International Scholarship Program Application Form ver2020

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11-22-2019 10:23 AM

International Scholarship Program Application Form ver2020

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This is the SCGIS Global Scholarship Program application form with instructions. v.2020

Please read the instructions carefully before filling out and submitting your application.

The form has changed this year, and we do not accept application forms from previous years!

For more information on the SCGIS Scholarship Program and local Chapters see https://community.esri.com/groups/conservation-gis/projects/scgis-ttt-trainers/pages/2020scholars

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DEADLINES SUMMARY:

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT APPLICATION TO YOUR CHAPTER/MENTOR FOR REVIEW:  FRIDAY DEC 27th, 2019

DEADLINE FOR CHAPTER/MENTOR TO SUBMIT REVIEWED AND SCORED APPLICATIONS TO SCGIS GLOBAL: TUESDAY JAN 14th, 2020

APPLICATION QUESTIONS: your local Chapter or Mentor, or mlotter@scgis.org, or mdiyan@scgis.org

 

*=== INTRODUCTION

 

The Society for Conservation GIS (SCGIS - http://www.scgis.org) Global Scholarship Program is not a typical scholarship program.  Rather, it is a support program that covers SOME of the costs to allow you to receive top level GIS training and attend and present your work at 1 of the best Conservation GIS conferences in the world: SCGIS. You will join a very tight-knit community of comrades as you will receive specialized 4-week training courses and attend the Esri UC and SCGIS conferences.  Local travel and accommodations will be simple so that we can afford to provide this opportunity annually. These support grants are PARTIAL in that you contribute some of the costs yourself, and you will be expected to do a lot of work as a scholar.  These grants are competitive in that your application will be considered in comparison to others, evaluating your work, your activism with NGO's and the conservation GIS community in your region, your needs, and your resources in relation to the environmental and economic issues of your region or country.  If our resources permit, these grants will also include software, books, and refurbished hardware, depending on your needs.   The specific amount of funding available for this year’s program hasn’t been clarified so the number of people who we will be able to award this year has not yet been determined. We do expect there will be a strong competition among the applications regardless of the program size decisions, so please study these guidelines and work hard to maximize your chances of selection.

 

Since the courses are conducted in English, and involve scientific and technical topics and often move quickly, they require a high level of English speaking fluency equivalent to attending university in an English-speaking country.  Therefore participants are required to be competent in written and spoken English.  In the below application form, you will need to demonstrate your proficiency or be prepared to be interviewed where your proficiency can be assessed. We have just found that those applicants who struggle with English are unable to take full advantage of the program at the expense of someone else you can.

 

In 2020, our program will span 6 weeks, covering the tentative dates June 19 - July 29, 2020.  Successful applicants would need to arrive on ether June 17 or 18 and depart on July 30. The program is located at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) from June 19 - Jul 5, then moves to the SCGIS and Esri User Conferences July 6-17. After this the group will move to Esri in Redlands, California from July 19-29 for cloud, online & conservation solution apps training.   The program will focus on the ArcGIS platform, including ArcGIS Pro, covering the complete scope of professional skills and practices needed to master this platform. Prior familiarity with ArcGIS is required such as self-taught skills or college courses.  The program will begin with some introductory material and progress rapidly to many intermediate to advanced topics including Geodatabase Management, Project Management, and Analysis.  The Esri Redlands segment will cover online GIS, webmapping, storymaps, field apps and Protected Area Management Solutions.  All courses will be taught by professional GIS instructors. In addition to teaching course modules, the instructors will work with each scholar individually on their specific GIS projects (please see details below in the instructions). 

  

Besides the training, the group of SCGIS scholarship awardees will attend two GIS conferences: the 23rd annual SCGIS Conference, held on July 7-10 in Monterey, California, and the 40th annual Esri International User Conference (UC) held on July 13-17 in San Diego, California.

 

The Esri UC is the largest GIS event in the world. Each year it brings together over 19,000 attendees from all over the world, providing an opportunity for GIS practitioners of all levels and backgrounds to meet, network, and learn about the most recent developments in GIS technology. The Environmental track plays an important role at the conference, attracting conservation GIS professionals and raising awareness about GIS in conservation among the general conference audience.  The annual SCGIS Conference is attended by approximately 100–200 conservation GIS activists, providing a convenient venue for the attendees to meet and have focused discussions on applying GIS in the field of conservation.

 

In 2020 our program will continue its partnership with Esri for core funding, and major conservation groups for additional funding and support, including Conservation International and The World Wildlife Fund Education for Nature program (WWF EFN).  EFN is a global program that provides professional training grants to deserving conservationists from the following countries:

http://www.worldwildlife.org/projects/professional-development-grants-pdgs

LATIN AMERICA: Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname

ASIA: Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam

AFRICA: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Dem. Republic of Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of Congo, Uganda, Zambia

OCEANIA: Fiji, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands

EFN grants fully include support for GIS training programs like ours and they have been very generous to the few prior scholars who qualified in the past. 

