The Grant Allocation Committee met Wednesday to discuss travel grants for the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) and the Polo Club. 

No operation or event grants were proposed.

The University of Wisconsin chapter of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers presented its grant proposal for the Institution of Industrial Systems and Engineering Regional Conference in February. 

The conference is held at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, with 10 to 15 midwest schools in attendance. IISE plans on taking anywhere from 15 to 25 students to the conference.

The conference provides an interactive and collaborative experience featuring distinguished industry speakers who are highly decorated, IISE President Scott Breidigan said. 

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“We hope attending the conference will establish our reputation to hopefully allow us to host the conference in the near future,” Breidigan said.

The last time the University of Wisconsin hosted the conference was in 2016.

The committee first voted to lower the budget to $3,000 because that is the most money they can give away for a travel grant, according to their bylaws. Next, they voted unanimously to pass the grant. 

The second RSO that presented its grant proposal was the UW Polo Club. The Polo Club was restarted this year after it fell apart two years ago due to the COVID pandemic. They are applying for a travel grant to help fund their trip to the United States Polo Association regional competition at the University of Virginia. 

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The goal of this trip is to win and move on to nationals, but also to network with alumni and donors to help grow the club, member Sydney Weise said. The club hopes to have enough funding to get 15 horses next year, allowing them to host a competition. 

The club will play two games at the competition, one against the University of Michigan and the other against Virginia Tech. 

The committee deliberated over whether this trip has an educational component to it or if it is purely social. The final vote was two for yes, one for no and one for abstention.

Chair Gracie Nelson announced she is resigning because she is studying abroad next semester. This was the last general council meeting of the semester. The next general council meeting will be in February.