2026 IRMS Conference Bursaries

IRMS Conference Bursary Information

The 2026 bursary application form is now closed.
In line with our commitment to making the IRMS Conference as inclusive as possible, we are offering 2 fully-funded bursary places for IRMS26 in Wales on 17-19 May 2026.

Bursary Types

New Generation

Open to anyone aged 30 or under at the start of the conference on 17 May 2026

Diversity & Inclusion

Offered to an information professional or student from an ethnic minority background, or who has a disability (or both)

Each bursary provides 1 fully-funded place at the whole event, including all conference sessions, food and refreshments, evening social events, and two nights’ B&B accommodation at the conference venue, the Celtic Manor Resort. Please note, we are unable to cover any travel costs or assist with visa requirements if necessary or required.

Apply for a bursary

How to Apply

To be eligible for a free bursary place, you must meet the requirements stated in the ‘Criteria’ section below. If you do, then to apply, all you have to do is tell us:

Your name, location, organisation, email address and phone number. Location could be a town, region, or country if overseas; organisation could be your employer or your academic institution if you’re a student.
The bursary you want to apply for and how you are eligible. For example your age, your ethnic background or disability, or overseas location, as appropriate.
Why you would like to attend the IRMS Conference and how you will benefit from attending. In other words, tell us why you should be the lucky winner of a free place!

Which speakers or topics you are most interested in or excited about and why?
How you would promote or write about your attendance via the bursary. We kindly ask you to write an article or blog, post on social media, record a podcast… whatever you prefer, in return for your free place at the conference.

Click ‘Apply for a bursary’ below to submit your application via the online form.

Apply for a bursary

You haven’t got long – the deadline for applications is Friday 20th February 2026. The IRMS Conference team will then validate and consider all applications and decide who has been successful no later than the end of March 2026. Everyone who submits an application will receive a response from the Conference Director by the end of March. If you have any questions or if you’re not sure whether to apply, please contact Paulina Jedwabska via email for an informal conversation.

Criteria

Standard criteria that apply to all bursaries are as follows:

You must not have attended any of the last three IRMS Conferences (2023, 2024, 2025).
You must not have previously received financial assistance to attend the IRMS Conference.

In addition, the following criteria apply to each individual bursary on offer:

New Generation

You must be aged 30 or under as at the start date of the Conference – 17 May 2026. You may be asked to provide proof of your date of birth in order to validate your application.

Diversity & Inclusion

You must identify as an ethnicity other than the white British or white Irish ethnic groups, and/or have a disability that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. You may be asked to provide proof of either of these characteristics in order to validate your application.

Further information

The bursary places are fully funded by the IRMS. The terms of the bursaries were agreed by the IRMS Executive Committee in November 2025.

The bursaries, including consideration of applications, are the responsibility of the IRMS Conference organising team, which consists of the IRMS Chair, IRMS Conference Director and IRMS General Manager together with the relevant Account Manager and Marketing Director at Revolution Events.

In the event that any member of the organising team has a close relationship with any of the applicants and/or the team considers there to be a potential conflict of interest involving any member of the team, that member will not participate in the consideration of any applications for the bursary or bursaries to which either of those concerns relates.

Subject to the above safeguards, evaluation of applications and decisions as to the successful applicants is entirely at the discretion of the organising team, and that team’s decision is final. The organising team reserves the right to withdraw the awarding of a bursary in the event that information subsequently comes to light that would cause the application to have been invalid.