Purpose and value of the awards
The International Society of Hymenopterists (ISH) has created the student and ECR travel awards to support and encourage postgraduate students or early career researchers (ECR, defined for the purpose of these awards as three years or less since graduating from terminal degree) working on the systematics, ecology, physiology or some other aspect of the insect order Hymenoptera as part of a postgraduate program (MSc, PhD or equivalent qualification). They are advertised on a regular basis through the Society.
For this round, the Society and the Endowment have allocated funds for five USD $2000 travel awards specifically to attend the 11th Congress of ISH in Mexico City (10-14 August 2026). To be eligible awardees must give an oral presentation at the Congress and undertake to write a short report for Hamuli after the Congress (see under “Application process”). Supervisors must be able to state that applicants are registered graduate students at their institution who have not submitted their theses by the due date (14 February 2026).
The five awards have been divided into two categories with different eligibility criteria as outlined below:
Two awards restricted to current ISH members:
Only full-time postgraduate students or ECRs are eligible to apply and they must be current members of the Society (you will need to be logged in to apply)
Three awards restricted to applicants based in countries not in the UN HDI index top 30:
Only full-time postgraduate students or ECRs are eligible to apply; they do not have to be members of the Society, but must be based within a country other than the 30 countries with the highest human development index as listed by the UN Development Program (https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/human-development-index#/indicies/HDI): Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong China (SAR), Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States.
Application process
The application needs to be written in English and contain the following information:
- Full name
- Institutional address and email address
- Name and email address of principal supervisor/major professor
- Degree program (PhD, etc); title of research project
- Student: Time since starting this degree (years and months)
- ECR: Graduation date (years and months)
- Title and Abstract of the Congress poster/oral presentation
- Budget for attending the Congress (including the USD $2000 award and other possible sources of funding). Please follow the template here.
- Explanation of how attendance at the Congress will enhance your research (500 words max.)
- Statement of your professional and outreach activities (250 words max.)
- Endorsement letter from principal supervisor/major professor
Obligation after the Congress: The awardees will be expected to write a short report about their experiences during the Congress for inclusion in Hamuli, the newsletter of the International Society of Hymenopterists.
Deadline and selection process: Applications must be submitted on the Society’s website (links above) by 3 March 2026. A committee of three members of the Society will assess the applications and select the winners. The decision of the committee will be final. The winners will be announced by the President of the Society.