2024 EDUCATIONAL GRANTS

NOTE: Educational grant applicants will be advised by email as to whether they have been successful in securing funding. The SA Heart® Educational Grants Committee is aiming to provide feedback to all applicants on or before Friday 13^th September 2024. 

Who decides which applicants receives an SA Heart® Educational Grant?

The SA Heart® Congress has a separate SA Heart® Educational Grants Committee appointed by the SA Heart® Board who review all educational grant applications and match applicants to the educational grants criteria.

The SA Heart® Educational Grants Committee members are not named to reduce the possibility of being influenced or intimidated. 

What is the difference between a restricted and unrestricted educational grant?

Educational grants can be restricted to prespecified criteria (e.g., a female Cath lab nurse with 10 years’ experience working in a public health facility in the Eastern Cape) or may be unrestricted. The industry partner who donates the educational grant decided on what criteria their educational grant may be spent on.

When criteria are put in place in the case of a restricted grant, the SA Heart® Educational Grants Committee has to follow the specific criteria stipulated by the industry partner.

In the case of unrestricted grants, the industry partner does not provide any criteria for how a grant is disbursed. As such, it is the responsibility of the SA Heart® Educational Grants Committee to allocate the funding.

How do unrestricted educational grants get allocated?

The SA Heart® Educational Grants Committee will allocate the available unrestricted funds based on the following criteria. Preference is given to:

• Applicants who are paid up SA Heart® members.
• Applicants who contribute to the 2024 SA Heart® Congress scientific programme.
• Applicants with meaningful academic involvement in other SA Heart® activities.
• Applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds taking into account geographic and demographic diversity.

The SA Heart® Educational Grant Committee also takes into account which applicants meet the criteria and have not accessed an educational grant from the SA Heart® educational grant funding pool previously.

What can educational grants cover?

Educational grants may cover congress registration and/or travel costs (cost effective flights and/or accommodation) in full or partially depending on the amount donated and specified criteria.

Anything additional (e.g., parking at the airport or congress, fuel, toll fees, meals, laundry, airport transfers, visa application fees etc) is for the applicant’s own costs.

If I apply for an SA Heart® educational grant, am I guaranteed to receive a grant?

Please note that applying for an educational grant does not guarantee that an applicant will receive a grant. As such, applicants are encouraged to continue looking and applying for funds from other sources.

How do I apply for an SA Heart® educational grant?

All individuals wishing to apply for an SA Heart® educational grant are required to apply online through the SA Heart® educational grants portal.

The 2024 SA Heart grant application portal opening and closing dates will be announced soon.

Note: Grants can only be awarded to applicants who have applied through the SA Heart® educational grants application portal before the closing date.

What additional documentation do I need to apply for an SA Heart® educational grant?

All applicants will be required to upload a copy of a recent CV and a clear copy of their ID (South African applicants) / Passport (International applicants). Please ensure that you have this information ready when you are working on your application as you will be unable to submit your application without uploading both documents.

When will the outcome of the application process be announced?

The SA Heart® Educational Grants Committee starts working through the applications only once the educational grant application portal has closed. No feedback will be provided before then.

The SA Heart® Educational Grants Committee is aiming to provide feedback to all applicants on or before Friday 13^th September 2024.

All applicants will be notified via email on whether their application has been successful or not.

What if I have already paid my registration fee and then receive an educational grant?

If you registered and paid your registration in full prior to receiving a 100% educational grant, you will be refunded the registration fee you paid.

If you registered and paid your registration in full prior to being awarded a partial (less than 100%) educational grant, you will be refunded a portion of your registration fee in accordance with the educational grant awarded.

If you registered for the congress but didn’t pay your registration fee prior to being awarded an educational grant, you will not be refunded.

Please note that all refunds will only be processed after the completion of the 2024 SA Heart® Congress and once the financial books have been closed. This can take up to 12 weeks after the congress has ended. You will receive a proof of payment to help track the refund in your account.

How can I increase my chances of accessing an educational grant?

To increase your chances of accessing an educational grant from the SA Heart® educational grant pool, consider becoming a member of SA Heart® Association or renewing your membership:

• New member applications
• Renewal of your SA Heart® membership

What if I have a question?

If you are a delegate who has applied / wishes to apply for an educational grant and have any questions, please reach out to Amy Wolfe on +27 64 548 7691 or grants@shiftideas.co.za for assistance.