Proposal called for Children Research Fund
Proposal has been called for Children Research Fund from this year to make secondary and higher secondary students of the country interested in science research. Through this fund, 6th-12th class students will be able to get necessary support for their own research projects. Science Popularization Society of Bangladesh (SPSB) and Maksudul Alam Science Lab (MASLab) jointly organized this research fund program.
This fund will be provided for 6th to 12th or equivalent level students studying in Bangladesh in 2024. 6th – 8th, 9th – 10th, 11th – 12th – Students can submit concept paper and proposal in these three sections. Research concept papers and proposals can be submitted individually or as a team of two. If applying as a group, all members must belong to their respective departments. For the fund, students are required to submit a research proposal by applying on the prescribed link by January 10, 2024. The proposal should explain the objectives, methods, results and potential impact of the specific project. Funded students will be provided with necessary equipment, training and allowances for their research projects.
Research proposals can be submitted in Physical sciences, life sciences, technology and robotics, environment and climate change, social sciences, agriculture and education. Applications can be lodged for this fund individually or in groups. If you want to do research in a group, you have to add the name of everyone in the group, the name of the school/college and the name of a mentor.
At first, Students have to submit a concept paper of the topic to be researched. This concept paper can be of maximum one or two pages. Here the name of the research, the topic of the research, how the research will be done and the impact of the research – a summary of these should be prepared in the concept paper. After submitting the concept paper, they have to go to the website to see if the concept paper has been accepted. According to the concept paper, a research proposal should be prepared mentioning estimated costs. There will be details of what to do, how to do it, what the results of this research can be and what its implications are. Also, this proposal should also state what kind of equipment, lab or training is required. The budget should be mentioned along with the cost of the equipment. Along with the concept paper, a letter of recommendation or reference letter from the teacher or mentor with whom the research will be done should be attached to the proposal.
It may be noted that once the concept paper is canceled anyone can submit another concept paper. The duration of this research can be from one to maximum four months. Meanwhile, necessary report with results should be prepared. All those whose concept papers will be accepted will be given an online workshop on 'how to write a proposal'. Applications will be evaluated by an expert committee. Two weeks after the submission of the research proposal, the results of the research funders will be available on the website. Funded students will be able to use the funds for equipment, workshops and allowances required for their research projects. Funded students must follow SPSB guidelines and funded students must share the results of research projects with this institution.
