IFSO SCHOLARSHIPS GUIDELINES 2018

One of the main activities of IFSO is the organization of the annual IFSO World Congress, which provides a forum to exchange knowledge on surgical treatment of severely obese patients, to present new techniques, research and concepts, and to meet the experts in the field. The Congress also promotes the specialty of Bariatric Surgery around the world and provide the opportunity for fellowship and collegiality amongst members from each chapter.

In support of this aim, IFSO offers 5 Scholarships to young members from countries whose Bariatric Surgery Societies are members of IFSO and who show strong interests, initial accomplishments and potential for future career development in bariatric surgery and/or other obesity related specialties. One Scholarship will usually be awarded to an applicant from each of the IFSO chapters.

The principal purpose of the Scholarship is to support attendance at the IFSO World Congress.

Each Scholarship offers a stipend of: $US 2,500 + registration at the IFSO World Congress with public recognition of their achievement and presence + 1 ticket to the Gala Dinner.

The applications must be sent in writing to IFSO Secretariat () by May 30th 2018.

Regulations:

• Applicants must be IFSO Members in good standing, graduates of schools of medicine and/or other associated disciplines, not over 40 years (at the time of the application)
• Applicants must be in, or planning to be in, bariatric surgical or other bariatric surgery related specialties practice or training (including fellowships/other scholarships)
• Applicants must have at least one abstract of their own work accepted for presentation at the IFSO Annual World Congress.
• Applicants must be in their training period, or, at the date of the application no more than 5 years have to be passed after finishing their training period
• Applicants whose careers are in the developing stage are deemed more suitable than those who are serving in senior academic appointments
• Applicants may only be awarded this prize once

Successful applicants must provide a written report to IFSO within 2 months of the completion of the World Congress.

The Presidents of the member societies are kindly requested to inform their members about the availability of Scholarships and about the regulations and requirements for applications. Applications received by the deadline will be graded according to an objective system by the "Scholarship Committee", which will award the 5 Scholarships after first informing the Executive Board. The Committee will ordinarily be composed of: President, President Elect, Editor-in-Chief of the official journal, Chair and Vice-Chair of the Scientific Committee.

The Secretariat will inform all applicants of the result in a timely way by email and will request their bank details for the bank transfer.

Requirements for Application

Applicants should apply in writing to IFSO secretariat. All applications must be supported by the following 5 documents:

1. A structured one page CV giving

• Name
• date of birth
• demographic data & personal details
• qualifications
• training
• employment history
• current post

No photos or title pages should be included.

2. A one page (only) list of publications

This should separate:

• Bariatric related publications
• Other publications

Where one page is insufficient, the applicant should provide the total number of publications over their career as well as the publications in the last 5 years and 5 most significant publications.

3. A one page (maximum) statement by the Applicant covering:

• Overall future career aim in bariatric surgery
• What is the next step in career development
• Why the scholarship will help the Applicant in this
• How the scholarship will help contribute to the development of bariatric surgery in the Applicant’s home country / institute

4. A letter from the Head of Department or professional mentor describing the Applicant’s

• ability
• current level of training
• proposed career development
• leadership potential

5. A copy of the Abstract submitted to IFSO World Congress for consideration of presentation