Funding, News and Announcements

The Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships (QES) program has announced a call for proposals for its new Advanced Scholars program (QES-AS).   The QES-AS is being co-funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and SSHRC.

The QES-AS aims to identify scholars showing leadership potential, and support them in acquiring world-ready research experience through a university, in collaboration with either a non-profit organization or industry. QES-AS aims to strengthen university linkages with industry, community and international partners to explore new opportunities and to better position Canadian universities in the competitive international higher education market.

Canadian universities are invited to submit scholarship project proposals valued at up to $500,000 over four years. Projects will support PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and early-career researchers from low and middle-income countries (LMICs), to spend a minimum of three months at a Canadian institution. Some mobility of Canadian PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and early-career researchers to LMIC institutions is also possible.

The following features apply to this program:

-        All scholars must be undertaking research in one of the following areas of focus: Agriculture and Food Security; Climate Change; Employment and Growth; Food, Environment, and Health; Foundations for Innovation; Governance and Justice; Maternal and Child Health; and Networked Economies.
-        LMIC researchers involved in the program must spend at least 30% of their time in Canada engaged in a research placement with a for-profit or not-for-profit partner (e.g. a company, consulting firm, NGO, government department).
-        Proposed LMIC partner institutions (from which the scholarship candidates are drawn) must have an existing relationship with Dalhousie, and placements must be aimed at building capacity of LMIC institutions.
-        This program is to be cost-shared by QES and Canadian universities. Universities are expected to contribute approximately 50% of the project costs, in kind and/or in cash.
-        The QES contribution towards scholarship amounts (to be leveraged by additional sources, as noted above) are as follows:

o   $20,000 for PhD students
o   $25,000 for PDFs
o   $30,000 for early-career researchers.

Note that the above amounts are based on a 12-month placement in Canada and will be prorated for shorter stays.

As each Canadian university may submit only one proposal to this competition, an internal application and selection process will be put in place by International Research & Development (IR&D) in Dalhousie Research Services.  The following timeline will apply:
-        Wednesday 26 October: expressions of interest are to be sent by interested faculty via email to the International Research Facilitator (jennifer.morawiecki@dal.ca)
-        Friday 28 October: preliminary application forms to be sent to all interested faculty for completion
-        Monday 7 November: preliminary application forms to be submitted to IR&D, for review by internal selection committee
-        Thursday 10 November: the top-ranked preliminary applicant will be notified by the internal selection committee, and asked to proceed with a full application
-        Friday 25 November: full application to be submitted to QES.

For more information or questions about this competition, please contact Jennifer Morawiecki in IR&D (jennifer.morawiecki@dal.ca).

Deadline: 26 October 2016