Geo-Diversity Grants

ACM SIGCOMM is committed to fostering a globally inclusive research community, and the Geo-Diversity Travel Grants program is a central part of that mission. The program was established to broaden the geographic representation of participants at the flagship SIGCOMM Data Communications Conference, ensuring that talented researchers from all regions can engage with leading work in data communications. By lowering financial barriers, these grants help bring new voices, perspectives, and ideas into the SIGCOMM community, enriching both the conference and the field as a whole.

The program provides comprehensive support to early‑career attendees from countries with historically low participation in SIGCOMM. Awardees receive funding for travel, lodging, and conference registration, enabling them to attend regardless of institutional resources. Since its inception, the program has helped cultivate a more diverse and globally connected community by supporting promising researchers who might otherwise be unable to participate.

Who Should Apply?

Because the intent of the grants is to increase participation from countries historically under-represented at the Sigcomm conference (e.g. Latin America, Africa, and parts of Asia), applicants should be from such countries. Applicants should be in their early career (at most five years of full-time, full-level [non-postdoc] post-PhD employment), and may be graduate students or post-docs. In each year the precise amount of funding available and the pool of applicants will determine who can be funded.

The committee strongly prefers applicants who are not paper authors (the committee believes that authors' home organizations should cover costs for authors). Poster authors, however, are encouraged to apply. Other evaluation criteria will include evidence of a serious interest in networking, as demonstrated by project experience. In most cases, no more than one applicant will be funded from each organization. ACM SIGCOMM encourages participation of women and under-represented minorities.

What is Covered?

Support is intended to fully cover travel (economy airfare), registration for the conference, lodging at the conference hotel (four nights), meals, and local transportation. The specific costs will vary for each applicant, and are not expected to exceed $2500 USD. Reimbursement details will be announced to award recipients.

Who Decides?

Applicants are selected by the Sigcomm Travel Grant Committee.

Application Process

An application consists of:

A. a 2-page application

B. a supporting letter from the applicant's supervisor

C. a supporting letter from a colleague

NOTE: the applicant should submit only (A); (B) and (C) should be sent directly from the letter authors

Details follow:

A. Application

Page 1:

1. Indicate their affiliation and any other personal information the applicant feels is relevant to support their case.

2. Indicate evidence that the applicant meets the eligibility criteria above.

3. Include a brief summary of research interests and accomplishments to date, and plans for future research.

4. Include their estimated expenses in U.S. dollars for attending the conference (total, and breakdown by conference registration, travel, lodging, and meals). When computing your estimated budget, please use $525 USD as the figure for early registration.

Page 2:

Provide a short 1-page vita, focusing on current research interests and recent and pending publications.

B. Supervisor's Letter

Letter from the applicant's current supervisor (e.g., post-doc supervisor, department chair), sent by the supervisor directly (NOT forwarded by the applicant), which:

Confirms the applicant's standing at their institution (date started, current job title)

Indicate current funding status, or explain why the applicant is in need of a travel grant.

C. Colleague's Letter

A separate letter of recommendation from a technical colleague, preferably from a different institution, sent by the colleague directly (NOT forwarded by the applicant), which:

Describes the professional relationship between the applicant and colleague, e.g., discussing their collaboration

Indicates why the applicant would benefit from attending the conference.

Elaborate on the strengths and potential contributions of the applicant.

Submission

Send application and recommendation letters by e-mail to Travel Grant chairs in English only, formatted as follows:

ASCII (preferable): 60 lines/page, 80 characters/line limit

PDF: US letter or A4 pagesize 12 point, single-spaced, 1" margin