The Boston UPA Chapter Awards Scholarships for Three Chapter Members to Attend the 2005 International UPA Conference in Montreal

by Chauncey Wilson
Boston UPA Chapter President

Chauncey Wilson, Boston UPA Chapter President
Chris Hass, Boston UPA Secretary
Susan Rice, Boston UPA Vice President
Susie Robson, Boston UPA Treasurer

To recognize and reward students and professionals who have a stated interest in pursuing or furthering a career in the usability and human factors field, the Boston Chapter of the Usability Professionals’ Association awarded three scholarships to underwrite the conference registration fees for the UPA Conference in Montreal. Scholarship winners will also receive $100 for expenses related to the conference in Montreal held from June 27 to July 1.

The scholarship winners for 2005 were:

• Richard Beauregard
• Judy Blostein
• Mariah Levitt

We would like to congratulate them for being our very first scholarship winners of what we hope to make a yearly event for our chapter (given a good financial state).

Students, part-time employees, or fulltime employees whose attendance at the conference would not otherwise be underwritten by an employer or other agency were eligible for our scholarships. Scholarship recipients had to be members in good standing of the Boston Chapter of the Usability Professionals’ Association. The scholarship application process involved the following steps

1. Interested members of the Boston Chapter of the Usability Professionals Association had to contact a Boston Chapter board member to indicate their interest in applying for the scholarships by January 31, 2005.
   
   
2. Applicants had to prepare and send us a resume detailing their educational and professional backgrounds.
   
   
3. Applicants had to write a short (1500 word maximum) essay describing their professional interest in attending the UPA Annual Conference, and the steps they will take to ensure that their attendance is meaningful. Alternatively, applicants could have written an essay of similar length describing a research activity, project, or other project that might be undertaken at the conference, and the contribution it might make to the usability and human factors field.
   
   
4. Applicants submitted their resume and essay to the Boston UPA Chapter no later than midnight Eastern Standard Time on March 1, 2005. The Boston UPA board reviewed the resume and essay and chose finalists for each scholarship in time for early registration to the UPA conference in Montreal.
   
   
5. Finalists were asked to participate in a brief (30 minutes maximum) interview with the scholarship award committee to discuss their application if we had questions or had to decide between two close applicants.
   
   
6. From the submitted applications and interviews, the Boston UPA advisory board selected three finalists.
   
   
7. Scholarship recipients are asked to fund their own travel and hotel expenses.
   
   
8. The winners of the scholarship will be required to present short talks at a Boston UPA chapter meeting in 2005 on the highlights of the UPA Conference in Montreal.