Goals

To support up-and-coming scientists and research staff in presenting their work at national and international conferences, the Sleep Network is proud to offer its fourth travel award . This competition also aims to promote the visibility of research carried out by Sleep Network members.

The Sleep Network plans to offer this competition twice a year. This competition will provide travel award for participation in conferences taking place from October 1, 2026, to March 31st, 2027.

Available budget

An annual budget is dedicated to this funding opportunity. The award amounts will vary depending on the location of the conference. For conferences held within the province of Quebec, awards of up to $250 will be granted for conferences taking place within 150 km of the applicant’s home, and awards of up to $400 will be granted for conferences taking place 150 km or more from the applicant’s home. For conferences held outside the province (national or international), awards of up to $800 will be granted.

Eligibility

• The person submitting the application must be enrolled full-time in an undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, or postdoctoral program, or be a research professional, in Quebec, at the time of submission.
• The applicant must be supervised by or employed by a principal investigator affiliated with a Quebec managing institution (according to FRQ rules), who meets the criteria of the Fonds de recherche du Québec at the time of submission and is a regular member of the Sleep Network.
• The person submitting the application does not hold a scholarship from a funding agency that provides a research stipend (e.g., CIHR doctoral scholarship) and has not received a travel award or travel grant from the Sleep Network within the past two years.
• The event must take place between October 1, 2026, and March 31, 2027.
• The project presented in the abstract must focus on sleep, circadian rhythms, or dreams.
• The person submitting the application must provide proof that an abstract, on which they are the first author, has been submitted.
• Once the award has been granted, proof that the abstract has been accepted for the event must be provided to the Sleep Network.

Eligible Expenses

The travel grant will only be paid after participation in the conference mentioned in the application. The grant can be used to cover travel expenses (transportation and taxi transfers to the conference venue), conference registration fees, and accommodation. Recipients will be required to submit a detailed budget with their application, explaining the intended use of the funds.

Please note that the minimum distance to the conference and the eligible expenses are determined by the managing institution of the person submitting the application. We encourage you to confirm this information before submitting your application.

Funding conditions

The principal investigator supervising the candidate must be listed as a co-investigator on the network grant, if they are not already, in order for the funding to be awarded. This requires the principal investigator's consent to be added as a co-investigator, as well as the inclusion of an FRQ CV in their FRQnet file, in order to receive the funding.

How to submit an application 

To apply for this competition, you must complete and submit the travel award application form. You will also need to attach a PDF proof of the submission of your abstract to the conference.

Proof of acceptance of the abstract at the conference is required only for the payment of the prize.

Evaluation criteria 

In addition to the eligibility of the applications, the following priorities will be taken into account when evaluating the applications:

• Scientific quality of the research project presented in the submitted abstract.
• Clear justification of how the research project and participation in the conference contribute to the science of sleep, circadian rhythms, or dreams.

Timeline of the competition

• April 21, 2026 : Launch of the Travel Award competition
• June 15, 2026, at 4PM (Eastern Time) : Submission deadline
• June 2026 and September 2026 : Evaluation of submissions
• September 18, 2026 : Announcement of the winners

Please note that a travel award competition will also be available for conferences taking place between April 1, 2027, and September 30, 2027. This competition will be launched in the winter of 2026.

Commitment

A person who receives a travel award from the Sleep Network will not be eligible to receive the same award within the next two years.

IMPORTANT The travel award will only be paid after participation in the conference mentioned in the application. In order to receive the funds, a photo of the applicant's conference badge (including their name and the name of the conference) and an email of approval from the applicant's supervisor (supporting the application and the amount to be paid) must be sent to info@reseausommeil.ca.