Learning about the Heleni Linton Bursary
Every year, HKLA awards bursaries to support our members’ learning, research, and development. This year there are two awards available: the Heleni Linton Bursary and the HKLA Biennial Award. The awards are a great opportunity for students and professionals to be recognized for their achievements and to receive support from HKLA. The beneficiaries will receive their awards at the 2018 Annual General Meeting in December. To share more information about the awards and to let you know how you can benefit, we interviewed the HKLA Education and Training Officer, Ms Helen Chan. Find out what she has to say about the Heleni Linton Bursary Award below!
Q: Why was the Heleni Linton Bursary set up?
Helen: Heleni Linton was an outstanding librarian who worked in Hong Kong for Ernst and Young, an international accountancy firm. She was tragically killed in a plane crash in May 1991. The Heleni Linton Memorial Account was established later that same year from funds donated by Ernst and Young, colleagues and friends. Since then, interest accrued to the account has been used by the HKLA to award an annual bursary bearing her name. The Heleni Linton Bursary is a one-time award of HKD 5,000 and is specifically for full and part-time librarianship and information management students who are members of HKLA.
Q: Who does the Bursary benefit?
Helen: The Bursary is intended to assist students in the continuation of their studies, and may be used for a variety of purposes such as: supporting research costs, undertaking projects or surveys, conference attendance or presentations, or contribution to course fees. Applicants should be full and part-time librarianship or information management students in Hong Kong.
Q: Who is eligible to apply?
Helen: The Bursary is specifically for full and part-time librarianship and information management students. You are eligible to apply if you are a resident of Hong Kong or Mainland China, are currently a member of the Hong Kong Library Association, and are pursuing a course of formal study to achieve professional qualifications in librarianship or a related discipline in information science in Hong Kong.
Q: How can I apply for the Bursary?
Helen: Fill out the application form (available on our website: https://hkla.org/study-programme/awards/), which asks you to propose how you will productively use the bursary to further your studies and research. Provide a referee from your institution who can comment on your proposal or studies. Don’t forget to provide any other information that you think would help the Bursary selection panel understand the contribution the bursary would make to your studies and the librarianship profession.
Q: What kind of student should apply for the Bursary?
Helen: Applications will be reviewed by a panel of HKLA Council members and will take into account: the impact of the Bursary on the studies and career of the applicant; the relevance and potential contribution of the proposed activity to the development of library and information science in the region; the originality of idea and the quality of the proposal. Dedicated and motivated students are encouraged to apply! You can read about last year’s winner in HKLA News: https://hkla.org/hkla_news/getting-to-know-hkla-bursary-winners-lee-chung-leuk/.
Q: Anything else we should know?
Helen: HKLA is proud to support students through the Heleni Linton Bursary. We look forward to learning about the proposed activities of all applicants!