Fellowships

The ISB International Society for Biocuration is a non-profit organization for biocurators, developers, and researchers with an interest in biocuration. The society promotes the field of biocuration and provides a forum for information exchange through meetings and workshops.

ISB is offering two in-person travel fellowships (CHF 2,500 each) to support current ISB members aiming to attend the [BC]² Basel Computational Biology Conference. Applications are particularly encouraged from students, early-career curators, and curators from low-income countries or those affected by natural disasters.

Fellowship details

Each travel fellowship will be issued as 2’500 CHF one-time payment to cover travel expenses (e.g. flight and ground transportation) to [BC]².

• ISB Travel Fellows will receive a free registration for the conference.

• ISB Travel Fellows will receive the funds after the decision has been taken; fellows will be responsible for organizing their own travel arrangements.

• Once notified, ISB Travel Fellows must register for the conference independently.

Eligibility and application process

Each applicant for a travel fellowship must meet the following criteria:

• Be an active ISB member (details on becoming an ISB member can be found here). 

• Submit a completed application using the official application form, including a statement (max. 500 words) explaining why they are requesting travel funds and how attending the [BC]² conference will benefit their career. 

• Commit to presenting a poster or giving a talk at the conference.

• Submit their application by 30 April 2025

• After the meeting awardees will supply a picture and short summary of how attending the meeting benefitted them for use by the ISB 

• Priority will be given to students and early-careers, as well as to applicants from low to middle-income countries or countries suffering from natural and humanitarian disasters. Previous recipients can apply again; however, they will be given a lower priority.

Notification

The award notification will be sent via email in mid-May and announced on the ISB and [BC]² website after acceptance of the award.

Important dates

• 10 March 2025 – Fellowship call opens
• 30 April 2025 – Fellowship call closes

• 15 May 2025 – Acceptance notification

Apply here

The Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) has granted nine registration fellowships for students (BSc, MSc or PhD), who wish to participate in [BC]² (only applicable to on-site participation). Interested students can submit their motivation letter, which will be assessed by the Board of the LS² Bioinformatics Intersection.

Requirements and procedures

Applicants need to satisfy the following criteria:

• The applicant must be enrolled in an official Bachelor, Master or PhD programme (a copy of a valid student ID or certificate of the current inscription needs to be provided with the application).
• The field of study must be related to one of the sessions of the [BC]² conference.
• The applicant must be an active member of LS² by the time of the application (see the membership details).
• The applicant must submit a motivation letter to explain why she/he would like to attend the [BC]² conference and how the conference will benefit her/his career.
• Application deadline: 29 May 2025

Notification

The acceptance notification for the registration fellowship will be sent via email mi to end-June 2025 and is also announced on the LS² and [BC]² website after acceptance of the fellowship.

Please note:

• If you are granted a registration fellowship, but already registered to [BC]², the registration fee will be reimbursed; if not you will receive a registration code to set your registration fees to 0 CHF.
• Travel and hotel need to be organized by the applicant. They are not covered by the fellowship.
• All LS² members can be intersection members (read below information about the LS² Intersection Bioinformatics)

Important dates

• 10 March 2025 – Fellowship call opens
• 29 May 2025 – Fellowship call closes
• Mid-June 2025 – Acceptance notification

Apply here

The SNF Travel Fellowship offers financial support for students and postdocs to attend the [BC]² Conference and present a talk or poster. This fellowship aims to assist individuals who might not otherwise be able to attend due to reasons beyond simple lack of funding for travel and accommodation. Please note that the grant has not yet been confirmed, so this fellowship is subject to final approval by the SNF.  

Covered costs

Travel costs: Up to 1,000 CHF for economy-class flights, train travel, airport transfers, and visa fees. Regional limits apply:

• up to 500 CHF for travel within Europe
• up to 700 CHF for travel from the Middle East

Only actual travel costs will be reimbursed according to the specified limits and guidelines.

Accommodation and living costs: a lump sum of 200 CHF per night for up to 3 nights maximum. A signed confirmation of receipt will be requested, but no accommodation tickets/receipts are needed.

Additional information

• Fellowships are valued at up to 1,600 CHF and may cover partial or full travel and accommodation costs.
• Additional expenses, such as registration fees for workshops, tutorials, or the main conference, are not covered.
• Applying for a fellowship does not guarantee that you will receive funding, please wait until the acceptance notification of travel fellowships before registering.
• Reimbursements are processed after the conference upon receipt of travel tickets and signed confirmation form acknowledging the lump sum received.
• Travel arrangements must be made independently by the selected fellows according to the guidelines (economy-class plane, train travel in Europe) as well as accommodation.
• After the conference, selected fellows are required to provide a photo and a brief summary of how attending the [BC]² Conference benefited them. This information may be used by the [BC]2 for promotional or reporting purposes.

Requirements and procedures

Applicants must meet the following conditions:

• Presenting requirement: the applicant must be the presenting author of an accepted [BC]² oral presentation, poster pitch or poster. The presenting authors can send a travel fellowship application before receiving the acceptance notification for their submissions; if their submissions are accepted for presentation at the conference, they will be shortlisted among the candidates who applied for travel funding.
• Motivation statement: Applicants must submit a 500-word statement via the official application form, explaining why they need travel funds and how attending [BC]² will benefit their career.
• Conference attendance: recipients must attend at least two conference days (9–10 September) and secure additional funding from other sources to be able to cover the full costs of attending the conference.
• Academic status: fellowships are for MSc students, PhD students, and postdoctoral researchers affiliated with an accredited university or college. Proof of status is required.

Selection process and criteria

Applications will be reviewed by 3 members of the scientific committee following these criteria:

• Quality of the applicant (abstract, track record, letter of motivation)
• Likely benefit of the meeting for the applicant and their research group
• No more than one person per research group will be supported.

Funding sources for travel fellowships are very limited, and we regret that we may not be able to fund all applicants. The conference organizers are committed to support as many eligible applicants as possible.

Important dates

• 10 March 2025 – Fellowship call opens
• 29 May 2025 – Fellowship call closes
• Mid-June 2025 – Acceptance notification

Apply here