Community Educator and Mentor Scholarships

CROI invites community leaders who engage in communication, advocacy, and educational activities focused on the prevention, treatment, and cure research of HIV, hepatitis viruses, SARS-CoV-2, mpox, and other viral infections and their related conditions, to apply for a CROI Community Educator Scholarship. Community Educator Scholarship applicants must demonstrate an established commitment to sharing scientific knowledge with community members and stakeholders as well as an ability to expand research and science literacy among communities affected by topics presented at CROI.   

CROI is an intensely science-focused meeting. Individuals who are awarded the CROI Community Educator Scholarship are leaders who are highly motivated to learn and apply the dynamic and ever-evolving research that comes out of CROI every year. To be considered for a Community Educator Scholarship, applicants must demonstrate the competency and skills to translate complicated science to a wide array of community members and stakeholders in different contexts.   

In an effort to increase and broaden the scope and impact of the CROI Community Educator Scholarship program, community leaders with experience attending scientific conferences, but who have not attended CROI in the past, are encouraged to apply. 

This year, CROI is accepting applications for Community Educator Mentor Scholarships. This scholarship is limited to five (5) applicants who have received three (3) CROI scholarships prior to CROI 2024 and are willing to mentor Community Educator Scholarship recipients.   

 

Scholarship Activity Sign-up is closed

Community Educator Scholarship and Mentor Scholarship awardees can access their Meet the Luminary and Poster Walk session sign-ups through the CROI Dashboard. The deadline for sign up is February 17, 2025. All activities are first come, first serve and are limited in the number of participants.

 

Scholarship submission is closed

Scholarships are submitted through the CROI 2025 Dashboard, with a October 1, 2024, deadline. A CROI Conference Account is required for scholarship submission. To login to your account or to create an account, click here. Dispositions for the Community Educator Scholarships and the Community Educator Mentor Scholarships will be sent on or around the week of November 18, 2024.

Please refer to the Dates and Deadlines page for all submission deadlines and key milestones.

Technical Issues: Technical issues preventing submission of an scholarship must be communicate by email to CROIscholarships@iasusa.org prior to the submission deadline. Notification of an inability to submit due to technical issues received after the deadline cannot generally be addressed.

Scholarship Award 

Scholarship recipients receive complimentary conference registration. The full scholarship also covers up to US $750 (US/Canada) or US $1500 (International) to and from the conference at the lowest fare for economy travel and up to 5 nights hotel accommodations at the discounted scholarship rate. A daily stipend may also be provided for awardees from resource-limited countries. 

Scholarship Criteria 

The CROI Community Educator Scholarship is limited and highly competitive. Applicants must be actively involved in communications, education, and advocacy efforts in their communities. Only candidates affiliated with organizations that provide communications, advocacy, or educational services will be considered (limit of 2 applications per organization).   

Applicants will be assessed on motivation, creativity, competency, literacy, and their demonstrable ability to understand and disseminate research in communities. Scoring will include the overall quality of the application, as well as the applicant’s letter of recommendation (limit of 1 letter of recommendation per recommender). The selection committee will consider the following: 1) demonstrable experience and aptitude in understanding and disseminating conference-acquired information, 2) application quality, 3) work setting, 4) demonstrably strong scientific literacy and strong command of English, and 5) applicant’s degree of financial need.  

Community Educator Mentor Scholarship applicants will be assessed based on their experiences with mentoring colleagues and their willingness to mentor new Community Educator Scholars to help them navigate the CROI 2025 Conference, including their ideas and advice on how best to support and engage these scholars to ensure they get the most out of CROI. When applying, be mindful to include the information requested by the Community Educator Mentor Scholarship, located in the Additional Information Section of the Community Educator Scholarship. This is not a separate application for CROI 2025. 

Preference is given to individuals who:   

• Have demonstrated the capacity and commitment to engage diverse communities with relevant science- and research-based information     
• Engage in community-focused communication, advocacy, and education efforts. The selection committee will give preference to individuals whose efforts in this area go beyond direct-to-client prevention services (including biomedical-focused services) and clinical trial recruitment 

Medical professionals, administrators, researchers, and media professionals are not eligible to apply for the CROI Community Educator Scholarship. Scholarship recipients are limited to a total of 3 scholarships. As there is a limit on the number of scholarships that can be awarded every year, this policy is designed to give a wide variety of individuals the chance to attend CROI. Due to the transition of CROI 2020 from an in-person to a virtual conference, scholarships received that year will not be included in the consideration of the number of scholarships the applicant has received.   

All CROI Community Educator Scholarship recipients are required to participate in the full conference, including the Program Committee Workshop for New Investigators and Trainees. At the close of the Conference, scholarship recipients will need to complete all conference evaluations. Scholarship recipients who cannot participate in the full conference must decline the award. The scholarship is not transferable.