Stay informed and be ready for exciting opportunities as we announce further details on how to participate in our upcoming election

Committee Membership

SPAC is comprised of 8-11 members, constituted as follows:

• A Student Chair,
• A Secretary,
• An Undergraduate Representative,
• A Graduate Representative,
• A Postdoctoral-Fellow Representative,
• A Women’s Representative,
• An Indigenous Representative,
• Up to three Members at Large.

For more information about SPAC’s membership, the duties of each member, and SPAC’s business, please see SPAC’s terms of reference.

Eligible Nominees

Any student (undergraduate or graduate) or postdoctoral fellow may be appointed to SPAC. Appointments are usually made for 2 year terms. Students and postdoctoral fellows must be enrolled in their program at the time of the election and shall be eligible to serve on the committee for up to twelve months after leaving their degree or program SPAC members are appointed with staggered terms, so not all positions will be available in any given year.

All students and postdocs appointed to SPAC will be expected to meet at least once monthly to conduct the business of SPAC, and to contribute to SPAC’s activities, as needed.

Election and Nomination Procedure

Following the nomination period, all nominated candidates will be contacted to confirm whether or not they accept their nomination, and to submit additional information (e.g., name, picture, bio, platform). The SPAC Election will follow. All students and postdoctoral fellows currently pursuing a computing-related degree and a university in Canada will be eligible to vote. More information about how and when to vote will be made available following the nomination period.

Currently Open Positions

• Indigenous Representative

The CS-Can | Info-Can Student Travel Awards are designed to support students attending an event that is complementary to, but not a part of, their normal academic requirements for their degree. Preference will be given to students who are presenting at CS-Can-related events, and events based in Canada.

Students who wish to apply, may do so by filling out this form.

What Can Be Funded

A successful applicant to the CS-Can Student Travel Award must be pursuing an activity complimentary to, but not a part of, their normal activities as a student. The travel award funding may be used to cover the costs of travel, accommodation or event registration.

Examples of acceptable funding applications include:

1. An undergraduate student travelling to attend the Canadian Undergraduate Computer Science Conference to present their honours thesis or USRA research work
2. A PhD Student hosting a workshop about how to survive impostor syndrome in the competitive CS graduate school scene in Canada at the CS-Can Student Symposium
3. A Masters student attending Can-CWiC.

What Cannot be Funded

A PhD or Masters student who is attending a conference to present their research work at a conference is not eligible for funding, because this is a normal part of their program for which funding is typically available.

Eligibility

A successful applicant must be pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in a computing field at a Canadian University. Successful applicants do not need to be Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents. Preference may be given to a student who is travelling to a Canadian event, but international events may also be considered for partial support. A successful applicant must not receive funding for the portion of their costs covered by the CS-Can Student Travel Award from any other funding source. Proof of expenses may be required before the award amount is issued.

Award Application Periods

Each year, there are 6 award application periods. Students applying for an award should ensure that the event to which they are travelling takes place after the decision notification date, otherwise they may be deemed ineligible for the award. In some exceptional circumstances, SPAC and CS-Can may expedite the review process to grant some travel awards before the decision notification date.

Award Amounts

CS-Can Student Travel Awards will be awarded up to $500 CAD. The number and amount of awards given each year will be subject to available funding and subject to the number of applications. CS-Can and SPAC reserve the right to administer no awards in a given year if no applications are deemed worthy. Smaller funding requests are more likely to be approved. CS-Can and SPAC reserves the right to offer CS-Can Student Travel Awards whose value is less than the requested funding amount.

Administering the Awards

SPAC will notify successful applicants of their award offer, which may be a reduced amount than requested by the applicant. The applicant may then either accept or decline the awards. Prior to administers the awards, SPAC and CS-Can may require acceptable proof of purchase for travel tickets, registration or accommodation, and may require the successful applicant to fill a waiver certifying that they have not received funding for the same expenses from any other sources. The applicant’s supervisor may need to sign this form. CS-Can will then issue the amount of the award to the applicant via direct deposit.

Additional Information

For more information about the awards, please see our travel award policies, or contact spac@forum.cscan-infocan.ca.