 

(SCGIS is an independent all-volunteer international society supported by membership donations and grants from Esri, Juniper GIS, University of California, Davis, and other foundations, partners, and vendors)

 

*=== APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

 

Scholarship application requirements are as follows:

 

1) Applicants must be involved with a NON-PROFIT CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION or a UNIVERSITY or Government Conservation Program in their region or country, and involved in the SCGIS CHAPTER OR CONSERVATION GIS COMMUNITY in their region.

 

2) SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING MATERIALS to your Chapter/Mentor by DEC 27, 2019:

  1. a) COMPLETED APPLICATION FORM (see below).

 

  1. b) AN ABSTRACT OF YOUR PROPOSED PRESENTATION should be included in a special section of the application (see below).

 

  1. c) AN EXAMPLE OF YOUR CONSERVATION GIS OR MAPPING WORK, which may include map screenshots, database structure description, or other mapping or GIS related works that YOU created.

 

3) CLOSING DATE: Your Chapter or Mentor is responsible for reviewing your application before submitting it to SCGIS International ON OR BEFORE JAN 14th, 2020,  so it is best to get started right away!.  Applications may only be sent VIA E-MAIL to your local chapter, mentor or sponsor as explained in the “*=== How to submit your application” section below

 

 

*=== ELIGIBILITY

 

Grants are generally made on a competitive basis to individuals outside of the U.S.A. and Canada, unless they are part of a local SCGIS Domestic Chapter or member of a tribal authority. Applicants need to work with GIS in conservation or environmental science, and are strongly involved with their local conservation GIS community. Preference goes to those who are working for or associated with a non-profit or non-government organization, whose GIS research serves as basis for direct conservation action, who can show some ability to find local funding for their work, and who show an ability to teach about conservation GIS to other non-profit organizations in their region or country.

 

If you were awarded a SCGIS scholarship in the past, but for some reason were unable to attend the program, you have to apply again this year if you want a scholarship. We currently do not roll over earlier awards to the following year. Your prior effort and acceptance will be taken into consideration; however, your new application will be in competition with an entirely new group so you may receive a different score this time.

 

 

While Prior SCGIS scholars are not eligible, they are nevertheless strongly encouraged to participate in the program as reviewers and mentors, helping spread the word to potential candidates, supporting their local SCGIS chapter, starting a new chapter, or applying to be an SCGIS trainer in the Train-the-Trainer program

 

*=== YOUR OBLIGATIONS IF SELECTED AS A SCHOLAR

 

Scholarship awardees will be required to do all of the following:

 

  1. a) Attend the scheduled training classes during the indicated time period, and come prepared to work on your specific GIS project during the training.  You will need to bring your GIS data and any other raw data you need to incorporate in your project (please see also training details in the form instructions below).  You will be expected to create an online map using ArcGIS.com, based on your work (you will learn how to do this in class).

 

  1. b) Present a talk and a map poster at the SCGIS conference describing your conservation efforts and projects within your organization.

 

  1. c) Instead of, or in addition to a conference talk/poster, you may also serve on the Storytelling project. Taking photos, helping interview others, filming at the map gallery, and creating public Storymaps about the scholars. Training and equipment is provided for all of these. If interested in this option please mention it, and please include any available samples or links to your prior photo or film work. Examples of prior scholar Storytelling work can be seen on the Storytelling pages https://bit.ly/2qWtC8t and the 2019 interview page: https://bit.ly/33IS6kh.   Examples of prior scholar profiles with their photo & film work can be seen at the TTT project pages https://bit.ly/2CK3mB4

 

  1. d) Be available to volunteer to help with the SCGIS conference and the Sustainable World Showcase at the Esri User Conference. The volunteer assignment may include helping setup/teardown of the Showcase and working at the SCGIS membership booth.  We expect recipients to volunteer for approximately 4 hours over the course of the conference.  Some work may take place during sessions, but we will accommodate volunteers so they can attend the sessions that are most important to them.  Details for volunteers will be provided shortly before the conference.

 

  1. e) Be available for other scholarship support activities in the evenings and weekends.  During the entire program give priority to the SCGIS events and activities over any other events nearby that are of your personal interest.

 

  1. f) Complete and submit 2 reports:
  2. Scholar's report is an informal account of your experiences as a scholar and is due toward the end of your travels.
  3. Scholarship Final report is a formal account of your work back home and is due a few months after you return home. It describes how you have applied the training, software and other items of your grant, with example maps and photos, and specific suggestions and criticisms for improving the program.  Specific requirements and due dates are finalized later.

 

  1. g) Read and respond quickly to many emails related to the program organization.  There will be about 20 emails from us with important announcements, and you will be expected to read and respond to them.  Failure to do so in a prompt manner can result in the disruption or even loss of portions of your grant.

 

  1. h) Take time to read and view certain technical guides and tutorials that will help prepare you for the training including but not limited to downloading and licensing new software donations you will receive.

 

 

*=== SCGIS OBLIGATIONS TO YOU IF SELECTED AS A SCHOLAR

 

        You will receive a combination of fee waivers, travel expenses and in-kind grants that can be worth over $10,000. The specific components of this grant are:

 

  1. a) Tuition fees for GIS training (retail value $535 per person per day) are FULLY waived.

 

  1. b) Attendance fees for the Esri User Conference ($1,695) and for SCGIS Annual Conference ($150) are FULLY waived.

