I am currently applying to present at a conference in Germany next year and my department has offered me (subject to acceptance) £50 to get there and stay there. :-( I am not sure I will be able to attend even if accepted. I have been looking for other options but a lot of the bursaries available have very restrictive conditions - and I am not young enough, British enough, or Marxist enough to apply neither am I a lay preacher or a talented musician or engineer. Any ideas on how to get more funding?

I know there were some charities that offer financial help with 'studying' related costs.

I'm really sorry but I haven't got the names of any but before I started my phd I came across an online directory of charities. You could then filter them to look for the ones that provide support with education and take it from there.

It's pretty hard work though because you'd have go to through each one and see if you meet their criteria. Like the bursaries, most if not any will have specific criteria relating to where you live, your nationality/ethnicity, profession, area of study, etc. but maybe worth a shot?

By the way, if you decide to go ahead with this idea, you will need to give them an idea of how much you need.

Another option that comes to mind is to use cheaper airlines and stay in a hostel. I stayed in one in Munich(?) that was excellent, very clean, great facilities, great breakfast. I did not regret staying there at all, much better than some of the B&B I've stayed in the UK... I'm usually not keen on hostels, but that German hostel changed my preconceived ideas (er, at least regarding German hostels!).

Good luck!

You may have already tried these but often conferences themselves offer bursaries that aren't always advertised, that could be worth asking about. Also if you are a member of some professional body they sometimes offer bursaries to student members.