23 – 26 July · Brisbane, Australia, and virtual
iasociety.org
Tips for submitting effective
scholarship applications
If you have never applied for a scholarship before or would like advice on what makes a
good application, then this guide is for you. It will help you understand how scholarship
recipients are selected and provide you with some tips on how best to highlight your
experience and motivation so that you maximize your chances of getting a scholarship.
Eligibility criteria: Who can apply for a scholarship?
The IAS 2023 Scholarship Programme is open to anyone aged 18 and above who is working,
volunteering or studying in the area of HIV. All interested candidates who meet these
criteria are invited to apply. Priority is given to the following groups:
• Abstract presenters whose submission has been selected for the conference
• Applicants from low- and middle-income countries
• Applicants who are part of key populations and people living with HIV
• Young people and junior investigators below the age of 35
• Applicants who have not previously received a scholarship for an IAS Conference
on HIV Science
This is to ensure that people most affected by HIV and who face significant financial barriers
are given extra support to attend. However, everyone, regardless of whether or not they
belong to a priority group, is encouraged to put together a strong application to incr ease
their chances of getting selected. Please remember that scholarships are limited.
How are scholarship applications screened and
reviewed?
Once all applications have been received, they are first screened internally. At this stage,
any application that does not meet three basic conditions is filtered out. These conditions
are the following:
• The person must be involved in the area of HIV.
• They must have included an appropriate letter of recommendation.
• The application must be in English.
Applications that pass the screening stage then move on to the review stage, where they
are reviewed by two external reviewers. The reviewers are HIV professionals from different
countries who volunteer to blind review applications for the programme.
23 – 26 July · Brisbane, Australia, and virtual
iasociety.org
Reviewers read and provide scores on applicants’ written answers, focusing on open
questions, such as the applicant’s work on HIV, their motivation to attend the conference,
and how their conference participation will benefit their community. The reviewers do not
look at such aspects as the financial support requested, attendance type or
personal details.
Don’t worry if you are just starting your career in HIV or English is not your first
language. We always ask reviewers to be lenient when evaluating the experience of a
young professional and we do not judge applications based on writing style or correct use of
English grammar.
How can I best highlight my expertise and motivation in
my application?
Make sure you follow these tips:
1. Get a good letter of recommendation
It is important to get a good letter of recommendation. To be accepted, this letter must fulfil
the following basic criteria:
Written in English
Include a letterhead of your referee's organization, company or institution
Dated within two months of the application submission and signed (original or digital
signature) by the referee
Explicitly mention you and support your scholarship application and attendance of IAS
2023
The best letters of recommendation are those that go into detail about the applicant’s
experience, professional background and motivation in the area of HIV. So, it is best to choose
a referee who is familiar with your work and interests. Since the letter can take some time to
obtain, make sure that you contact your referee with enough time to spare before applications
close.
2. Be specific in describing your expertise in the area of HIV and your motivation
for attending the conference
When asked about your motivation to attend the conference, your organization’s work in HIV
and your own experience, it is best to be as specific as possible. Go into detail when
describing your role and professional interests and background in HIV. Applicants who write
that they are interested in a scholarship because they “would like to meet people” are not
being specific enough. If you would like to network, ask yourself who you would like to meet
23 – 26 July · Brisbane, Australia, and virtual
iasociety.org
and why. Similarly, instead of just saying that you are interested in the conference
programme, you could specify which sessions or topics in particular you are interested
in and how this ties into your own expertise, interests and career objectives.
3. Have a plan about how you intend to bring knowledge gained back to your
community
Reviewers are interested in the benefit that your conference attendance will bring to your
community back home. We like to select candidates whose conference attendance will bring
positive impacts not just for their own careers but also for the overall HIV response. For this
question, again, it is best to be as specific as possible. Don’t just say that you would
like to share knowledge of the conference back home. Go into detail about how you plan to
do this and provide examples of projects and changes you will implement after the conference
and the timeline of this.
4. Tell your story
For many of us, HIV is a deeply personal issue. If this is the case for you, feel free to provide
examples of how and why you are motivated by your work and the changes you would like to
see in the HIV response in your community and globally.
5. Follow the word count specified for each question, but don’t worry too much
about grammar
We are aware that for many people, English is not their first language, so we do not judge
grammar or writing style. Any form of response is accepted. You may write in an essay
style, but you are also welcome to use bullet points if this is easier for you.
All of the open questions specify a word count. The minimum is 50 words and the maximum
is 300 words. Make sure that you write responses that are detailed enough without going over
the word limit
We hope that these tips will help you. While an application can be submitted only
once, you can save your application as a draft until you are ready to submit it. The
deadline to submit your application is 31 January 2023, 23:49 CET. Good luck and
we look forward to reviewing your application!
