APPLY NOW Association of Commonwealth Universities Conference Grants
For emerging academics, taking part in conferences can have a profound impact on their teaching and research.
These events are a chance to share research, learn about the latest developments in an area of work, and build valuable professional networks. Researchers find themselves better informed and better connected with new knowledge that can be shared and multiplied among colleagues and students.
Early Career Conference Grants help to ensure that more emerging researchers – and the universities that employ them – can benefit from these valuable opportunities.
This year’s grants are being offered for both virtual (online) and in-person conferences.
There are 25-40 grants available. The final number awarded will depend on the number of applications for each format (virtual/in-person).
| Application opens: | Application closes: |
| Tuesday 4 October 2022 | Monday 28 November 2022, 23:59 UTC |
What does the grant include?
​For virtual conferences, the grants cover:
- Conference registration fee of up to £600 GBP
- A data grant of £50 GBP for successful applicants who do not have reliable access to Wi-Fi.
- Free access to a half-day training session on how to deliver great virtual presentations
For in-person conferences, grants are a maximum of GBP 2,000 to cover:
- Conference registration fee
- Flights
- Accommodation
- Visa costs
- Travel and health insurance
- COVID-19 testing for travel
Who can apply?
Applicants must:
- Be employed by an ACU member university with a job title of lecturer, post-doctoral researcher, professor, associate professor, or equivalent.
- Be within 7 years of the start of their academic (research/teaching) career, with the exception of those who have had career breaks. A career break is a period of time out from employment for personal or professional reasons, including to care for children.
- Not have previously travelled for work purposes (including conferences) outside their region of employment since the start of their academic career.
- Not be a previous recipient of an ACU Early Career Conference Grant (previously known as Early Career Academic Grants)
Applicants must identify a specific conference before applying for the grant.
The conference must take place between 1 April and 30 September 2023. High quality conferences organised by universities or academic bodies of good standing will be prioritised for selection.
Before applying, applicants must research any border restrictions and COVID-19 vaccine/testing requirements of the country where the conference is being hosted to confirm that they would be able to travel to their chosen conference without being required to quarantine, if successful.
Application requirements
As part of the application form, applicants must:
- Give details of their chosen conference, including a copy of their abstract.
- State whether the conference is virtual or in-person (for hybrid conferences applicants must choose whether they wish to attend in-person or virtually).
- Choose the Sustainable Development Goal(s) which relate most closely to their research and describe how their research can contribute to achieving these goals.
- Explain the reasons for their choice of conference and how it links to their research interests.
- Explain how participating in the conference will benefit their career and professional development.
- Explain how they will share the knowledge gained by participating in the conference.
- Provide a detailed letter or email of support from their head of department commenting on the suitability of the conference and how participating in the conference will be beneficial.
- If applying for an in-person conference, give a breakdown of the costs for which they are applying for funding.
Successful applicants will be required to submit a report on the use of their grant by 31 October 2023.
How to apply
To apply for a grant, you will need a MyACU account. If you already have an account, you can start your application right away.Â
If you do not have a MyACU account, please register. You’ll then need to follow the login instructions in the registration email before starting your application.
Application deadline: Monday 28 November
2022, 23:59 UTC
Microeconomics is the study of individuals and business decisions, while macroeconomics looks at the decisions of countries and governments.
Principles Of Macroeconomics
1. National Income – The area of macroeconomics analyses the wealth a nation generates. There are different measures for this such as Gross National Product, Gross Domestic Product, and Net National Income. The underlying purpose of all of these is to paint a picture of the financial health of a nation. The basic approach to this undertaking is looking at the value of goods and services produced by a nation over the course of a year.
2. Inflation – Inflation is the study of how the cost of goods and services rises as time goes on. For example, if a car cost $1000 more in a given year than it did ten years previously, that would be a case of inflation. Inflation is a complex area of economics but the consensus among leading modern economists is that it’s desirable for inflation to be kept at a low or steady rate as near to zero as possible. This helps negate the negative consequences of economic recession.
3. Economic Output – This is the study of the goods and services which a national economy produces. A high output is desirable as the more money that is spent on a nation’s goods and services, the more benefit this holds for a country due to the fact that more people will be in employment and greater tax revenue will be raised.
4. International Trade – This area of macroeconomics looks at the trade that occurs between nations in terms of goods, services, and raw materials. International trade often forms a large part of a nation’s income as the world is obviously a far larger market place than a single nation. International trade is vital to the world economy as often certain raw materials or goods are only or best produced in a certain country or region. For example, colder nations do not have the climate needed to produce bananas, so for that country to have banana availability, international trade is required.
PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS
Microeconomics follows the general principles of economics. Some of these are discussed below:
1. Demand and Supply: When demand exceeds supply over a period, suppliers either increase the supply or increase the prices. As prices go up, demand would ideally reduce since the number of people who can afford goes down. This way, suppliers buy time to get back in action coping with the demand. Conversely, when supply surpasses demand, suppliers would either have to cut down on their supply or decrease the prices of the products being sold. Remember, at this point, manufacturers have a surplus of stock. So, when prices go down, demand would pick up and equal the supply. Finally, when both supply and demand are optimal, a state of equilibrium is achieved. The correlation between demand and supply and the state of equilibrium assumes that all other factors except price and demand remain constant.
2. Opportunity Cost: A consumer who is also a decision-maker has limited resources (money) and unlimited options (opportunities) to use their resources. The cost a consumer suffers by not choosing the best alternative is the opportunity cost. This is with the assumption that the choices are mutually exclusive.
3. Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility: This microeconomics concept is widely used for maximizing consumers’ utility. The law of diminishing marginal utility plays a crucial role in consumers’ decisions when purchasing. This law emphasizes that the demand for a particular product decreases with each consecutive unit consumed by a customer. For instance, an individual buys ice cream, consumes it, and then buys another one. Finally, after having three ice-creams, he doesn’t want them anymore and stops purchasing them.
4. Giffen goods: These are the necessary items whose price rise doesn’t affect the demand. What makes Giffen goods unique is the price and demand equation. These are probably rational decisions, where the buyers are willing to pay a higher price despite the price hype. These types of exceptional goods are called ‘Giffen goods,’ where the demand curve is positively sloped. For instance, the price rise of petrol doesn’t reduce its demand. In order to be considered Giffen Goods, products must fulfill some of the following criteria: A lack of substitute products. The substitute should be inferior. Amount spent on the product should be a major portion of the customer’s budget.
5. Veblen Goods: Veblen Goods are similar to Giffen goods. These are the goods that are considered a symbol of status, esteem, or luxury. These are goods for which consumers do not mind paying a higher price. Typical examples include Rolls Royce, jewelry, and gems. The higher the prices higher the intensity to purchase these goods. Customers do this to exhibit their status.