 

  1. c) Travel expenses are PARTIALLY covered, depending on your grant level, beginning when you leave to attend the program and ending when you return home from the program, including the following categories of costs: Lodging, Food, Air and Ground Transport. Each applicant's grant allocation will be different and many factors will go into determining the grant for each scholar.

 

  1. d) Travel preparation expenses are NOT covered, including fees or travel expenses you must pay locally to obtain Visas or pick up air tickets.

 

  1. e) Software and eBooks grant: As a scholar you will be encouraged to apply for a customized grant of software and eBooks through a separate, customized application process based on the Esri Conservation Program guidelines at https://www.esri.com/en-us/solutions/industries/sustainability/conservation/overview.

 You will receive details about this if you are selected.

 

 

*=== GENERAL APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

 

Please review above the list of materials that are expected from you. A properly and thoughtfully submitted application form is the essential part of the list, but the other parts are also important! Applications submitted without the other required materials will stand a much lower chance of award and may be disqualified.

 

Before filling out the application form, please read the section-by-section instructions below, and think carefully about the overall structure of your application.

 

Please DO NOT ERASE ANY OF THE QUESTIONS from the application form. If you believe a question is not applicable to you, just leave the answer area blank.  Please DO NOT APPLY CUSTOM FORMATTING to the application form, the reviewers will expect to see all applications in the same simple format as included at the end of this document.

 

You will see that many sections are labeled in the instructions as ‘very important’, and this is true – we really need detailed and thoughtful answers to most questions we are asking. The competition for SCGIS scholarships is very tight, and if you limit your answers to short general phrases this will reduce your chances of winning a scholarship award.

 

Your application must be written in the English language.  Our training and conferences are all conducted in English and all successful applicants need to be proficient in conversational English. We feel strongly about successful applicants being capable of understanding and reading English so as to benefit from this fast-paced training. We will therefore require either an online certificate indicating your level of proficiency or an interview.

 

As indicated above, part of the application process is demonstrating your ability to pay some of the costs.   It is important for the applicants to make a very strong effort to supply as much of their own funding for travel as possible.  Preference will be given to those who make a sincere effort to obtain some of their own funding.  Accordingly, the applicant must supply information about additional funding they have been able to or hope to secure.  If you cannot pay anything, you will need to provide strong evidence about the financial circumstances of yourself, your organization, your country.  Each year we do make some grants to scholars who are unable to contribute anything, but the majority of the grants we make go to applicants who are able to contribute an amount that is appropriate and sustainable given their financial circumstances. 

 

When you commit in your application to contribute an amount, it is a serious commitment, and if you are selected as a scholar, we expect you to honor that commitment to pay.  If you cannot, and you have not been in regular communication with us about your circumstances, then parts of your grant will be withdrawn.

 

If you have to use abbreviations in your application, such as names of organizations or projects, please clearly decipher these abbreviations before using them. Also, if you are referring to any local landmarks (a mountain name, a region name, a park name etc.), please provide a brief explanation of what these landmarks are and why they are significant.  Remember, your application will be reviewed by experts working in many different parts of the world, and an abbreviation or a landmark name that are a routine part of your daily work may not sound so familiar to a person living on the other side of the globe.

 

If you need more explanations or help in understanding the form, please contact the local SCGIS Chapter or conservation GIS community leaders.

 

 

*=== SECTION-BY-SECTION INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING FORM

 

We designed these instructions with the intention to help you better understand specifics of our program and to guide you how to present yourself and your work the best way possible.   Please take advantage of this – read and follow the instructions carefully.

 

Remember, the following is not the application form; these are instructions only.  Please do not fill the form fields within these instructions.  Please do fill out and submit the actual form that follows AFTER the instructions, at the very end of this document (Ctrl+click here to jump to the application form at the end of this document).

 

[ORGANIZATION DATA]

*-Organization name:

*-Organization full street address (in your local format):

*-Organization full mailing address, if different:

*-Country:

*-Work phone with country and area code:

*-Work fax with country and area code:

*-Main email:

*-Organization Web site URL if any:

*-Name & email of your direct manager or faculty advisor:

Please provide information about the organization, university or conservation project with which you are affiliated. If applying as an individual, you can enter your own name here, but you must still complete the contact data section in full.

 

Address formats are different in many countries. Please fill out the address fields the way you find appropriate. There are two separate fields for the address. Mailing address may be different if your organization prefers P.O. Box delivery. However, we need your actual street address as well.

 

This information may be shared with a third party only if we ask for and receive your special permission.

 

*-Organization subject keywords (please see instructions):

Please use any eight of the following keywords that best describe or characterize your job description, organization, university program or project. Please also feel free to add any other keywords relevant to the organization activities!

