Canada DE Scholarship Competition for International Students

Program
rules

Important
dates

  •  
    Deadline – Presentation of proposals by the candidates to a university : See the toolbox.
  •  
    Deadline – Submission of the preselected applications by universities : September 23rd
    2016.
  •  
    Deadline – Submitting application to the FRQNT for preselected candidates
    : November
    1st, 2016 at 4 PM
    (coordinated universal time
    UTC-5 Est time zone)
  •  
    Announcement of results : End
    of April 2017

1.

Objectives

The Doctoral
Research Scholarships Program for Foreign Students (DE) of the Fonds de
recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies (FRQNT) aims to stimulate
international student’s interest in beginning or pursuing doctoral studies in
Québec and provide financial support to leading international Ph.D. candidates
in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering fields.

 

2.

Applicants

The scholarships are
aimed at foreign students who had been preselected by a Québec university and
who wish to carry out their doctoral studies in the natural sciences,
mathematics and engineering fields. To be eligible, applicants must specialize
in the following areas:

  •  
    Aerospace
  •  
    Information and communication technologies
  •   Health
    technologies
  •  
    Genomics
  •  
    Nanotechnologies
 

3.

Eligibility,
citizenship and residence criteria

Applicants must:

  •   Meet
    all eligibility criteria by the competition deadline on November 1st,
    2016.
  •   Have
    been preselected by a Québec university by September 23th,
    2016.
  •   Not
    have obtained a Merit Scholarship for Foreign Students from the Ministère
    de l’Education et de l’Enseignement supérieur du Québec (MEES) or one of
    the Fonds de recherche du Québec.
  •   Not be
    a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
  •   Not
    have submitted an application for permanent residence under Canadian
    immigration laws.

In addition to the
aforementioned criteria, applicants should note the following restrictions and
administrative prerequisites:

Study program
restrictions:

  •   The
    scholarship cannot be used for qualifying studies.

Eligibility criteria

Scholarship program
eligibility rules account for all doctoral sessions (funded or not) completed
prior to May 1st, 2017.

When calculating the
eligibility period, the FRQNT will consider all of the unregistered or
part-time sessions for which registrar attestations are provided in the
application. The applicant must verify his/her eligibility by consulting the
equivalents table for unregistered or part-time sessions in the Toolbox.

The FRQNT will also
consider the number of master’s and doctoral sessions for which the applicant
received funding from a recognized funding agency (e.g. NSERC, CIHR, SSHRC, the
FRQNT, etc.) to ensure that the support does not exceed 15 sessions.

Eligibility period for
applicants registered in direct-entry doctoral programs (bachelor’s to
doctorate) and fast-track master’s/doctoral programs

Applicants admitted
to a doctoral program after completing their bachelor’s degree and those who
fast-tracked to a doctoral program without submitting a thesis may apply to the
doctoral scholarships competition (DE) in the 3rd, 4th
and 5th years of their graduate studies (between their 7th
and 15th study sessions). Sessions that are completed when the
scholarship comes into effect will be subtracted from the funding period. Under
no circumstances will funding be granted before the 7th session or
after the 15th session.

Applicants who hold
a master’s degree when beginning their doctoral studies must submit their
applications to the doctoral scholarships competition.

Doctoral scholarship
eligibility period

Applicants are
eligible for the doctoral research scholarships (DE) competition during the
first nine (9) sessions of their doctoral studies (or the equivalent). Doctoral
sessions (or the equivalent) that are already completed when the scholarship
comes into effect will be subtracted from the scholarship period. Under no
circumstances will funding be granted after an applicant’s 9th
doctoral program session.

Eligibility period
exceptions

Scholarship
eligibility period exceptions will only be made in circumstances that are
beyond the applicant’s control. In such cases, all supporting documents must be
submitted along with the application.

Applicants who
suspend their studies for a maternity or parental leave may ask to extend their
eligibility for a maximum period of 12 months. In such cases, all supporting
documents must be submitted along with the application.

When the applicant
is a person with a disability under the Act to secure handicapped persons in
the exercise of their rights with a view to achieving social, school and
workplace integration (R.S.Q. c. E-20.1), the eligibility requirements do not
apply. However, the doctoral scholarship period remains the same (three years).
In such cases, all supporting documents must be submitted along with the
application.

The FRQNT reserves
the right to refuse any request that is not adequately justified.

 

4.

Applicant
preselection

Only students who
have been preselected by a Québec university may apply to the competition.

Universities may
support two competition applications per year.

Applicant
preselection is the sole responsibility of the university. Information on
preselection deadlines is available In the Toolbox.

The university
representatives who must preselect the applicants should consult the
Instructions for preselecting applicants in the Toolbox.

University
representatives who preselect applicants must fill out the applicant nomination
form, which is available on the Extranet site of the FRQNT. The form must be
submitted electronically by
September
23th, 2016, at 4 PM
.

Applicants must meet
all program eligibility requirements. Applications submitted by a university
may be deemed ineligible by the FRQNT if the applicants do not meet all program
requirements.

Preselected
applications may also be preselected for the Merit scholarships Program for
Foreign Students awarded by the  Ministère de l’Éducation et de
l’Enseignement supérieur (MEES). If an applicant submits several applications
in the same year, he/she must send only one copy of the reference letters to
the FRQNT.

5.

Submitting
application

Preselected
applicants will receive a Personal Identification Number (PIN) and a password
and must then fill out an e-form to which will be attached the required
documents. Applicants may consult the document:
Instructions for completing an
application

in the Toolbox.

Only the 2017-2018
competition e-forms and other required documents will be accepted. Any
appendices or documents other than those required will not be given to the
evaluation committee.

