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ICML 2021 Participation Grant

As part of diversity and inclusion efforts, ICML 2021 is happy to provide grants to lower barriers of access to the conference. The grants are intended for individuals for whom attending the conference would cause a financial burden or create risks to their safety or privacy.

Grants available this year:

  • Conference registration fee waiver: If you are applying for a registration fee waiver, please do not register for the conference until you hear from us about the decision on your application. If you have already registred and you recieve a participation grant, your registration fees will be refunded to your credit card.
  • Internet bandwidth and VPN grants: Intended to cover extra costs of internet access if your current internet bandwidth or lack of privacy are a barrier to your full participation in the conference. Bandwidth subsidies would be for high-speed internet access for the duration of the conference only. VPN grants could be used towards ensuring private internet connection (for example, for queer people concerned about their safety and privacy when attending Queer in AI events).
  • Caregiving and accessibility grants: Caregiving grants cover extra costs for caring for dependents if your caretaker responsibilities are a barrier to your participation in the conference. These can be babysitting, transportation costs, or other support required for yourself or your dependents. Accessibility grants cover extra costs for any personal or technical assistance to access and navigate the conference due to a disability. For example, if you need assistance in using gather.town due to a visual impairment.

Instructions: To apply to any (or all) of these grants please fill out this form.

Selection criteria: Applicants will be evaluated based on the material they submit. Preference will be given to applicants who are presenting a paper in the main conference or the workshops or affinity group meetings, and who do not have other means of support.

Reimbursements: If you apply for the internet bandwidth/VPN grant and/or caregiving/accessibility grant, you will need to provide receipts for your purchases, and will be reimbursed after the conference. The overall reimbursement to each applicant will be most likely capped at $100, but we may increase the cap if the budget allows.

Application deadline: July 9th, 2021 (6:00 pm Pacific Time)

Notification of acceptance: July 13, 2021

Platforms used to send money: PayPal and Airtime Top-up on WorldRemit.

PayPal

  • PayPal's list of countries and markets
    • Please check that you can receive money (not available in all listed countries)
  • PROS
    • Directly receive money, linked to a bank account
  • CONS
    • Many countries are not covered
    • Higher fees
    • It takes one or few days before the funds can be withdrawn to a bank account (but typically available immediately for PayPal payments)

Airtime Top-up on WorldRemit

  • What's Airtime Top-up?
  • Countries covered
    • Please check that your telecom network is supported
  • PROS
    • Better coverage in some regions (e.g., Africa)
    • Lower fees
    • Typically available instantly or within a few minutes
  • CONS
    • The funding is in the form of a mobile recharge, which could limit how you can use the funds
    • Limits on the daily transactions / maximum transaction amount, which may require splitting the payment