 

admin, advocacy, agriculture, air quality, alternate energy, analysis, anthropology, aquatic, archeology, biodiversity, biology, birds, botanic garden, botany, caves karst, climate, climate change, coast, conservation, conservation planning, core-corridor, critical sites, database design, data center, data integration, data science, data source, desertification, ecology, education, emergency, envir education, envir justice, envir law, epidemiology, fire, first nations, fish, forest, GAP analysis, geology, greenways, haz mat, health, herptiles, history, hydrology, insects, inventory, invertebrates, landscape analysis, land trust, mammals, marine, mediation, mitigation, modeling, monitoring, museum, parks, planning policy, pollution, populations, protected areas, protected area planning, open space, ranch, recreation, recycling, remote sensing, restoration, river, soil, species, statistics, sustainable development, trails, tribal, vegetation, water, water quality, watersheds, web, wetlands, wildlife,  wildlife protection, wilderness, youth.

 

*-Confidential: your organization's last year total budget:

*-Confidential: your last year's total GIS program budget:

Please enter your best estimates of your last year total organizational or program budget, and your best estimate of last year's total GIS budget including hardware, software, salaries and maintenance. Please feel free to include any comments if you think they will help us better understand your situation.

 

This information shall remain confidential and shall not be shared with any third party.

 

[APPLICANT]

*-Your first name:

*-Your second name or surname:

*-Your honorific (e.g. Mr., Ms., Dr.):

*-Your Gender Identity (e.g. male, female, other):

*-Your age in years:

*-Your date of birth:

*-Your preferred informal name or by what name should we call you:

*-Your Nationality / Country of your passport:

*-Do you have a valid passport that will not expire before the end of 2020(not a requirement):

*-Do you have a valid visa to enter the USA (not a requirement):

*-Your current country of residence:

*-Your direct address if different:

*-Your direct cell number:

*-Your direct skype, whatsapp or other internet chat ID:

*-Your direct email address(es):

*-Are you currently enrolled to study at a university or college: *-If a student, give the name of your degree program and expected year of graduation:

 

*-Your job title or role in your current organization or program:

*-Number of years you have been with your current organization/program/university:

*-Do you have permission from your employer or faculty to participate in the proposed program?

*-Your own interest keywords (please see instructions):

 

Please provide all personal information requested. Be sure to provide different ways to call you directly, especially cell phone and skype, whatsapp or chat ID’s.  (skype and whatsapp are the main apps used by SCGIS International.)

 

You can provide your full name to any extent that you find appropriate. The format is completely flexible, and it does not have to be exactly ‘full’ in legal terms. The diversity of naming traditions in the world is amazing, and the order that people use for family names and given names, the number of names, the name pronunciation, the name that is actually used in the society to refer to a person; all these can be different in different cultures on different continents. We respect your right to represent yourself to colleagues by the form of your name that is most comfortable for you.  SCGIS activists are constantly learning about these traditions from meeting international scholars, however, there is always something new for us to learn. Please understand that if in our communication we misinterpret your name by accident, we do not mean any offence. You can help us better understand you if you provide your preferred “informal” name for cases where using full name is unnecessary. The format for the “informal” name is completely open to your choice. You may leave this field blank if you want.

 

For your interest keywords, please select 8 words from the list of keywords above (see ORGANIZATION section), plus any missing keywords that you would like to include.

 

This information may be shared to a third party only if we ask for and receive your special permission.

 

*-Alternate contact full name:

*-Alternate honorific (i.e. Mr., Ms., Dr.):

*-Alternate contact direct phone number(s):

*-Alternate contact direct email address(es):

*-Alternate contact job title, role or relationship to you:

Please provide contact details for an alternate contact person. We may ask this person to convey important information to you when you are in the field or out of contact for some other reason. These contact details will not be used for any other purpose, and will not be shared with any third party.

 

[TRANSPORTATION]

*-Your departure airport to travel to the U.S.:

Please let us know what airport you will be flying from if you travel to California, USA (the first airport in your entire trip). This helps us better understand your actual travel needs. If possible, please provide the 3-letter international code for your airport.

 

*- Total ROUNDTRIP airfare in U.S. dollars:

Different parts of our program will be located in several distinct geographical areas: the training part will be held at the University of California, Davis, 80 miles northeast of San Francisco. The training will end in Redlands and Los Angles will be your best departure airport.  If you are selected as a scholar, SCGIS will arrange and cover transportation between these locations, but please be aware that there is a great distance between the opening and closing events of the program (the training and the Esri conference in San Diego, respectively) that takes a full day of travel. 

 

We encourage you to base your itineraries on arrival in San Francisco (SFO) on June 17 and departure from Los Angeles (LAX).  Upon your arrival, the biggest international airport is SFO but scholars often find better fares to either of the 3 alternate international airports, Sacramento International (SMF) is the closest to the actual training location so you might start your search there.  Oakland (OAK) and San Jose (SJC) are both smaller international airports near SFO.  Multi-leg airfares with different arrival and departure airports can sometimes be considerably more expensive than simple roundtrip options.

 

It is very typical for big urban areas in the U.S. to have several airports, which is why we are asking you to research on different options.  For UC Davis, Sacramento (SMF) is in a very close proximity, and will be the most convenient to arrive in.  The next best choice is San Francisco International (SFO), and airfares to the larger SFO may be significantly cheaper than to the other, smaller airports.  Oakland (OAK) is about as far from UC Davis as San Francisco, and selection of flights will most likely be more limited than with the other two airports, however, in some cases you may be able to find more affordable airfares.

