LMIC Awards for Early Career researchers and PhD Students
Awards Announcement

The International Society for Vaccines (ISV) Annual Congress will be held at the Protea Hotel in Stellenbosch, South Africa, from October 28-30, 2025.

This year, ISV invites Early-Career Researchers (within 5 years of their PhD award) and PhD students from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to apply for a scholarship to attend the congress in person.

Note: Applicants from NON-LMICs are NOT eligible for this award.

Application Deadline: March 31st, 2025.

In-Person Awards Include:

• ISV Congress Registration Fee
• Hotel accommodation for up to 4 nights during the congress
• Economy class air travel (Please note that ground transportation is not included in this award)

The ISV In-Person Participation Awards are only valid for participation in the 2025 ISV Annual Congress held at the Protea Hotel in Stellenbosch, South Africa, from 28th to 30th October 2025. To qualify for this award, selected awardees must present their abstract both in-person and on the online platform.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be from a low- or middle-income country (LMIC) whose place of research or source of stipend is from an LMIC.
• If you are funded by a scholarship or fellowship with funding from an LMIC but are currently a student in a non-LMIC country, you are eligible for an LMIC travel award.
• If your home country is an LMIC, but you are funded by a scholarship from a non-LMIC and are studying in that non-LMIC, you would be eligible for a non-LMIC award. You need to be a member of the ISV (with a membership fee of only $35) to be eligible for the non-LMIC award.

Terms & Conditions

• Awards are intended for participation in the 2025 ISV Annual Congress and cannot be awarded retrospectively.
• Each participant is eligible for only one award.
• Previous award winners are eligible to apply but will be placed on a waiting list and will only receive the award if there are not enough new applicants who meet the criteria.
• In-Person Awards are not intended to cover the full cost of participation. Awardees are responsible for any ground transportation including in their home nation.
• Applicants must provide details of other financial support available and obtain required travel documents (including a valid passport and entry visa (if applicable).
• Applicants agree that the ISV may use any images taken of award recipients at the Congress and use these images and their post congress reports in communications.
• All applicants must provide a signed letter of recommendation in English on official Institutional letterhead from a supervisor or head of department that verifies:
  • Confirms the applicant’s career stage,
  • Confirms the applicant is in good standing in their program,
  • Confirms a source of stipend funding,
  • Provides a recommendation outlining the applicant’s specific contribution to the research in the submitted Abstract.
    
• Applicants must complete the relevant drop boxes (in English) to provide: 
  • Brief statement justifying interest in attending the ISV Annual Congress
  • Brief statement describing how participation at the ISV Annual Congress will be of benefit to their career.
• All Awardees are required to: 
  • Provide a summary of the educational, collaborative or career value gained within one month of the conclusion of the ISV Annual Congress

Assessment Criteria

• The assessment panel of the Awards Committee and Congress Co-Chairs will review all applications, abstracts, and letters of support to select on the basis of:

  • Quality,
  • Research relevancy and originality,
  • Evidence of ability to fully participate,
  • Geographic diversity,
  • Intention to disseminate information gained to colleagues and peers of their institution.

Abstract Submission

• To be considered for an oral presentation (15 minutes), please indicate the most relevant session on the submission form.
• To be considered for a Bright Sparks oral presentation (10 minutes), please select the appropriate session based on your career stage (PhD or Early Career Researcher).
• All abstracts will be considered for poster presentation.

Technical Information:  

• File name: Last name_ First name
• File Format: Word or Pdf only
• Font: Arial Narrow, 11 point throughout
• Title: Capitalized, bold, centered
• Authors: Centered, with superscript for affiliations. Underline the presenting author
• Affiliations: Justified text
• Abstract body: Justified, single-spaced, with space between paragraphs
• Graphs/Tables/Images: None allowed
• Abstract Structure:  Abstract in English must include: 1) Title, 2) Authors, 3) Introduction/Background; 4) Material/Methods; 5) Results; 6) Discussion/Conclusion, otherwise will be INELIGIBLE​.
• NO MORE THAN 300 WORDS and no graphs, tables, or images.
• If your abstract is accepted for an oral presentation, at least one presenting author must attend the Congress.
• You may submit an abstract that has been presented at a previous meeting.

To submit your application, please see below.

An exemplary Letter of Support is here Example of letter of support.docx

 

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First Name: *

Middle Name: *

Last Name: *

E-Mail Address: *

Sharing Your Statement of Benefit: *

Select one... I agree

Gender:

Select one... Male Female Other

Institution Name *

Institution Type *

Select one... Academia Industry NGOs / Government Other

Institution City *

Institution State / Province *

Country of Employment / Residence *

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I would like to be considered for: *

Select one... Poster Presentation Oral Presentation Oral and Poster Presentation

Career Stage *

Select one... Early Career Researcher (within 5 yr. of PhD award) PhD student Other

I would like to apply for the (Please note eligibility criteria) *

Select one... LMIC Award Non-LMIC Award

I was a previous ISV award winner (if yes, you will be placed on the waiting list) *

Select one... Yes No

I am a PhD student and would like to be considered for the Oral Bright Sparks Competition for PhD Students *

Select one... Yes No

I am an Early Career Researcher (within 5 yr. of PhD award) and would like to be considered for the Oral Bright Sparks Competition for Early Career Researchers *

Select one... Yes No

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Describe (in English) your interest in attending the ISV Annual Congress (200 Word Maximum) *

Describe (in English) how your participation at the ISV Congress will be of benefit to your career, and how you intend to share the knowledge gained with colleagues and peers. *

Letter of recommendation *

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Abstract Title *

Upload abstract: *

 

Enter Code: *