Program overview

In response to the report delivered by the Task Force on Northern Research, NSERC established the Northern Research Internships (NRI) Program in 2003. Up to 30 internships per year are available.

Northern Research Internships are tenable in a northern Canadian organization that will benefit from the research conducted, either directly or through the sharing of knowledge. Partner organizations can include colleges, federal, provincial and territorial government departments, companies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or communities. Students/fellows should consult with their supervisors and/or the potential research organizations themselves to find a suitable partner for an internship.

Program objectives

• Supports senior undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows pursuing studies in the Canadian North¹ by facilitating extended stays and subsidizing the costs associated with activities in the North.²
• Enhances the interaction between undergraduate and graduate students/postdoctoral fellows and Northerners who have a stake in northern research.

Program benefits

• Encourages a new generation of highly qualified persons to pursue research in the North.
• Helps increase the capacity for northern research in a way that also involves Northerners.
• Helps bridge the gap between stakeholders interested in northern research.

Award value

• A $4,000 allowance is allocated for travel and logistics.
• Holders of an NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA), Postgraduate Scholarship (PGS), Industrial Postgraduate Scholarship (IPS), Postdoctoral Fellowship (PDF) Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS) or a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (Vanier CGS) will qualify for a stipend of $125 per week. All other applicants will qualify for a stipend of $375 per week.
  • The stipend will be paid to the successful applicant for a minimum of 12 weeks and a maximum of 16 weeks.
• Northern partners must supplement the internship by at least $125 per week or provide in-kind support, such as room and board, for the duration of the award.
• The university supervisor, or the university, must supplement the internship by at least $125 per week for the duration of the award.
• Vacations or interruptions during the tenure of the award will not be subsidized.
• There are no retroactive awards.

Note: The entire value of the award, including the travel and logistics allowance, may be taxable.

To be eligible to apply for this program, you must:

• be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada;
• be an undergraduate student in the final two years of your bachelors degree program, or be (or plan to be) a graduate student, or have received your PhD in the natural sciences or engineering within the past five years;
• have secured a formal agreement with a northern partner, which will contribute financially to the internship, or will provide in-kind support.

To hold these awards, you:

• must be involved full-time in northern research and development activities in the natural sciences or engineering during the tenure of the award;
• must have completed the last or second last year of your bachelors degree program, or be unconditionally registered full-time in a graduate program, or be a full-time postdoctoral fellow in the natural sciences or engineering at an eligible Canadian university;
• must be supervised by a professor holding an NSERC grant who will contribute financially to the internship, either directly or through the university;
• must spend the duration of the internship in the Canadian North, so that interaction occurs with the northern partner;
• must submit a final report and an itemized expense report within two months of the internships conclusion (see below for details);
• may hold only one Northern Research Internship award per 12-month period;
• may hold a maximum of two Northern Research Internships.

Program duration

The awards tenure may not be less than 12 weeks or longer than 16 weeks. The active weeks of the internship do not have to be consecutive, but must occur within a 12-month period. The start date is determined by the successful applicant, the university supervisor and the northern partner. The award may be held at any time during the year, as permitted by the successful applicants academic program.

Application requirements

To be considered for a Northern Research Internship, you must submit the following:

• A completed Application for an NSERC Scholarship or Fellowship (Form 200) within which you address the following points in the Justification for Location of Tenure section:
  • Northern Canadian location and research environment Describe the location and environment in which you will be living and conducting research for the duration of the internship.
  • Contact with the northern community Explain how you intend to:
    • establish contacts and foster communication (e.g., disseminate research findings in a manner accessible to the community) within the northern communities;
    • provide details of the planned interaction with the partner and how the interaction will benefit them.
• Official academic transcripts with your grade point average (GPA) highlighted. (Graduate and undergraduate students must provide all university transcripts; postdoctoral candidates must provide only PhD transcripts.)
• A letter from your supervisor stating that your internship is related to a northern research program.
• A letter from the northern partner providing:
  • the following information about the organization:
    • legal name
    • mandate
    • location
    • contact information (mailing and e-mail addresses, and telephone number)
    • description of research activities
  • a description of the benefit(s) the organization will receive from hosting your internship.
• A statement signed by you, the university supervisor, the Dean of Graduate Studies (students) or another university representative (fellows) and the northern partner in which all agree to:
  • the university or supervisors financial contribution to the internship;
  • the northern partner's financial or in-kind contribution to the internship;
  • the ownership of intellectual property arising from the research, if applicable (specify details of the agreement);
  • a confirmation that the granting of your degree will not be delayed by the desire to keep research results confidential;
  • the proposed number of weeks of tenure (start and end dates).

Note: If the proposed research is part of a larger program of research that receives other significant funding (e.g., ArcticNet, CASES, etc.), the incremental benefits of being granted a Northern Research Internship must be demonstrated.

Application review

Applications will be evaluated using the following criteria:

• Extent of involvement with northern partners.
• Fit between the internship and the research program.
• Proposed duration of the internship.
• Excellence of the applicant.

Northern Research Internships will be awarded to the eligible applicants who submit all of the application requirements and best fulfill the criteria above.

Application deadlines

There are no fixed deadlines for this program. Applications should be made at least eight weeks before the start of a proposed internship. Retroactive awards for internships that are already in progress will not be approved. The number of Northern Research Internships available in a given year will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

Notification of award and transfer of funds

It is NSERCs intention to notify applicants within eight weeks of receiving all the required application documentation. Successful applicants will receive an award letter, a payment request form and other documentation. The entire award (stipend plus travel allowance) will be sent to the award holder upon receipt at NSERC of the duly completed payment request form.

The following reports are due at NSERC within two months of the completion of the internship.

Final report

To determine the effectiveness of the Northern Research Internship Program, the final report must:

• describe what was achieved (quantitative research results) during the internship;
• describe what was gained from the internship experience (anecdotal, qualitative);
• include a letter from the northern partner that summarizes the benefit(s) of the internship from its perspective;
• not be a technical report;
• be a maximum of five pages in total.

Expense report

This report must explain in detail how the $4,000 allowance was spent on travel and logistics. It must include:

• the completed NRINT Travel Expense Form (provided with your award letter);
• an itemized list of expenses relating directly to your activities in the North;
• original receipts, unless they are required by your university. Keep copies for your own records. If you used your own vehicle for travel and logistics, you may claim for the kilometres you drove. Use the travel rates set by the university where you hold the award. Attach a copy of the universitys rates when submitting the Travel Expense Form. Your supervisor must confirm this claim.

Note: Food is not an acceptable expense. Accommodations may be claimed only if you had to stop over in the course of your trip to, or from, your northern base due to scheduling or weather-related problems.

Please address all documents and inquiries to:

Scholarships and Fellowships Division
NSERC
350 Albert Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1H5

Tel.: 613-947-0428
Fax: 613-996-2589
E-mail: schol@nserc-crsng.gc.ca