 

For your departure airport, Los Angeles (LAX) will probably be the most affordable however Ontario (ONT) airport is the closest to Redlands. You should get a quote on departing on the 30 July 2020.

 

Please research all possible travel options. This will allow you to identify the most cost-efficient way, and will provide you with back-up options in case you have to re-arrange your plans.

 

In your airfare research, please use June 17-18 for arrival in California (but not arriving in California later than 16:00 in evening to allow you to get to Davis), and July 30-31 for departure. 

 

International airfares are not cheap, but please research for reasonable economy class options. SCGIS will not fund first-class or business-class travel. Sometimes opting for a flight with 1 or 2 stopovers might save you a significant amount of money compared to a non-stop direct flight. On the other hand, sometimes non-stop flights on a smaller airline are cheaper than flights with stopovers on a major international carrier.

 

We ask that you provide detailed cost estimates for as many itinerary options as reasonably possible. A demonstrated effort in trying to optimize the travel costs will be taken into consideration when we select the scholarship awardees. Your application form reviewer will in all likelihood check and confirm your quotation/estimates.

 

Please provide all airfares for a ROUNDTRIP, and in the U.S. Dollars, not in your local currency.

 

If you have to bear significant costs for traveling to the nearest airport, please indicate these costs separately in this section, too.

 

*-Airfare amount you can pay yourself (in U.S. Dollars):

*-Airfare amount requested from SCGIS (in U.S. Dollars):

Typically, we expect our applicants to cover a part of their travel costs, through additional fundraising or other resources. In very rare cases, we provide a full airfare, but to be eligible you must provide a thorough explanation in the justification section (below). We really appreciate every effort you make to cover at least some portion of the costs. In these two lines, please indicate (in U.S. Dollars) what part of the airfare costs you are able to cover, and what part you would like SCGIS to cover.

 

[ACCOMMODATION]

*-Accommodation/Food/Local Transport costs that you can pay (in U.S. Dollars):

If you are awarded a SCGIS scholarship, you will spend around 6 weeks in the U.S.  Typically, this may cost over $6,000 in expenses for accommodation, food, and local transport.  SCGIS volunteers work hard to reduce costs through finding discounts, ride sharing, affordable cooking options etc.  This allows us to reduce these per person costs to $3,000 on average. However, we greatly appreciate it when scholars are able to raise funds to cover a portion of these costs. Please indicate how much you can afford to contribute for covering these expenses.

 

*-Will you share a private home?

*-Will you share a motel room? 

*-Will you camp?

*-Do you need to borrow camping equipment?

One of the ways for us to reduce lodging costs is to provide accommodation at SCGIS activists’ homes, sharing hotel and dorm rooms, or sometimes even tents where conditions permit.

 

This year, as our training will be held at UC Davis and Redlands, most of your accommodations will be in the homes of people supporting the program.  During the conferences, accommodation will be offered in hotels and hotel-like facilities; however, there will be no single person occupancy options.

 

Please let us know about your willingness to accept various accommodation options. If for some reason you are not willing to accept a certain option, please don’t hesitate to explain. If you can bring your own sleeping bag and pad, please also indicate here.

 

*-Any special notes regarding Accommodation/Food/Local Transport in California:

If you have any health or other conditions that require special food or lodging please let us know (this will not influence our award decision, but will help us better plan logistics for the group).  Also, please feel free to tell us anything regarding local accommodation or food or transport arrangements in California that you think we should know about. Do you have any allergies?

 

[GIS EXPERTISE LEVEL / COURSES]

*-Describe your current GIS capability/expertise:

In open format, please explain your current GIS expertise / capability level.  This section can include any GIS software (with version number) that you have used; a brief explanation of GIS methods and workflows that you apply in your work; data formats that you have worked with; any experience with web GIS technologies; any experience with extending GIS software with your own scripts and modules created in programming languages such as R, Python, Visual Basic, C and so on.  Please make sure that you not only list the GIS technologies you are familiar with, but also the level of familiarity with that.  We encourage you to use specific examples of your work if that helps you better explain your current ability to use GIS.

 

*-How are you currently learning GIS?

Learning GIS is challenging! Some people are self-taught, some are able to enroll in a class or workshop, some get help from organizations or dedicated individuals who support nonprofit users in building GIS capacity through providing software, hardware, training, and general mentorship until the GIS program reaches maturity in the organization.  Please let us know your story of how you have been learning the GIS technology. We encourage you to mention any mentors that help you in this.

 

*-What GIS training are you interested in? (PLEASE SEE INSTRUCTIONS!):

In a free essay form, please share with us your thoughts on the directions in which you would like to develop your GIS skills. Feel free to explain what difficulties of any nature you have encountered in your GIS work so far, what specific technical knowledge you think you’re missing to progress in GIS, and anything else concerning your GIS training needs.  Please try to avoid listing any specific course titles offered by any vendor as your training needs in this section.  Our training program is custom built for the group, even though parts of it may have commonality with some commercially offered courses.  Therefore, we are largely interested in your own, personal vision of your desired advancement in GIS, and more detailed and focused explanations will help us better tailor the training program to your specific needs.

