COMP IDEA Student Travel Awards

COMP IDEA Student Travel Awards

Last Updated: March 11, 2026

The COMP Student Council (SC) is committed to fostering inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) in medical physics. We believe that IDEA is vital for delivering high-quality cancer care, nurturing innovation, and advancing research and academic excellence. We recognize that equity-denied groups face unique barriers to success and continue to be underrepresented, as revealed by a recent national survey targeting the Canadian physics community¹ . Therefore, we are seeking ways to develop and sustain initiatives that increase the representation and inclusion of equity-denied individuals and groups.

As one of our main initiatives, the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Student Travel Grant aims to provide financial assistance to students who identify with equity-denied groups and demonstrate financial need to attend the COMP Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM). This year’s ASM will be jointly hosted with the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) organization in Vancouver, British Columbia (July 19th-22nd).

The mission of the IDEA Student Travel Grant is to inspire the next generation of medical physicists by providing an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to gain valuable exposure, experience, and mentorship from medical physicists and other professionals in the medical physics community through their attendance at the COMP ASM.

^[1]Hennessey et al. 2025. Canadian physics counts: an exploration of the diverse identities of physics students and professionals in Canada. htts://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2025-0126

 IDEA Student Travel Grant Structure

Every year, the grant offers travel support to at least 2 students (1 undergraduate level and 1 graduate level), up to $1,000 CAD each. The grant recipients are selected by the grant adjudication committee based on the complete application package and eligibility criteria. If no suitable applicants from either category meet the criteria, the support will be offered to an eligible applicant from the other category. In such a case, we will support either two undergraduate students or two graduate students.  

Eligibility Criteria

• The applicant is a student studying at the undergraduate or graduate level at a Canadian university and enrolled in a medical physics program, or a physics-focused (or equivalent) program with an interest in medical physics (e.g. biomedical physics, medical biophysics, biomedical engineering, etc.)
• The applicant is a COMP Student Member at the time of application or, to complete membership enrollment prior to conference registration, if successfully granted.
• The applicant identifies as a member of any equity-denied group².
• The applicant demonstrates financial need and was unable to secure other funding to attend the conference. Financial need is defined as any obstacle(s), such as low-income, low socioeconomic status or financial burdens, that may prevent or impose restrictions on attending the conference. If the applicant has pending funds from another source (e.g., a travel grant from the lab or institutions), please contact the student council representative below for further instructions. 

^[2]In this context, equity-denied groups refer to individuals who have been historically disadvantaged and underrepresented. These groups include but are not limited to the following designated groups in Canada: women, Indigenous Peoples, people with disabilities, people who are part of 2SLGBTQI+ communities, religious minority groups and racialized people. The types of equity-denied groups may vary based on factors such as geography, sociocultural context or the presence of specific subpopulations. (Government of Canada, Guide on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Terminology, March 27th, 2024). Expanding on this definition, recent immigrants and individuals facing low socioeconomic status are also eligible..

Application Requirements

• Self-assessment with the eligibility criteria
• Applicant information
• Personal statement
• CV
• Letter of support

For more details regarding the guidelines and requirements for these items, see the instructions provided in the application form.

Submission Instructions

Both the main application and the Letter of Support should be completed and submitted using the links below, following the detailed instructions, by 23:59 ET on Friday, May 1, 2026, in order to be considered a valid entry in the current cycle of the travel grant selection process. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

Applicant, please visit the COMP IDEA - Student Submission Portal
Referee, please visit the COMP IDEA - Referee Submission Portal 

An email confirming the receipt of the application will be sent upon submission. An automatic email will also be sent to the referee regarding the request for the Letter of Support. The order of submission does not affect the selection process. The applicant may share the referee link at any time during the application period. However, it is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure both submissions are completed by the deadline stated above

Grant Adjudication

The IDEA Award adjudication committee will select at least two recipients based on the completed application package together with the Letter of Support, in accordance with the following criteria in general:

• Reflection: What does the concept of IDEA mean to you and your personal trajectory?
• Motivation: What motivated you to pursue medical physics? What are your short- and long-term career goals, and how would participating in the ASM support or advance your trajectory in the field?
• Personal Growth and Developments:  What academic³/non-academic experiences, leadership roles, or community contributions have shaped your identity and prepared you to engage with the medical physics community

^[3]We recognize that equity-denied groups often encounter complex challenges and barriers to achieving academic success. Academic merit and research ability will be evaluated as a secondary criterion with primary emphasis on the personal statement and letter of support that detail the applicant’s capabilities and potential. We also recognize that these barriers apply equally to non-academic success. For instance, community involvement often demands volunteer hours, which may not be feasible for students from low-income backgrounds, and systemic barriers can prevent a person from securing leadership positions and their associated experiences. We encourage you to share your story in your personal statement and the grant adjudication will keep an open mind throughout the evaluation process.

Timeline:

 
Questions about eligibility, the application process, and application requirements or general inquiries about the initiative can be sent directly to the COMP student council (compstudentcouncil.comp@gmail.com)