC is not liable for any expenses incurred by applicants in any case where competition is not awarded, or in excess of the value of the awarded grant. Applicants are advised to purchase a travel insurance and flexible tickets to cope in case of sickness or travel restrictions due to COVID. See also point 5 under liability on this matter.   
  5. Reimbursements will follow the SGAC Scholarships Travel Policy & Reimbursement Guidelines. Please make sure to consult the Guidelines before incurring expenses.

Copyright and Intellectual Property

  1. By submitting an entry, applicants agree to permit SGAC and all affiliated organisers to mention their names, affiliations and headshot picture in connection with the competition.
  2. Copyright of the submitted entry shall remain with the contestants. However, by submitting an entry all contestants agree that SGAC and all affiliated organisers are granted non-exclusive reproduction rights regarding all submitted papers. SGAC and all affiliated organisers may also present ideas and findings generated by this competition at relevant conferences.

Liability

  1. Organisers shall not be responsible in the event that SGC 2021 and/or IAC 2021 is cancelled. 
  2. Organisers shall not be responsible in the event that the award winner fails to attend SGC 2021 and/or IAC 2021 or is unable to under extenuating circumstances; in such a case the award offer shall become void.
  3. Organisers shall not be responsible in the event that the award winner cannot obtain any necessary travel documents (visas etc). If such required documents are not obtained prior to planned travel, the award shall become void.
  4. The award is non-transferable and not valid for another event or individual.
  5. Following the Reimbursement Guidelines, in the event that event or travel cannot take place due to unforeseeable circumstances (force majeure), including but not limited to illness, death, or weather, the Scholarship Holder will be responsible to try to recover costs through any available travel insurance or trip cancellation insurance. SGAC may reimburse the remaining amount not covered by insurance.

Evaluation

Evaluators will include members of the SGAC scholarship team and representatives of the scholarship supporter.

The overall evaluation will consider:

  • Applicant’s CV and past experiences (30%)
  • Motivation Letter (30%)
  • Essay (40%)

Schedule

Entries accepted:

Open

Application Deadline:

16 July 2021, 23:59 GMT

Application Evaluation

17 July – 22 July 2021

Winners announced

23 July 2021

Space Generation Congress 2021

21 – 23 October 2021

International Astronautical Conference

25 – 29 October 2021

Contact

For any questions, please refer to SGAC Scholarships Coordinators: [email protected]