 

Here is a brief outline of the materials that will be the foundation of the training program that will be offered:

 

ArcGIS Pro module

The course will begin with teaching core and advanced ArcGIS Pro skills based on courses developed by the company Juniper GIS. All the materials and project scenarios in the class revolve around conservation themes and data. There will also be a very strong emphasis on students’ individual projects. We’ve found in the past that the real learning comes when you apply the classroom lessons to your own projects, because with GIS, each project is unique.

 

All the students will go through the same program, so there is a common base. Faster students will be expected to help the less experienced students and to tackle more advanced projects.  This is similar to taking a dual-level course in college where both undergrads and grad students take the same course, but more is expected of the graduate students.

 

The course will be taught in a “GIS Camp” format. What we mean by this is that while there will be a regular schedule, we don’t expect learning to stop at the end of the day, or only be confined to the classroom. In past years, much of the learning came from student and instructor interactions outside the formal classroom structure. The first week and a half will be more structured, but after that, more emphasis will be put on scholars’ projects, with time to work on presentations.

 

The ArcGIS Pro training will be based on the course ArcGIS for Environmental Analysis described at https://junipergis.com/class-descriptions/#environment, and on elements of other courses from Juniper GIS, and will be taught using ArcGIS Pro.  Descriptions for these classes can be found at: https://www.junipergis.com/training/class-descriptions. This is the material that was used successfully at previous years' training and has been taught to hundreds of students.

 

Here is a brief outline of the tentative agenda for the Esri Redlands training program

 

Web GIS: Using the ArcGIS Platform

At the end of the Desktop GIS training, all the students will get a chance to further advance their knowledge by learning about the capabilities of ArcGIS as a platform beyond the Desktop limits.  The course will teach how to share maps, data, and GIS analysis (the results from the class project) by creating and publishing high-performing ArcGIS Online services that can be accessed from desktop computers, web browsers and mobile devices.   This course will also explore the mapping capabilities that ArcGIS offers for integration with non-GIS software packages, and will provide an introduction to ArcGIS Pro, the new desktop client software by Esri. A variety of field apps will also be taught as well as Storymaps.

 

After scholars have been accepted, our instructors will contact them and we will do our best to modify or add onto the modules above to try to meet everyone’s needs.

 

Student Projects

This is a very important part of the course. Scholars will bring any current or planned projects and data with them, and provide an outline of the project, any problems, data needs, questions and expected outcomes, in advance.  These materials will be a foundation of the scholars’ advancement by applying the knowledge you gain in lectures and exercises to your real life data, with help from our instructors.  If you are new to GIS and don’t have a project, ask your organization what they need, and try to outline a vision of what you need to achieve using GIS.  The more you can tell us about your needs, the better we can focus the course for you. The goal is that at the end of this time scholars will have a completed or well-started project so they can really have something solid as a result. These personal projects will also be a foundation for the students’ individual ArcGIS Online applications built in the class.

 

 

*-Please describe your online access and web GIS capacity:

We would like to better understand the context in which you may be applying online GIS technologies.  In this section, we ask that you describe the ways you access internet in your work. What is your connection type – cable, mobile, anything else?  What is your connection speed? Do you have any expertise with administering a server? How reliable is the internet connection that you use? Please feel free to talk about both good things and challenges that are related to your online capacity.

 

*-Please describe your fluency in SPOKEN English”

*-Have then taken any English tests to assess your spoken and written English: 

Since the courses are conducted in English, involve scientific and technical topics, and often move quickly, they require a high level of English speaking fluency equivalent to attending university in an English-speaking country.  Please provide a short assessment of your ability to express yourself and understand others in spoken English (e.g. if you have had an experience travelling or working abroad or in your country where you needed to communicate in English). Part of the review process for this question will include a short phone or skype call to verify your English ability so be sure to include your direct phone number and internet chat or skype contact, and let your reviewers know if you will be out of contact for any period of time. Or you will need to provide us with some form of English proficiently certification course that was taken online.

 

[REQUIRED BACKGROUND DATA]

This is a VERY IMPORTANT section! In the following sub-sections, please try to be as detailed as possible. Remember, we can only make an award decision if we clearly understand the role that your organization and you play in the field of conservation, and if we understand the role of the GIS component in your work.

 

As we found out in the past, in these sections, applicants often use abbreviations and landmark names that are related to their work – please remember to explain these carefully, as suggested in the General Application Instructions above.

 

*-ORGANIZATION’S WORK: Please describe the work that your current organization does:

Most applications we receive come from people affiliated with a conservation organization or a scientific research institution. In this subsection, we would like you to describe your organization’s work in general.

 

What kind of organization is it – NGO, protected area, university, etc.?  Is this a locally based grass-root organization, a local office of a larger organization, or something else?  What is the organization’s vision and mission statement, as applies to the local context?  What work does the organization specifically do, and what approaches does it utilize?  What is the history of the organization’s work in your area?  How does the organization cooperate locally with other organizations and communities?  Is it involved in any work on a broader geographic scale – involvement in joint projects, networks, receiving support from other regions, etc.?  Similarly, are there any international aspects of the organization’s work?      These questions are simply examples of the type of information that can be included in this section.  These are not mandatory questions to answer literally; and you shouldn’t feel confined to these questions only – again, these are just examples of what you could elaborate on in this section.  Please fill out this section in free form, don’t feel limited to the questions above, and be free to present your organization in the manner you consider the most beneficial.

