Apply for scholarship to join us at State of the Map 2019 in Heidelberg

Applications for State of the Map 2019 scholarships are now open!

State of the Map is the annual event for all mappers and OpenStreetMap users.
In line with our motto “Bridge the Map”, we invite all OSM enthusiasts – whether you are a hobby mapper, a scientific researcher, a humanitarian, with an NGO or a government agency, a small business or a global company —  to join us in Heidelberg, September 21-23, 2019 and strengthen existing and build new bridges. The HOT Summit, the annual gathering of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team community, will also be directly preceding SotM – to enable all SotM participants to easier attend HOT Summit and vice versa – and facilitate further exchange.

We want to enable as many of you as possible to be part of State of the Map 2019. We are happy to announce that we can provide financial support, thanks to the generosity of our sponsors

Apply now for support to join us in Heidelberg for State of the Map 2019!

Deadline: 30th March 2019

Each year we receive more scholarship applications than we are able to support. To help us best allocate the funds, we have different levels of scholarship to pick from:

• Support scholarship (admission and accommodation)
• Full scholarship (admission, accommodation and full travel costs)
• Enhanced scholarship (admission, accommodation, full travel costs and extra support to cover evening meals and supplementary costs)

Here are some tips to help you complete your application. You can also check out Gregory’s post on how we selected scholars from previous year’s applicants.

• Select the minimum level of scholarship you need. This will help us to make the best use of limited funds and enable more scholars to join.
• Make sure you clearly state your visa and travel requirements, as well as potential other funding sources.
• Answer the question “Please describe your involvement in OSM and how will attending State of the Map benefit you, your local mapping community and the wider OpenStreetMap project” in 1500 characters maximum. Keep sentences short. Focus on the benefits to you and to OpenStreetMap.
• We want to hear about your contributions to OpenStreetMap, your project or your group. We do not want an account of a group’s work but your individual part in it. Try to use “I” not “we“.
• You may include links to your OpenStreetMap profile, a local group you run, or software you created. If your written answer is satisfactory to get in our shortlist – we might take a look at these additional details.
• What topics or views will you bring to SotM that are otherwise missing?
• What do you plan to achieve through coming to the SotM?
• What do you plan to do when you return home after SotM?

To enable our scholars to have the chance to extend their stay for the HOT Summit, this option will also be supported through generosity of HOT Summit sponsors. Please make sure to indicate if the HOT Summit is of interest for you on the form as well.

Apply now!

Reviewing scholarships

Review team
For SotM 2019 we decided to contact past scholars who might want to be involved in the review process.

• Twelve persons will review the applications (Thanks!). All people who replied or self-volunteered were included.
• Eleven are past scholars.
• Four are women.
• Four volunteered prior to being contacted.

Geographic distribution of review team’s nationalities:

• 4 Africa West, East, Central and Southern
  
• 4 Asia-Pacific
• 4 Europe

Criteria for reviewing the applications:

Here’s a list of factors that we will consider when reviewing the applications:

• Is the applicant part of an under-represented minority group?
• Are they from an under-represented location?
• Are they contributing to OSM in a substantial way? (Not only OpenStreetMap edits, but contributed to wiki and documentation, trainers, developers).
• Have they applied previously and not gotten a scholarship?
• Do they have a unique story or experience to share?
• Are they in a position to share their SotM experience with a larger group?
• Will their attendance benefit their local community in some way?
• How difficult will their visa application be?
• How will attending State of the Map benefit them and OpenStreetMap?

You can update your application before the 30th of March.

Can you support the scholarship program?

Is your company or organisation interested in sponsoring State of the Map 2019 and our scholarship program? Take a look at our sponsorship packages and email us at sponsor-sotm@openstreetmap.org for more information.

2019-03-12: This post was updated to add information about the review team and the criteria that will be used.

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The international State of the Map conference is organised by the OpenStreetMap Foundation. The OpenStreetMap Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation, formed in the UK to support the OpenStreetMap Project. It is dedicated to encouraging the growth, development and distribution of free geospatial data for anyone to use and share. The OpenStreetMap Foundation owns and maintains the infrastructure of the OpenStreetMap project. The State of the Map Organising Committee is one of our volunteer Working Groups.