ROSCon 2023 Diversity Scholarships

The ROSCon 2023 organizing committee aims for ROSCon to represent the entire ROS community, which is diverse and global. In addition to promoting technology that is open source, we strive to ensure that our community is as open and accessible as possible. Inclusion and diversity benefit the ROS ecosystem as a whole.

Whoever you are, whatever you do, and wherever you do it, if you’re interested in ROS, then we want you to join us at ROSCon. To help reduce financial barriers to conference attendance, the ROSCon Diversity Committee is offering a limited number of scholarships to members of traditionally underrepresented groups in the robotics community. Thanks to the support of the program’s sponsors, each scholarship includes:

• One complimentary conference registration;
• Three nights’ hotel accommodation; and
• A travel stipend (limited to those participants whose travel to the conference would otherwise be infeasible).

All other expenses (including any visa requirements) will be the responsibility of the participant.

Please note the following about the scholarship program:

• To maximize the impact of scholarship funds, scholarship recipients will be asked to share a room with another recipient. Under special circumstances alternative arrangements can be accommodated.
• Participants will be responsible for covering their travel expenses up front. The travel stipend will be provided on-site at the conference.

Eligibility

We invite applications from members of groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in the robotics community, including but not limited to: women, people in LGBTQIA+ communities, people with disabilities, people from racial and/or ethnic minorities in the robotics community, and people from developing nations who may not otherwise be able to attend ROSCon. Previous ROSCon Diversity Scholarship recipients are not eligible to re-apply.

Review Process

The ROSCon Diversity Committee reviews applicants according to the following criteria:

• How will the applicant increase the diversity of ROSCon?
• How will the applicant contribute to ROSCon through their attendance?
• Is the applicant engaged with the ROS community?

The applicants who are reviewed most favorably, subject to available funding, are offered scholarships. We always receive more good applications that we are able to fund. The most common reason for a less favorable review is lack of effort shown in the application, such that we are unable to meaningfully review the candidate. Please take the time to completely and thoughtfully complete the scholarship application.

Application Process

To apply for the ROSCon Diversity Scholarship interested applicants should use the Google form below. Applicants will need to include their name and contact information, some basic demographic data, and a brief narrative section about their participation in the ROS community.

We recommend interested developers submit their application as soon as possible. The deadline for the Diversity Scholarship application is June 11th, 2023.