Time to don your thinking cap and apply for an AWF student grant

If you embarked on an animal-related degree because you wanted to improve the health and welfare of animals, please keep reading! The Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF) is inviting students to submit grant applications for innovative research projects which have the potential to make a positive and practical impact on the lives of animals.

In addition to contributing towards research in the field of animal welfare, it also presents an opportunity for you to sharpen your writing and presentation skills, and learn about how to manage a project and budget. Undertaking a research project can help to hone your problem solving and investigative skills by examining the literature, scrutinising different methodologies and analysing the results. From my experience, there are often valuable networking opportunities with like-minded people who share your passion for improving animal welfare. Here is some feedback from students who successfully secured funding from the AWF Student Grant Scheme:

“I was amongst the speakers invited to an audience of industry professionals in Edinburgh. I gave a 30-minute presentation and had a positive response from the audience. This really built my confidence in public speaking and networking.”

Charlotte Norman, University of Liverpool

“This was an extremely formative experience for me. I have learnt a lot about the process of grant writing, completing a scientific project and working in a developing country.”

Luke O’Connor, University of Bristol

Still on the fence? Here are six reasons why you might consider applying for an AWF Student Grant and the associated opportunities arising from successful applications:

1. You are a curious creature like me! You would like to investigate an idea which could improve animal welfare and funding would increase the scope of your project.
2. You may be invited to the AWF Discussion Forum once you have completed your project to tell us about your project and also have the opportunity to participate in the debates with our delegates.
3. You would like to improve your presentation skills. Although this can be a daunting prospect, from my experience it is really rewarding when people take an interest in a topic you are passionate about.
4. You would like experience in developing a plan and managing the budget for the research project.
5. Research projects can count towards your EMS.
6. You can add your successful research grant application along with your new and/or enhanced skills to your CV.

If you are studying an animal-related degree and have a research idea in mind, we would like to hear from you. We are looking for students with ideas that could have a positive and practical impact on animal welfare. It’s time to don your thinking cap and ensure your application is submitted before midnight on Sunday 24^th November 2019. My fellow trustees and I look forward to reading your applications.

To find out more about the AWF student research grants and to apply, visit the AWF website.