Grants and Funding Overview

Overview

This year, the SEB has provided £20,000 of funding for SEB student and early career scientist members who are presenting a poster or talk at the SEB Annual Conference. Students and early career members can apply for up to £400 to support their travel to this flagship event that brings together biologists from across the globe to make connections and share their research. The conference takes place each year in the first week of July.

Eligibility   Criteria 

To be eligible for a travel grant you must meet the following criteria:

• Applicant must be a current student or early career SEB member.
• Applicant must be in the second consecutive year of SEB membership or if you are a new member you must hold a multi-year membership*
• Applicant must be the first author presenting an accepted poster or talk at the conference.
• Applicant must not have been awarded a SEB conference travel grant to attend last year's SEB Annual Conference.
• Applicant must not have received funding from the Company of Biologists Grant to attend the upcoming SEB Annual Conference.
• Applicant must have registered and paid to attend the conference.

* new student members are only eligible to apply for multi-year year student membership (i.e. Student 3 years or Student 5 years) if their program of study is not due to finish before the end of the membership period to which they are applying.
 
Please contact the SEB Membership Team if you need to update your membership category or subscription type before you apply for a grant.

The Outreach and Engagement Grant provides funding to support outreach events and activities that will contribute to the public understanding of science and promote engagement with all forms of experimental biology to a variety of public audiences. SEB members can apply for grants of up to the value of £1000 and non-members can apply for grants of up to the value of  £200 to cover the costs associated with holding or participating in an outreach event or activity.

There are two application deadlines per year: 1 June and 1 October. 

The Diversity Grant provides funding to help tackle barriers to inclusion and support initiatives that promote diversity in academia and science. The purpose of this grant is to help create and support a representative community in experimental biology research. SEB members can apply for funding of up to £1000 to cover costs associated with any activity or initiative that aims to improve diversity and increase inclusivity in academia and research, specifically within the field of experimental biology. This may include but is not limited to:  

• Making your workplace a more inclusive environment for example through the creation of good practice toolkits or holding a diversity training session
• Improving inclusivity at research events you have organised for example, providing financial aid to underrepresented groups or improving accessibility of the facilities
• Improving diversity in your field for example through the creation or support of a mentoring scheme 
• Increasing awareness of the contributions of underrepresented groups in experimental biology for example organising hackathons, giveaways, and promotional events. 

Applications are welcome throughout the year.   

The SEB promotes inclusion at all levels by focusing on removing barriers to accessing the Society. To support our members during challenging times in their career, the SEB Hardship Fund provides a reduced or full fee waiver for one year of membership to support our members who are experiencing periods of financial hardship by allowing them to continue to access the career development resources and research network provided by the SEB.

We also accept applications from researchers and students who are not currently members of the SEB from war-torn countries who therefore may experience significant barriers to their career.

A total of £1,000 a year is available for this purpose.

Applications are welcome throughout the year.

The Educational Research and Development Grant aims to support research initiatives aimed at enhancing learning, teaching, and assessment in experimental biology. Additionally, it supports the development and dissemination of open-access teaching resources for use in higher education. SEB members are eligible to apply for grants of up to £2000, while non-members can apply for grants of up to £200.

The grant application is open all year round; however, the review and decision process comprises two yearly rounds. This biannual schedule ensures that aspiring recipients have multiple chances to secure funding for their projects.

If you are organising a scientific meeting independently or in collaboration with other organisations, SEB members can apply for sponsorship from us to help with the cost of the meeting. You can apply for up to £1,000 per meeting, and the total available each year is £5,000.

We can sponsor PhD events in biological departments around the world. You can apply for up to £100 towards the expenses of organising the event, for example, the cost of refreshments.

SEB members can apply for up to £200 to cover expenses for an external lecture speaker.