Elliott/Upitis/Bamji Awards for

Travel Fellowships in Education

History and Purpose of Fellowship

These travel fellowships are available because of generous bequests to the Faculty of Education from Charles Martyn Elliott and Kathleen Meed Elliott, from Z.R. Upitis, and from Dr. Pervez (Perry) Bamji and Mrs. Annamaria Bamji. Students in the B.Ed., M.Ed. and Ph.D. programs can apply for funds to support education-related travel outside Canada. B.Ed./Dip.Ed. candidates typically use the funds for an alternative practicum experience in an international setting. Funds may not be used for travel within Canada.

Eligibility

Eligibility for these awards is based in part on student need, and applicants will be required to demonstrate this need in accordance with Queen’s policies on student assistance. The province of Ontario matches the funds disbursed and therefore student applicants must be residents of Ontario. Residents are those who themselves, their spouses, or their parents have resided in Ontario for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the beginning of full-time study.

Alternative Practicum Parameters

A full description of the alternative practicum policies and options is available on the Practicum Office web site.

Resources for International Placement Opportunities

The Practicum Office (A103) has a directory of alternative practicum placements in recent years, a binder organized by focus course and an on-line directory searchable by focus course and other variables.

Many focus course instructors have networks and suggestions regarding placement opportunities related to their course.

Alan Travers and Elspeth Morgan in Education Careers Services (A101) are available to brainstorm international opportunities with a particular emphasis on international schools worldwide, and public school systems in the UK/USA/AU. (All placements in international schools specifically must be cleared by Education Career Services. Please check with the office before confirming any such arrangement.)

Application Procedures and Deadlines

Step 1: Complete the financial eligibility form (53K PDF) and submit it directly to the Student Awards Office in Gordon Hall, 74 Union St. The deadline is Tuesday, September 22, 2009. It is not necessary to have alternative practicum arrangements in place for this step.

Step 2: As of Sept. 30, 2009 you can check with Chelsea Barna in Education Career Services (A101) to see if you qualify to continue the process.  Note:  It is the student’s responsibility to determine eligibility before continuing the application process.

Step 3: Assuming financial eligibility, you can proceed with the application form (22K PDF) for the Elliott/Upitis/Bamji Travel Fellowship. For this step a specific placement must be proposed along with a budget. The application must be submitted by Friday, November 20, 2009 to:

Chair

Elliott/Upitis/Bamji Travel Fellowship Advisory Committee

c/o Chelsea Barna in A101, McArthur Hall

Faculty of Education, Queen’s University.

Preparing the Proposal

Not all proposals will be funded; therefore it is important to maximize your chances of success by seriously considering the following questions as you prepare your proposal.

• Why you? What specific knowledge, skills and ideas do you bring to the project? How will this specific experience help to make you a better educator?
• Why now? How does this project fit with your short and long term professional development goals?
• Why there? Why is it important that this project be undertaken in this specific place? Could you fulfill these professional development goals without going abroad?

The funds can be used to cover travel and accommodation expenses. The advisory committee will be looking for projects that show promise of high impact at a reasonable cost.

How and When Awards Are Announced

The advisory committee will assess the applications and, subsequent to approval from the Dean of Education, an email will be sent to individual applicants by Friday, December 18, 2009. If you have been approved you will receive either 60% or 100% of the proposed budget, depending on your financial situation as assessed by the Student Awards Office. Payment is initiated through the Student Award Office, in Gordon Hall, 74 Union Street*.

Report to be Submitted

Following the completion of the project, recipients of an award are required to produce a report for the Dean of Education outlining the results of their studies abroad. The format and structure of this report is flexible. The report should be submitted to Chelsea Barna in Education Career Services (A101).

*Funds will not be released without evidence of attendance at the  Pre-Departure orientation workshop.