About Membership

What does it mean to be a member of AIDASCO?

Being a member of AIDASCO means that you actively support our efforts and seek for the ways how our interested members could collaborate in academic, scientific and related activities. If you have interesting news about some project, or you maybe know some research group that seeks for MSc, PhD students or postdoc fellow, feel free to contact us and we will post the information on our web site.  

We are opened for suggestions on all questions, especially to ones related to the promotion of students and younger researchers. Also, AIDASCO will support our members in applying for their own projects, with our expertise, skills and other available resources.

What are the levels of membership in AIDASCO?

Just recently, to assure that the community around AIDASCO is active, we have introduced three levels of membership: standard, associate and full membership.

Standard membership is the entry-level membership intended for individuals with interest and/or activities in academic and scientific collaboration. To become a standard member, you fill in the application, and the Board will review it. If the Board concludes that you have connections with academic or scientific activities and agree with the AIDASCO goals, you will be accepted as a standard member. It is also requested that your profile page is filled with relevant information, including your picture.

Associate membership is intended for individuals with significant contributions to the development of AIDASCO. There are different ways to contribute to the development of AIDASCO and earn associate membership. For example, you can be an active promoter of AIDASCO on social networks, participate in some of AIDASCO’s projects, initiate and conduct some projects within AIDASCO; you can develop a course for AIDASCO, etc. The point is that you make some measurable contribution.

Full membership is awarded to members with an exceptional contribution to the development of AIDASCO. Same as in the case of Associate membership, there are different ways how to achieve full membership. You can, for example, find donators and sponsors to AIDASCO, initiate and conduct a signing of Memorandum of Understanding between the reputable institution(s) and AIDASCO, secure/obtain a grant for AIDASCO’s project, provide a place for AIDASCO to participate in some respectable project, etc.
We totally understand that terms such as “significant contribution” and “exceptional contribution” to the development of AIDASCO are challenging to be defined uniquely. So, if you have other ideas on how to earn an associate or full membership, we would love to hear and discuss them with you.

Is there a membership fee?

No. There is no membership fee and, although that makes things much harder for us, we will keep it that way. We are actively seeking sponsors, donations and supporters, and that is why we need your help. Currently, all of the expenses are covered personally by the AIDASCO founders.
 

What are the benefits of AIDASCO membership?

Standard members receive newsletters and are informed about opportunities for academic and scientific collaboration. Standard members are also entitled to level 1 discounts on services that AIDASCO offers. Regardless of the membership level, all students are entitled to free consultations with the AIDASCO board on academic and scientific topics. 

Associate members are entitled to level 2 discounts on services that AIDASCO offers.

Full members are entitled to level 3 discounts on all AIDASCO services. They are also entitled to act as project leaders on AIDASCO’s projects and apply for grants under the auspices of AIDASCO.

We are working hardly to provide additional benefits for our members, so stay tuned, new opportunities are on the way.

Membership certification

Standard members can receive Letter of Membership, while Membership certificates are available for Associate and Full members. Other important information about membership certificates are as following:

  • Membership certificates are issued in electronic form and are free of charge;
  • Membership certificates are issued upon request;
  • Membership certificates are re-issued for the next year if the criteria are met.

Why membership certificates last for “only” one year?

We want to have an active community. If some member is not an active member, it is pointless for him/her to be listed on our website and it is pointless to issue him/her a perpetual membership certificate.

Why are there some members without profile image

As of January 2021, we have upgraded the website functionality and ever since it is mandatory to submit a profile image when applying for membership. In the previous application form, it wasn’t mandatory to submit a profile image and some of the members who have joined then are still not having images on their personal pages. After the website upgrade, we have decided to include them as well on the website, but they will have to submit their profile images during the 2024. 

Profile image and contact details are necessary for several reasons. It helps us to review the application and approve the membership. Also, it helps in communication between members and contributes to the promotion and transparency of AIDASCO.

Other details about certificates issued by AIDASCO

For all events organized by AIDASCO, corresponding certificates for active participants will be issued. For example, if you have given an invited lecture at some of the events we organized, you will be receiving the corresponding certificate. 

All certificates will be stamped, signed by the Board President and will be containing a valid certificate number. All issued certificates will be confirmed in the official reports of the Board meetings.