Perth Convention Bureau Hosts Aspire Program Free Information Event
14 November 2017 at 8:18 am
To assist potential applicants of the West Australian 2018 Aspire scholarship program, the Perth Convention Bureau will host an annual free information event in Perth in February.
Perth Convention Bureau (PCB) is a not-for-profit organisation funded by the West Australian government through Tourism Western Australia and the City of Perth to market the state as a business events destination and to assist individual and associations bringing conferences to Western Australia.
Perth Convention Bureau annually runs a scholarship program called the Aspire program, which has been operating for over 19 years. The Aspire Program is a highly successful initiative that helps PCB identify local conveners within the Western Australian community to support bids for international conferences.
The 2018 Aspire Program is open to individuals involved with not-for-profit associations who are eligible to apply for the City of Perth Convention Scholarship and the Giving West Conference Scholarship, along with academics at four Western Australian universities. In addition, two further awards are available; the Telethon Kids Institute Aspire Conference Award is open to staff at the Telethon Kids Institute and the Australian Institute of Management WA (AIM WA) Aspire Conference Scholarship which is open to professional members of AIM WA.
The City of Mandurah Convention Scholarship will open in late November 2017, individuals from both academia and the not-for-profit sector in the Peel Region are invited to apply.
The aim of the Aspire Program is to assist the individual’s personal and professional development through attendance at a relevant international conference. The funding covers travel, accommodation and registration expenses to the maximum value of the award.
PCB’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Beeson, said that the Aspire Program was a highly successful initiative of the Perth Convention Bureau which supports the aims of Western Australian academics, researchers and professionals.
“Through the Aspire Program we’re delighted to be able to assist the professional development of our academic institutions, not-for-profit and research communities,” Beeson said.
“The program allows the recruitment of potential Western Australian ‘local conveners’ who, with our support, may choose to pursue and secure the conferences of interest to their areas of expertise.”
Previous winner of the City of Perth Convention Scholarship, Peter Carr of his experience with the Aspire Program: “The City of Perth Aspire Conference Scholarship is truly a unique award. It gives the successful nominee the chance to travel to their “go to” international conference with the intention of bringing a conference OR scientific meeting of their interest of professional discipline to Perth.
“The application process is very straightforward and you are supported by Perth Convention Bureau staff when needed,” Carr said.
“I was thrilled firstly, to be invited for interview and overwhelmed to be selected as the winner of the 2016 City of Perth Aspire Conference Scholarship. This scholarship allowed me to travel to Lisbon in June to attend the 2016 4th World Congress on Vascular Access (WoCoVA) in addition to completing an international vascular access training academy workshop. Vascular Access represents a variety of invasive medical devices that enter the venous and arterial anatomy of patients. They are not without insertion or post insertion complications.
“The 2016 City of Perth Aspire Conference Scholarship has assisted my own professional growth but more importantly it has given media coverage to vascular access. We hosted a combined Australian and WoCoVA special event in 2017 that facilitated the meeting of world class clinicians and academics with the best Australasia has to offer. I was both humbled and honoured to be the 2016 City of Perth ASPIRE scholarship recipient.”
To assist potential applicants with the Aspire process the Perth Convention Bureau hosts an annual free informational lunch. This event will be held on Monday 5th February 2018 12.00pm-2.30pm, supported by venue sponsor the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The aim of the lunch is to help potential applicants understand the program, meet with staff from the Perth Convention Bureau and hear from a previous successful Aspire winner.
Application information and guidelines are now available here. The deadline for applications is March 29, 2018.
For more information on the informational lunch, click here.
In addition, a wide of assistance and advice is available to help you apply, for more information please contact Sophia Okeby, Communications Manager on +61 (0)8 9218 2921 or email sokeby@pcb.com.au.
