Policy Statement

The HBM e-University actively promotes the professional development of its faculty members. The University recognizes the need of its faculty to keep up-to-date with current trends in their academic and professional areas of study. This Policy supports applications to attend relevant conferences and seminars.

Scope of Policy

1. Enhance faculty knowledge;
2. are relevant to, and meet the mission of the University;
3. meets quality research measures (originality, consistency, referencing, methodology in research work presented);
4. fulfill the requirements of professional development and promotion policies.

Application Procedure

1. Individuals are responsible for obtaining information about any event that they wish to attend, including obtaining any necessary registration forms.
2. To obtain approval for participation from the conference organizers and to obtain the financial assistance required from the University, the applicants should discuss the content of the conference, etc. with their line managers and seek their approval.
3. Applicants must complete the HBM e-University Conference Participation Form (Attached) and get it approved by their Dean of respective school.
4. Applicants must complete any external registration forms and attach these securely to the Conference Attendance Form.
5. Applicants should retain a copy of the completed forms for their own records.
6. Applicants must submit the approved Conference Participation Form to the Dean of Scientific Research and Publishing for authorization.
7. All requests are reviewed and evaluated by the Scientific Research Steering Committee which is chaired by the Dean of Scientific Research and Publishing. If approved, Deanship of Scientific Research and Publishing will submit the completed Conference Participation Form to the AVCAA for final authorization.
8. AVCAA Office will submit the completed Conference Participation Form to the Human Recourses Department for further administrative requirements and logistics.

Approval Criteria

1. The subject of the conference, and its relevance to the applicant’s responsibility in the University;
2. the conference is an international refereed event;
3. The application has been supported by the applicant’s Dean of respective school;
4. The applicant will present a paper in the conference.
5. The applicant does not adversely jeopardize University stipulation.

Value of Grants for Conference Participation

The total value of individual grants for conference participation will normally cover most expenses. Full-time faculty members are entitled to obtain grants which cover expenses associated with travel, accommodation and conference registration fees. Requests to attend academic based training seminars/short courses will be processed as part of the training need arrangement of the HR Department.

Participation at Conferences, External Short-Courses, Workshops or Seminars

1. Applicants are expected to attend the event that they have applied for and registered for.
2. If, due to exceptional circumstances, (e.g. sickness, etc.), applicants are unable to attend the event they must inform the Dean of their respective school immediately.
3. In liaison with the Deanship of Scientific Research and Publishing, the Dean of respective school should decide whether a substitute can be arranged. If this is possible, the HR Department should be advised immediately. (The HR Department will then advise the organization hosting the event).
4. If it is not possible for the Dean of respective school to find a substitute, attempts will be made by the HR Department to cancel the registration and recover any fees. If this is unsuccessful the applicant will normally be expected to reimburse the HBM e-University, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Late Applications and Late Registration with Conference Organizers

It is the responsibility of the applicants to ensure that their application forms are submitted in good time to enable registration with the organization hosting the relevant event. If the Finance Department is given insufficient notification to enable invoices or cheques to be processed (i.e. less than 10 working days prior to the course/conference registration closing date), applicants will be responsible for paying any registration fee and subsequently for claiming reimbursement. Applicants will be liable to pay any penalties or costs that may be incurred due to late registration of their application.

Participation Feedback

On returning from the event, it is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that information and learning are shared with concerned colleagues. This may be done by way of a summary of the outcomes, either in a written report or as a presentation.