The Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) has partnered with NASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program to allow 2 U.S. students to attend the Students and Young Professionals Program (SYP) organized by SGAC and SpaceOps Committee at the 16th Conference on Space Operations (SpaceOps) as well as the Conference itself, hosted in Cape Town, South Africa from May 17 to May 22, 2020, by the South African National Space Agency (SANSA).

Application Deadline: 28th February, 2020 23:59 GMT

Description

Held biennially since 1990, SpaceOps Conferences will attract technologists, scientists, managers from agencies, academic and research institutions, operators and industry players, fostering managerial and technical interchanges on all aspects of space mission operations.

During the SpaceOps 2020 Conference, SGAC and SANSA will organize the SpaceOps SYP program. The SYP program is open to students and young professionals, no fees required to participate in, you can see what this year’s SYP program encompasses here.

SGAC and NASA SCaN have partnered to bring 2 selected U.S. students to the SpaceOps 2020 Conference, covering their SpaceOps Conference participation costs up to USD 2000.

Award

The 2 selected U.S. students will receive grants to cover a portion of their costs. The award will include provisions for travel, accommodation, and registration for SpaceOps Conference up to USD 2000.

How to Apply

To apply, you will need to prepare the following documents:

• A Letter of Intent of no more than 500 words highlighting your background and motivation for attending SpaceOps 2020. Please specify in your letter:
  • If you are registered to the SpaceOps 2020 conference or the SGAC Students and Young Professionals (SYP) workshop
  • If you submitted an abstract, presentation or poster relevant to your field of study to SpaceOps 2020
  • If you have been accepted to present a paper or poster relevant to your field of study to SpaceOps 2020
  • If you are moderating an activity or presenting at an event hosted in parallel of the SpaceOps 2020 conference, such as the SGAC SYP workshop

• A CV (max 2 pages)
• A proof of US Citizenship (Passport, ID)
•  A proof of studentship (University Card, etc.)

All submissions must be made using the Scholarships Submission Form.

Please submit your documents as unlocked PDF files. Your name should be included at the top of all pages.

Your submission should follow the competition guidelines below.

Scholarship Guidelines

Eligibility

1. Participants must be eligible SGAC members (registered on the SGAC website) between the ages of 18 and 35 years as of the 22nd of May 2020
2. The applicant must have an U.S. citizenship.
3. The applicant must be registered to the SpaceOps 2020 conference or to the SYP Program at SpaceOps 2020 by February 28, 2020, 23:59 GMT.
4. Scholarship judges and organizers are ineligible for the award.
5. At the time of the application, the applicant must be registered as a student and not have a full-time professional status. The applicant must be studying at a university or a school, in a field relevant to one or several topics that will be discussed during the conference.
6. The applicant must not have applied to or have been awarded any other scholarships for SpaceOps 2020.

Submission

1. All submissions must be made using the Scholarships Submission Form.
2. The language of all submissions must be in English.
3. The submission is due as an unlocked PDF document under 5 MB. Your name should be included at the top of all pages.
4. All submissions must be made by February 28 2020, 23:59 GMT.
   Any submissions after the deadline will not be considered

Responsibilities of the Winners

The winners shall:

1. Attend the entire SpaceOps 2020 conference.
2. Attend the entire SYP program hosted by SGAC and SANSA
3. Submit a short report (2 pages excluding pictures) detailing their experience at SpaceOps 2020 and the SYP program at SpaceOps 2020 for inclusion on the SGAC website, newsletter or social media and that of our partners
4. All responsibilities shall be fulfilled and reports, etc., submitted not later than 30 June, 2020. 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.

Reimbursement

1. The award will be paid out after the conference, and upon fulfillment of all responsibilities listed above. It will be paid out no later than 30 days after proved fulfillment of all responsibilities.
2. The scholarship award reimbursement is conditioned on the awardee fulfilling the stated scholarship requirements no later than 30 June, 2020.
3. In case applicants or winners receive funding for SpaceOps 2020 by any other organization, the Scholarships Team Leads shall be informed. If the applicants don’t inform the Scholarships Team Leads, SGAC holds the right not to 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 not to engage any expenses until they have formal confirmation that the scholarship has been awarded. SGAC is not liable for any expenses incurred by applicants in any case where a scholarship is not awarded, or in excess of the value of the awarded grant.
5. Reimbursements will follow the SGAC Scholarships Travel Policy & Reimbursement Guidelines. Please make sure to consult the Guidelines before incurring in expenses.

Copyright and Intellectual Property

1. By  submitting an entry, applicants agree to permit the SGAC to use their names, affiliations, and headshot photo in connection with the scholarship. This also applies to the essay that is submitted: portions of this essay could be used for promotional purposes (the authors, of course, will be credited for the content).
2. Copyright of the submitted entry shall remain with the contestants. However, by submitting an entry all contestants agree that SGAC and all affiliated organizers are granted non-exclusive reproduction rights regarding all submitted papers. SGAC and all affiliated organizers may also present ideas and findings generated by this competition at relevant conferences.

Liability

1. Organizers shall not be responsible in the event that SpaceOps and/or SYP Program is cancelled. SGAC will not reimburse the winning author, even if he/she has already incurred expenses.
2. Organizers shall not be responsible in the event that the award winner fails to attend SpaceOps 2020 or including under extenuating circumstances; in that case the award offer shall become void.
3. Organizers shall not be responsible in the event that the award winner cannot obtain any necessary travel documents; if they are required but not obtained, the award offer shall become void.
4. The award is not transferable to another event or individual

Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated by a panel comprised of NASA representatives, the SpaceOps 2020 SYP program manager, the SGAC Scholarship Team and potentially other representatives of SGAC. The evaluation will be made based on the following criteria:

• Quality of the submission
• Relevance to one or several topics tackled during the conference
• Having submitted an abstract, presentation or poster relevant to the applicant’s field of study to the conference is an advantage
• Having been accepted to present a paper or a poster relevant to the applicant’s field of study to the conference is an advantage
• Moderating a SYP activity or presenting at an event hosted in parallel of the SpaceOps 2020 conference, such as the SGAC Students and Young Professionals workshop is an advantage.

We look forward to your contribution and thank you for taking part in this space endeavor!

Schedule

Submission Deadline:	28 February 2020, 23:59 GMT
Announcement of Results:	15 March 2020, 23:59 GMT
SpaceOps 2020 and SYP activities:	17 – 22 May 2020

Contact

For any questions, please refer to SGAC Scholarships Coordinators ([email protected]).