PD Opportunities

1. Read through the PAF Mandate listed on this site to ensure your project is eligible for funding.
2. Download the most up-to-date templates 
   • TEMPLATE: PAF General Budget and Roster Spreadsheet
3. You may also take a look at the Example PAF application which has been filled in for you.
4. Submit your PD Opportunity Application:
   1. If you are submitting a PD Opportunity - Fast Track Funding application, you can submit here.
   2. If you are submitting a PD Opportunity - General application, you can submit here.
5. We recommend using Microsoft Excel to complete the PAF Application, as the application contains sensitive information (such as student numbers) and utilizes formatting that does not translate directly to Google Sheets.
   • If you wish to collaborate on the application, you can save the application to the OneDrive cloud to edit directly, or duplicate the form to your Google Drive and then copy over the information (values only) afterwards - be aware of the drop-down lists!

 Final funding spreadsheet submitted must be LOCKED, just as it was when first downloaded. If it is unlocked, it would not be accepted. You can collaborate with your team on the funding spreadsheet, but make sure you’re not submitting a version downloaded from platforms like Google Sheets or Google Drive, as this will break the spreadsheet and unlock it. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to paf@apsc.ubc.ca. 

PAF funds Professional Development Sessions that aim to advance students’ knowledge and skills. Examples of past sessions include networking nights, technical workshops, and seminar series. Note that Design Teams are eligible to apply for PD funding in the case of skill-building workshops; however, this counts towards their cap of number of applications.

APPLY HERE FOR PD OPPORTUNITY - GENERAL FUNDING

Eligibility criteria:

• All of the general PAF eligibility criteria.
• PAF shall not fund PD opportunities in which the main beneficiaries are not currently enrolled undergraduate UBC Engineering students (e.g., youth outreach events).
• An event is defined as a standalone occurrence, whereas a series of events would be x number of applications. 
• Networking nights and industry events are defined as having at least 30% of confirmed attendance being from industry members. 
• Hosting of workshops, hackathons, and other one-off events with a technical hands-on component require a credentialed/technically experienced facilitator. 
• Initiatives that include a prototyping or lab component requiring additional reviews, safety assessments, or approvals beyond the scope of standard PAF administration may not be eligible for funding. Eligibility will be determined at the discretion of the PAF Committees.

Funding calculation:

• PAF Funding shall not exceed 70% of the project’s budget to a cap of $5,000.
• Food shall be subsidized at a rate of $8.00/expected engineering attendee (students, industry, faculty members, or alumni). Attendance numbers should be briefly justified.
• The lesser of $550 or 70% of the costs for venue and associate venue fees.
• Gifts for speakers will be subsidized up to $30 per speaker up to a maximum of $170.
• Other material costs such as workshop supplies can be funded up to $115.
• PAF will fund up to a GTA1 salary (the rate for TAs who are enrolled in a Doctoral program or a Masters program and already holds a Masters degree in the discipline they are teaching in) for tutorial instructors.

Other notes:

• PAF will not fund alcohol or alcohol-related costs such as security or licensing. These costs will be removed from your budget when considering the application.

Maintaining PAF Eligibility - Reporting Requirements

Application Type: Professional Development Opportunities (General)

• Reporting requirement: Final report (template available on the website) 
• Deadline: August 31- by the end of the academic cycle in which the funding was granted. Exceptions will not be made for late reports.  
• Consequence for late/no submission: If a team/person does not submit a final report for an initiative that used PAF funding they are not eligible to receive funding in the next PAF year.