1. Number and Value of the Grants

The International Ragweed Society (IRS) will award three Young Researcher Travel Grants to support participation in the 13th International Conference on Aerobiology (ICA 2026).

Each grant will include:

• payment of the ICA 2026 conference registration fee directly to the conference organisers;
• EUR 700 as a contribution towards travel and accommodation expenses.

2. Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must:

• be current members of the International Ragweed Society (IRS) at the time of application;
• have submitted an abstract on a ragweed-related topic to ICA 2026;
• be an early-career researcher, including:
  • PhD candidate;
  • postdoctoral researcher;
  • research fellow;
  • or another non-tenured researcher.

3. Application Procedure

Application deadline: 1 September 2026

Applications should be submitted by email to the IRS Secretary:

Prof. Arnaud Monty

arnaud.monty@uliege.be

The application should include:

• completed application form;
• submitted conference abstract;
• short CV (Europass or similar format).

4. Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based on:

• scientific quality and relevance of the submitted abstract;
• applicant's career stage;
• expected benefit of conference participation for the applicant's scientific career;
• demonstrated need for financial support.

Priority will be given to applicants with limited access to alternative travel funding. Where applications are of comparable scientific quality, geographical diversity and gender balance may also be taken into consideration.

5. Conditions of the Award

The IRS will:

• pay the ICA 2026 registration fee directly to the conference organisers;
• transfer EUR 700 towards travel expenses to the successful applicants after the conference, upon confirmation of attendance and presentation.

Grant recipients will be required to acknowledge the support of the International Ragweed Society in their conference presentation.

The Selection Committee reserves the right not to make all three awards if the submitted applications do not meet the required scientific standard.