Dr. Vishnu Sreekumar was one of 34 faculty from around the world (of ~80 applicants) selected to attend Neuro4Pros (Neuroscience Leadership Training), which took place from 23 to 30 August, at Queen’s University Biological Station. The other attendees were early-career neuroscience faculty mostly from the USA, UK, and Europe.
Unfortunately, as the only participant from India, Dr. Sreekumar was unable to attend the event due to visa processing delays by the IRCC. Despite applying for a visa in early June and multiple webform inquiries, visa processing did not budge from the initial background check stage. In the light of several similar incidents involving Indian academics missing out on important conference/workshop travel, Dr. Sreekumar has the following message for his colleagues:
“For many of us in the Global South, this is an all-too-familiar barrier: the inability to attend important academic and professional events because our visas aren’t processed in time. The costs add up: visa fees, booked flights, accommodation; and when travel doesn’t happen, those expenses often aren’t reimbursable from research grants. The result? No visa, lost funds from personal finances, missed opportunities. The only saving grace in this instance is that my expenses are just the visa fees that I spent. I didn’t book tickets because I knew this was going to happen. Accommodation and other expenses were being taken care of by the hosts anyways (which I’m grateful for, even if I’m unable to attend).
A plea to international colleagues and event organizers:
If you genuinely want global participation, please consider hosting events in countries with accessible and efficient visa processes. Many Asian nations, the UAE, and others have far simpler systems. It’s a small change that can make a big difference in inclusivity and representation.
Finally, to my colleagues from IIITH and other Indian institutions:
It is time we developed and organized more workshops and conferences of international repute right here in India. With ANRF and (hopefully) other funding bodies adopting more progressive approaches to funding and with science funding under attack on the North American continent, the time is ripe for us to move in new directions and look to lead rather than follow.”
August 2025