OPERATING PROCEDURE: PO12 Rev.0

SUBJECT: Annual Travel Award for students and young professionals

Background:
The National Societies of EFNDT recognise that attendance at international conferences, with the opportunity to meet a wide range of other workers active in NDT or condition monitoring, can be a very worthwhile and rewarding experience. Whilst many organisations are very supportive in the professional development of their staff, it is not always possible for members of NDT societies to demonstrate to their employers that the benefits of international visits justify the costs involved. This is particularly true of students and young professionals, but these are often the very people who would benefit most from such an opportunity.

The Board of Directors of EFNDT has agreed to the establishment of an Annual Travel Award aimed at helping the professional development of members. The Award will include both a financial contribution as well as official recognition from EFNDT for participation in an international conference or visit.

Key Principles of the proposal:
1. The Award will be made annually for attendance at an international conference or for a coherent travel proposal such as visiting an overseas research centre or industrial site, which is judged to benefit the professional development of the recipient.
2. The Award will consist of a contribution towards travel, subsistence and conference fees. The amount will be typically up to 1000 euros but will be dependent on the particular circumstances (conference location and duration etc).
3. In addition to the financial contribution, EFNDT will notify the conference organisers or other relevant hosts about the Award and ask them to make the visit as worthwhile as possible (e.g. by helping with introductions to others working in a related field).
4. The recipient will be asked to provide a feedback report to EFNDT indicating benefits or problems to help ensure that the future Awards meet their objectives.

Financial arrangements:
1. A segregated Award Fund to be set up under the control of the EFNDT Treasurer.
2. The initial Award Fund to be established in 2009/10 by allocating a fixed sum of 5000 euros from the EFNDT account.
3. The value of each Travel Award will be up to 1000 euros. If the costs of the visit exceed the value of the Award, the recipient must obtain the remaining funds from their employer, university or other body.
4. The magnitude of the financial part of the award will not be publicised. The recipient’s name and supporting organisation will normally be publicised because they are both participating in the professional development of the recipient, with added support from EFNDT.

Procedure for the Award.

1. Nominations for the award will be requested annually using EFNDT publications. Nominations received by 1 January will be notified of the outcome by 31 March.
2. The judging panel will consist of five Directors of EFNDT who are appointed by the Board.

Eligibility criteria:

1. Applications should be from individual members of National NDT Societies who are full members of EFNDT. Applicants should be at an early stage in their career (e.g. students or within the first five years of employment within the NDT field).

2. The application should demonstrate that the award will help in the continuing professional development of the applicant and be supported by a referee who would normally be their tutor or manager.

3. Each nomination should be supported by the National NDT Society.

Judging criteria:

The key criterion is the extent to which the proposed conference or overseas visit will contribute to the professional development of the applicant in the field of NDT. This may be easier to demonstrate for relatively new entrants to the NDT profession, and for those who have not already participated in an overseas conference or visit, but the judging panel may take other factors into account in reaching their decision.

Number of awards:

The number of awards made each year will normally not exceed two.