Coolest Projects Travel Bursary 2017: Deadline Extended!

We’re accepting applications for those seeking to receive a bursary for travelling to Coolest Projects 2017.

The 2017 CoderDojo Coolest Projects Exhibition will be held on the 17th June in the RDS Arena, Dublin. Our goal is to have over 100 projects from outside of Ireland showcased at the 2017 Coolest Projects Exhibition!

Deadline for Applications Extended!

Bursaries are open now and the deadline has been extended until midnight GMT March 19th – to apply just enter your details on our form below. For top tips and guidelines for applying just read on.

This year we are also excited to be able to give one or two lucky Ninjas the chance to travel from the US to Dublin for the exhibition!

Some regions will be managing their own bursaries centrally, either through application or a local Coolest Projects and should be contacted directly about bursaries for the event;

Bulgaria – [email protected]

Netherlands – https://coderdojo.nl/coolest-projects

Romania – [email protected]

Scotland – [email protected]

The average bursaries (€) for each country is as follows;

Belgium – €125 per person

France – €125 per person

Germany – €125 per person

Greece – €150 per person

Italy – €125 per person

Poland – €125 per person

Portugal – €125 per person

Spain – €125 per person

Sweden – €150 per person

Turkey – €200 per person

Mainland UK – €100-150 per person dependant on region

US – TBC based on location, limited spaces available

You can apply for a bursary even if you do not reside in these locations and bursaries will be examined on a case by case basis depending on location. Please note that these are average bursaries per country and bursaries may fluctuate depending on the city you are travelling from.

Bursaries are intended for youth who wish to enter the awards, but otherwise would not be able to afford the travel costs. If you do not receive the bursary you can still attend the awards through funding your own journey or by securing local sponsorship for members of your Dojo to travel.

Top Tips for a successful application!

As we want as many projects entered and Ninjas to attend as possible, preference will be given to parents/guardians/mentors who can travel with more than one Ninja (eg a parent bring two children who are both presenting, or a parent who can bring a child & their friend who are both demoing projects at the awards or a mentor/champion bringing several Ninjas entering projects). Siblings and additional family members can attend, but bursaries will only be provided to ninjas participating and a single guardian.

We would advise that the Dojo picks one representative to fill out the form on behalf of their whole Dojo to ensure that Ninjas are picked in a fair manner to represent their Dojo. If you are filling out the form as a representative of a whole region or multiple Dojos, please highlight this in your application and include which Dojos the application is on behalf of. This will give you a greater chance of being selected.

Only parents/guardians/mentors/Champions should complete the bursary form and they should only apply once for the same ninjas.

Criteria for selecting bursary winners for Coolest Projects

• Enter by midnight GMT March 19th 2017.
• Each member of the applicant’s party must be registered on Zen, the CoderDojo Community Platform. You can learn how to do this here.
• Each of the applicant’s party must be a member of a verified and active Dojo on Zen.
• Preference will be given to Dojos and its members who regularly use the Zen Events and Badging system as this will allow us to ensure that Ninjas that you wish to bring are members and regular attendees of the Dojo.
• Allocations will be made on a country by country basis. Each region will be  given a set of spaces to be filled which will be based on the number of Dojos in each country.
• Gender balance of attendees will be considered as Coolest Projects is seeking to have an equal gender balance of projects demo’ed. I.e. 50%  girls, 50% boys
• Project categories will be considered in order to have an array of international projects across every category.
• Groups and individual projects will be considered in order to have a mix of international projects showcased.
• The involvement and contribution of the Dojo in the CoderDojo community. e.g. Mentors who have contributed to Zen, CoderDojo Community Committee Members, Volunteering and organising events such as Coolest Projects/Dojocon or Regional Events in their own area will be considered when awarding bursaries.
• The ratio of adults to young people will be considered as we want to ensure that as many young people as possible get the chance to experience Coolest Projects!

Note: All guardians travelling with children will be responsible for their well being and safety for the duration of the trip. Any adult travelling with a child that is not their own should gain written consent from their parent(s). The CoderDojo Foundation or the Coolest Projects team does not accept liability for any children or their guardians travelling to the Coolest Projects awards.