 

If you are applying as an individual not employed by an organization you can use this section to describe the conservation projects you are currently involved in personally, using the same guidelines.

 

*-ROLE IN THE ORGANIZATION: Please describe your personal role in the organization:

In this subsection, we would like you to focus on your specific role in your current organization or project.  How long have you been with this organization?  What are the projects within the organization that you are involved in now, and was involved in the past?  What are/were your specific duties in these projects?  Please include in this subsection anything that highlights your personal work, any personal success stories, etc.

 

*-HISTORY: Please describe the history of your personal work in conservation and GIS:

We would like to know the general history of your involvement in conservation and GIS that might not necessarily be related to your current organization and its specific projects.  In this subsection, tell us your personal story!  Describe in free form anything in your life that is related to your interest and passion to the subjects of conservation and GIS.

 

If you are applying as an individual, it’s possible that all three subsections above (organization’s work, personal role, and personal history) will be tightly interweaved. In this case, please review the guidelines for all three subsections, and use these guidelines as applicable to you personally.  You can choose any one subsection to present yourself the best way, or distribute your story between the subsections if you consider this more appropriate.

 

*-ROLE IN THE LOCAL SCGIS CHAPTER: Please describe your connection to the local SCGIS chapter:

Please tell us if you are connected to and involved in your local SCGIS chapter?  If there is no local SCGIS chapter, but there is an informal community of conservation GIS colleagues you are involved with, please don’t hesitate to describe that involvement here. 

 

Please also feel free to tell us about any alternate connection to the SCGIS as a global organization even if this connection is not related to the local chapter.

 

*-TEACHING & LEADERSHIP: Please describe your experience in teaching conservation or GIS, and your leadership experience in any conservation or GIS projects or organizations:

Please describe your experience in teaching conservation and/or GIS, the type of class, the kinds of students.  Please also describe any experience you have creating or leading a group or community related to conservation or GIS.

 

 

*-UNIQUE:  Please describe what is the most unique and the most challenging about the conservation/GIS work that you do:

In this section, please tell us about the most exciting and the most difficult parts of your work. You can tell us about the obstacles you’re having in running your GIS projects. Also, please tell us anything you want about uniqueness of your work subject – remember, your reviewers may not be aware about the beauty of the region you are from and the threats to that region, about the species you work with, about your challenges, or about the specific approach you choose to address the conservation issues there.  This section is a good place to highlight everything that you think makes your work stand out.

 

*-PLAN: Please provide a 1-year plan for how you hope to apply the skills you will learn under the SCGIS scholarship, and what you expect to be able to achieve in your conservation GIS work over the next year:

This is a very important part! Your plan for future work is the key for application reviewers to know what outreach the SCGIS Scholarship Program may expect, and what research or action the Scholarship Program will contribute to. You are not restricted to one year; please feel free to provide a longer term plan if you can.  Also, do not limit yourself to a formal work plan relevant to your organization or current project, please feel free to include your broader vision of the directions you think you will be taking in your conservation work.

 

Besides your plans for the future conservation work, in this section we are also interested to know about your plan to be involved in the local SCGIS Chapter or conservation GIS community.

 

[REQUIRED PAPER that you will present at the conference]

*-Title of the paper you will present:

*-Abstract/summary of the paper you will present:

Please provide the information about the paper you will present at the SCGIS conference if awarded a scholarship. You do not have to have the whole paper finalized a this point, we just need a one paragraph abstract.  If selected as a scholar, you will be contacted by the papers coordinator for formal details about your paper (final title and abstract text, full list of authors, etc.).

 

[REQUIRED JUSTIFICATION (CONFIDENTIAL)]

*-Essay justification of why you require a grant:

This is a VERY IMPORTANT section!  We expect to see two things in this section: why you would like to join the SCGIS training and attend the conferences, and why you need a scholarship grant for that.  Justification cannot be as short as “I need to improve my skills, and I can’t afford the trip”. We need to know in detail why you need new contacts, new skills and so on, and a detailed justification of why you are asking for financial assistance.

 

What benefits do you expect from attending the training and the conferences? How will attending these events, in your opinion, help with your work?  These days, the opportunities to acquire GIS knowledge are getting more widely available, and with the new technologies and information exchange avenues there aremany opportunities to network with colleagues – but what, in your opinion, is different about our events that makes them important for you to attend?

 

Also, please describe in this section why it is necessary for you to receive a grant to be able to participate in our program.

 

 

[EXECUTIVE SUMMARY]

*-SUMMARY: Please provide an executive summary of your request, and include any special statements about your work that you would like to make at this time:

Please summarize your request in this section. Also, feel free to include any comments or statements here for which you did not find an appropriate section.

 

 

*=== How to submit your application

 

We accept applications sent via email only. The application itself can be sent in plain text or MS Word files ONLY.  Do not send adobe pdf etc.  You can use plain email format or attachments, however, please list any attachments in the body of your message, so we can catch the situations when an attachment has been truncated.

