SIGSOFT CAPS

Program to Support Students at Conferences

What is SIGSOFT CAPS?

The SIGSOFT Conference Attendance Program for Students (CAPS) provides financial assistance to graduate students to help defray costs of attending SIGSOFT-sponsored conferences and workshops.

Why does SIGSOFT support student attendance?

Attendance at conferences and workshops to present papers and to interact with researchers and practioners in software engineering is an important component of students' education and professional development. Moreover, students' presence at conferences and workshops enriches and broadens conference and workshop activities. Conferences and workshops are also a good way to introduce students to the services of SIGSOFT.

What can SIGSOFT CAPS funds pay for?

The funds can be used to assist with expenses incurred attending a conference or workshop that is sponsored or co-sponsored by SIGSOFT. The funds can only be used to pay for:

• travel expenses to and from the conference or workshop
• hotel expenses at the conference or workshop
• conference or workshop registration

Please note that SIGSOFT CAPS funds have a limited budget and there are many qualified students. As a result, SIGSOFT CAPS can provide only partial support for attendance. The student's college or university, department, and/or research advisor is expected to also assist in paying the student's expenses.

The applicants must apply either for a merit-based award, or a need-based award. For each conference or workshop, funds are designated to both categories.

• merit-based applicants have sufficient funds to attend the conference through their advisor/grants/department/etc.
• need-based applicants may not be able to attend the conference, without CAPS support.

Please note that it is important to provide an accurate estimation of the expenses and the available funds in various categories.

Common ways to reduce expenses are to buy airplane tickets early, to regsiter for the conference early, and to share a room and/or seek out a cheaper hotel alternative than the conferene hotel.

To be eligible to receive SIGSOFT CAPS funds, all the following must be true:

• The applicant must be enrolled in a B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. program,
• The applicant must be a member of SIGSOFT.
• The applicant must have an accepted paper at the conference or workshop.
• The conference or workshop must be sponsored or cosponsored by SIGSOFT.
• The applicant must have received NONE or at most ONE CAPS award in the past. Moreover, only one award will be granted to each applicant per calendar year.

To apply for SIGSOFT CAPS funds, the student must submit the following:

1. A resume, (should include the paper that is being presented at the conference/workshop)
2. A completed application form including a budget.
3. A brief note from the student's advisor or department chair supporting the application.

Initial funding of applications for a conference begins two months prior to the conference. Funding continues until the budget for that conference has been exhausted. Therefore, it is in your best interests to send in your application early, although there is no firm deadline for when applications must be received.

Please send the completed application (form plus resume) and advisor's supporting note to the following email address: sigsoft_caps@acm.org.