Grants and Support
ACM UMAP 2025 is committed to promoting equity and inclusion for students and early-career researchers attending the conference, particularly those from developing countries. In light of this commitment—and thanks to the generous contributions of UM Inc. and SIGWEB—ACM UMAP 2025 is pleased to offer grants to help support conference attendance financially.
In addition, we would like to highlight that there are funds not directly managed by ACM UMAP 2025 for which interested applicants may also apply. Please note that each fund targets a specific audience, so you must verify that your profile meets the fund’s requirements. Further details are provided below.
Students who receive a grant are expected to serve as student volunteers for UMAP 2025.
The organizers reserve the right to reduce or revoke the allocated funds if a student fails to fulfil their volunteer duties.
Please note that the benefits derived from these grants cannot be combined.
Gary Marsden Travel Awards (GMTA)
The SIGCHI Gary Marsden Travel Award (GMTA) is a grant offered by SIGCHI for its conferences, including UMAP. It is named in memory of Gary Marsden, a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa.
This grant is not directly administered by ACM UMAP 2025, so it meets different rules and deadlines. Please refer to the following.
Application Process: Applications for this grant are accepted monthly, with submissions due by the 9th of each month at 11:59 PM AoE. However, because GMTA applications must be submitted at least one month before the conference starts, the final deadline for ACM UMAP 2025 is May 9th.
You may apply even before receiving your acceptance notification.
Eligibility: undergraduate and graduate students, early-career researchers (≤ 5 years post-graduation), and individuals facing financial hardship or lacking institutional support.
Covered costs: registration fees and travel expenses.
Receiving the grant: If you request support for registration, GMTA covers this through a complimentary code or refund if you have already paid. If you requested support for other travel expenses, we cover this through reimbursements; you will need to submit receipts after the conference. If you requested support for registration and other travel expenses, your reimbursable amount will be your total awarded minus registration.
Deadlines: 9th March, 9th April, 9th May.
For additional details, please refer to the official website: https://sigchi.org/resources/gary-marsden-travel-awards/
ACM UMAP 2025 Grants
These grants are supported by UM Inc. and SIGWEB. Each fund has specific eligibility requirements; please refer to the details below.
UM Inc.
The User Modelling Inc. has traditionally provided funds to support student participation in UMAP conferences.
Eligibility: the fund is reserved for students
Covered costs: registration fees, travel*
SIGWEB
SIGWEB is committed to promoting fair access to its conferences and to achieve this goal, SIGWEB is increasing and broadening the student support offered at these events. This initiative aims to reduce financial barriers for students as well as early researchers from economically developing countries, thus enabling broader participation in conferences and creating a more inclusive academic community.
Eligibility: the fund supports students and early researchers from economically developing countries (For a list of eligible countries, please refer to: https://services.acm.org/public/qj/proflevel/countryListing.cfm).
Covered costs: registration fees, travel*, accommodation*
How to Apply and Receive the Grant
Please, prepare the following documents to submit your request:
- A short statement (1-2 paragraphs) explaining why you are interested in participating at ACM UMAP 2025.
- Title of accepted papers in the conference (if any).
- Estimated travel cost (if needed).
- Attendance type (workshop, main conference, full).
- A brief letter from a supervisor or advising professor in case you are a student. This letter (in PDF or scanned PDF) must confirm: that you are a valid student and that your supervisor has reviewed your budget and agrees that it is reasonable. The letter should include your supervisor’s signature.
Application submission: applications must be submitted by filling out this form https://forms.gle/vt6Md3RtjsmW4e5k6
Receiving the grant: Each recipient will be awarded an amount intended to contribute to covering registration, travel, and accommodation expenses. However, due to limited funding, the awarded amount may only partially cover these costs.
Registration Fee: Applicants for a grant are advised to wait for the notification before registering for the conference. This way, UMAP 2025 may provide a voucher to register for the conference without paying the registration fee. If you submit a grant request and you don’t receive it, don’t worry about the early registration deadline. UMAP 2025 will provide you a discout code to register with the early registration rate.
For those who have already registered, the registration cost will be reallocated within the grant budget to reimburse travel and accommodation expenses.
Please note that for each accepted contribution, at least one full author registration is required per paper, even for student authors.
Travel and Accommodation: Recipients are required to pay all expenses upfront and will be reimbursed after the conference.
Grants application deadline: April 30
Grants acceptance notification: May 4
Grant Assignment Criteria
Grants will be awarded based on the following priorities:
- Student Status: Preference will be given to students.
- Accepted Contributions: Preference will be given to authors of accepted contributions, with priority in the following order: doctoral consortium, main track, short paper, and other categories.
- Residency: Applicants residing in an economically developing country (as defined by the ACM list) will be favoured.
- Underrepresented Countries: Applicants from underrepresented countries at UMAP 2025 will also receive priority.
* Please note: Expenses different from the registration fees may be covered partially according to available funds.
Student Volunteer Chairs
- Alberto Carlo Maria Mancino, Polytechnic University of Bari
- Yong Zheng, Illinois Institute of Technology
Contact information: umap2025-studentsvol@um.org