 

The required examples of your conservation GIS or mapping work can be included in any way that you prefer.  They can be incorporated as images in the narrative part of the application where you describe your work, or can be sent as attachments in any format that can be reasonably expected to be viewable by specialists using computers and GIS. If your work is published online, we encourage you to provide links to the respective web pages.

 

Please send your completed application to the SCGIS Chapter or a local conservation GIS community leader who sent you the application form, by the deadlines they provide for you. We will instruct the chapters and leaders how to properly forward your application to us.

 

If you have any questions, be sure to check the 2018 SCGIS Scholarship Applications Website, which will be regularly updated with FAQ’s and other support materials http://www.conservationgis.org/scgis/2018/SCGIS2018SCHOLAR.html

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

BELOW IS THE ACTUAL APPLICATION FORM

Please do not include the above instructions in the application that you submit.

Copy everything below the plus signs line, paste into a new document and start

filling out your application.  Good luck!

Ctrl+click here to jump to the instructions

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION GIS]

[SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION FORM v.2018]

[Please read the instructions carefully – the form always changes, and has changed this year!]

 

[ORGANIZATION DATA]

*-Organization name:

*-Organization full street address (in your local format):

*-Organization full mailing address, if different:

*-Country:

*-Work phone with country and area code:

*-Work fax with country and area code:

*-Main email:

*-Organization Web site URL if any:

*-Name & email of your direct manager or faculty advisor:

*-Organization subject keywords (please see instructions):

*-Confidential: your organization's last year total budget:

*-Confidential: your last year's total GIS program budget:

 

[APPLICANT]

*-Your first name:

*-Your second name or surname:

*-Your honorific (e.g. Mr., Ms., Dr.):

*-Your Gender Identity (eg male, female, other):

*-Your age in years:

*-Your date of birth:

*-Your preferred informal name or by what name should we call you:

*-Your Nationality / Country of your passport:

*-Do you have a valid passport that will not expire before the end of 2020(not a requirement):

*-Do you have a valid visa to enter the USA (not a requirement):

*-Your current country of residence:

*-Your direct address if different:

*-Your direct cell & phone number(s):

*-Your direct skype, whatsapp or other internet chat ID:

*-Your direct email address(es):

*-Are you currently enrolled to study at a university or college:

*-If a student, give the name of your degree program and expected year of graduation:

 

*-Your job title or role in the organization:

*-Number of years you have been with your current organization/program/university:

*-Do you have permission from your employer or advisor to participate in the proposed program?

*-Your own interest keywords (please see instructions):

 

*-Alternate contact full name:

*-Alternate honorific (i.e. Mr., Ms., Dr.):

*-Alternate contact direct phone & cell numbers:

*-Alternate contact direct email address(es):

*-Alternate contact job title, role or relationship to you:

 

[TRANSPORTATION]

*-Your departure airport to travel to the U.S.:

*-Total ROUNDTRIP airfare in U.S. dollars (please read instructions carefully before answering this question):

*-Airfare amount you can pay yourself (in U.S. Dollars):

*-Airfare amount requested from SCGIS (in U.S. Dollars):

 

[ACCOMMODATION]

*-Accommodation/Food/Local Transport costs that you can pay (in U.S. Dollars):

*-Will you share a private home?

*-Will you share a motel room? 

*-Will you camp?

*-Do you need to borrow camping equipment?

*-Any special notes regarding Accommodation/Food/Local Transport in California:

 

[GIS EXPERTISE LEVEL / COURSES]

*-Describe your current GIS capability/expertise:

*-How are you currently learning GIS?

 

*-What GIS training are you interested in? (PLEASE SEE INSTRUCTIONS!):

 

*-Please describe your online access capacity:

 

*-Please describe your fluency in SPOKEN English:

 

*- Have then taken any English tests to assess your spoken and written English:

 

 

 

[REQUIRED BACKGROUND DATA]

*-ORGANIZATION’S WORK: Please describe the work that your current organization does:

 

*-ROLE IN THE ORGANIZATION: Please describe your personal role in the organization:

 

*-HISTORY: Please describe the history of your personal work in conservation and GIS:

 

*-ROLE IN THE LOCAL SCGIS CHAPTER: Please describe your connection to the local SCGIS chapter:

 

*-TEACHING & LEADERSHIP: Please describe your experience in teaching & leadership

 

*-UNIQUE:  Please describe what is the most unique and the most challenging about the conservation/GIS work that you do:

 

*-PLAN: Please provide a 1-year plan for how you hope to apply the skills you will learn under the SCGIS scholarship, and what you expect to be able to achieve in your conservation GIS work over the next year:

 

 

[REQUIRED PAPER that you will present at the conference]

*-Title of the paper you will present:

*-Abstract/summary of the paper you will present:

 

 

[REQUIRED JUSTIFICATION (CONFIDENTIAL)]

*-Essay justification of why you require a grant:

 

 

 

[EXECUTIVE SUMMARY]

*-SUMMARY: Please provide an executive summary of your request, and include any special statements about your work that you would like to make at this time:

 

[END-this is the end of the SCGIS Scholarship Program application]

 

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