A Young Researcher Showcase Their First Published Paper

Hi! My name is Sam and I am about to start the second and final year of my inclusive design master's degree. I am raising money to attend the IHCON International Hearing Aid Research Conference in California at the end of August. I got my first paper published in March of this year and I was thrilled to be accepted to present this research at IHCON's poster session. The paper is about over-the-counter hearing aid product offerings and what skin tones are available for the devices. This research is just one of many projects I hope to work on in the future as I plan to pursue a PhD.

I have wanted to work with hearing aids since I was 12 and first learned about sign language and the challenges that hearing aid users experience. I have done my bachelor and master thesis on sound, speech intelligibility, and hearing aid satisfaction and I will continue to pursue this field to make it my career. IHCON would be a launching platform for my future, giving me the opportunity to make invaluable connections and hopefully set myself up so I can graduate with a relevant job or PhD position.

I had planned on covering some of the costs myself and then getting scholarships to cover the rest, but after finding out I didn't get one of them, I realized I simply cannot afford to go. Between the cost of being a student and just coming back from a completely unsubsidized three month exchange to work on my master's thesis in Europe, I do not have the money to go to this conference. I am working part time and I have received some scholarships, but given the cost of tuition (let alone living and studying in Toronto), I am still unable to put any extra cash aside.

Given that research papers tend to have a short life cycle and the IHCON conference is only every two years, I would only truly have the opportunity to present my research this year. I have spent hours researching different funding opportunities and reaching out to folks. This is really my last hope to be able to attend.

Here is a budget breakdown of all the conference costs:

Note that all of this is in USD, so in CAD it would be a total of $4100.

Please help support me as I try to establish a career in a field I feel so deeply passionate for. Thank you.