HFF offers career development grants of up to £2000 for early career researchers to participate in conferences, training courses, and fieldwork relevant to their studies/research. This grant may also, in certain circumstances, be used to attend meetings relevant to wider HFF strategic priorities (e.g. UNESCO, maritime cultural heritage policy forums).

Candidates for this award would include individuals who are enrolled in postgraduate degrees and who seek funding towards the costs of their research (e.g. lab costs, fieldwork costs, specialist analyses as well as subsistence during this period) but does not cover general studentship costs like fees or allowances.

For applications above £2000, please contact Dani Newman for advice before applying.

The Foundation currently supports bursaries for applicants from Cyprus, Lebanon, Egypt and Syria as well as applicants of different nationalities working in these countries or the broader eastern Mediterranean. Please note that priority will be given to applicants from within the region.

Application Guidance

HFF will give priority to applicants who have a confirmed place for training or an accepted abstract for a event, however applicants who are awaiting confirmation of either or would like to attend an event specifically related to their research are encouraged to apply.

Funding is available to a maximum of £2000 and a justified budget breakdown is required. Each request will be assessed on its own merit.
Please provide ensure your application provides the following:
Justifications as to why this training/event is relevant and compliments your current skills set.

• How this training/event will help your career development.
• How this training/event will contribute to the development of the field in the HFF region.
• All successful recipients will be required to submit a full report two weeks after the course has finished. All recipients must also acknowledge the support of the Foundation in any social media posts relating to the course/event.

Information on Payments

Bursary applications will be considered monthly, usually around the 10th, with funding awarded by the end of the month. Please ensure you leave enough time to apply for visas applications. We recommend you apply at least three months before you need the funds.

The bursary will go towards covering most, if not all, of the costs (airfare/ travel, visa and participant fee) associated with the training/event.

If for any reason the course is cancelled, or travel is disrupted (e.g. covid, strikes, acts of war) then it is the recipient’s responsibility to try to recoup as many of the costs as possible to be returned to the Foundation.

Letters of Support

The Foundation will also help with letters of support for visas and other official forms, but cannot action these at the last minute, so please also bear this in mind during the application process. In general, these letters are not needed before you have secured funding from us.