The e-forms are only
available in the secure section of the website of the Fonds. These forms must
be filled out and submitted electronically by the competition deadline on
November 1st, 2016, at 4 PM (coordinated universal time UTC-5,
Est time zone). Applicants will not be able to update their applications after
the competition deadline. It is recommended that applicants keep a hard copy of
the e-form for their personal files.

The form may be
written in French or English. Applicants who submit their applications in
English must provide the French translation of the project title.

Important :
Applications that do not include the information required will be deemed
ineligible by the FRQNT.

 

6.

Required
supporting documents

Letter
of reference (by email or online)

Two letters of
reference from referees should be sent to the program manager. The applicant
must provide the number of his application and his personal identification
number (PIN) to his referees to fulfill the letter.

  •   For
    Quebec referees, it is strongly suggested to use the letter available
    online in the researcher’s personal electronic file. This letter is sent
    to the Fund through his electronic file.
  •  
    Foreign referees can use the dynamic PDF letter available in the Toolbox.
    Referees must complete the letter in PDF format, print it, sign it, scan
    it and send it to the Fund by mail: pbeee@frq.gouv.qc.ca .

Documents
to include in the electronic form (PDF)

The documents listed
below must be attached to the electronic form in the order described in two (2)
PDF documents. The first one includes a copy of the identification page of a
valid passport or official document. The second includes the rest of the
documents.The student must ensure that the documents are not protected by a
password.

Documents submitted
in a language other than French or English must be accompanied by a translation
of the original.

  •   A copy
    of transcripts for every year of the applicant’s university studies,
    whether they were completed or not (certificate, diploma, bachelor’s,
    master’s, doctoral, etc.).
  •   A copy
    of the identification page of the applicant’s valid passport from his/her
    home country or any other official document that established the
    applicant’s citizenship;
  •   A copy
    of your diploma unless there is a grade in this document. The applicant
    must also provide the transcripts for any equivalencies that were granted
    for courses taken in other institutions or as part of other programs. Any
    transcripts from institutions located outside North America must include a
    note from the applicant explaining the marking system. The FRQNT reserves
    the right to verify with institutions the authenticity of any information
    given by applicants. The transcripts must be organized chronologically
    from newest to oldest;
  •  
    Acknowledgements of receipt or letters from editors for articles that are
    submitted, accepted or in press (acknowledgements for published articles
    will not be given to the committee);

Additional
document for applicants who carried out part-time or unregistered sessions
since first registering for their graduate studies

  •   An
    attestation from the registrar listing any unregistered or part-time
    sessions.

Additional
document for applicants seeking an eligibility period exception

  •   An
    official document attesting to the applicant’s suspended registration and
    a medical certificate indicating the reasons and duration of the
    suspension, if applicable.

The FRQNT reserves the
right to verify the authenticity of any information or documents given by
applicants with relevant bodies.

Submitting
the required documents

The candidate must
send the electronic form to the FRQNT before the competition deadline: November
1st 2016.

It is the
applicant’s responsibility to verify that the documents attached to the
electronic form (PDF) include all the required documents for the application to
be considered acceptable. No document requested in the electronic form that
would be sent by email or mail will be accepted.

The candidate must
ensure that his referees send the letters of reference no later than the
competition deadline.

Acknowledgment
of receipt

In December,
applicants will be informed via email of the receipt of their application. The
candidate who has not received this notice should contact the program manager
before December 15th 2016.

 

7.

Applications
assessment

Evaluation
criteria

Applications are
evaluated according the following criteria and weighting:

Criteria

Doctorate
Applicant’s
academic record

6
points
Applicant’s
research skills and relevant research experience

8
points
Quality and
scientific interest of the project and socio-economic scope of the project,
if applicable.

4
points
Social
involvement, leadership and communication skills

2
points
TOTAL

20 points

Applicant’s academic
record

Criterion
indicators:

  •   Grade
    point average;
  •  
    Academic progress;
  •   Years
    of schooling;
  •   Awards
    and prizes.

Research skills and
relevant research experience

Criterion
indicators:

  •  
    Soundness of the application and research interests;
  •  
    Applicant’s experience and accomplishments;
  •  
    Letters of recommendation from respondents.

Quality and scientific
interest of the research project

Criterion
indicators:

  •  
    Clarity of the scientific objectives;
  •  
    Relevance of the methodology in light of the set objectives;
  •  
    Originality of the project;
  •   Project’s
    contribution to advancing knowledge in the field;
  •  
    Project’s relevance to the research director’s field.

Social involvement,
leadership and communication skills

Criterion
indicators:

  •  
    Applicant’s leadership skills;
  •  
    Conference and meeting organization;
  •  
    Positions held;
  •  
    Volunteering;
  •  
    Mentoring;
  •  
    Experience in supervision;
  •  
    Experience in knowledge transfer;
  •  
    Project management;
  •  
    Committee chairmanship;
  •  
    Ability or potential to clearly and logically communicate scientific
    concepts;
  •   Overall
    presentation.

Evaluation
process

Role of the evaluation
committee

Eligible
applications will be assessed by a four-member multidisciplinary committee. The
committees will include university faculty members who may call upon
representatives from the private and government sectors.

The evaluation
committee will assess applications based on program criteria and rank the
applications according to merit.

Depending on the
number of eligible applications, the Fonds may appoint field-specific
committees.

Role of the board of
directors

The board of
directors will receive recommendations from the evaluation committees and make
the final funding decisions. The board is accountable for its decisions to the
government of Québec.

Role of the program
administrator

The program
administrator is responsible for ensuring that the evaluators respect the
evaluation criteria and rules in effect as well as the standard rules of
ethics.

 

8.

Integrity
of assessment process

The FRQNT board
members are not involved in the scientific evaluation of funding applications,
and at no time may researchers, students or institutional authorities make
contact with the assessment committee chairperson or members. The FRQNT have
the right to withdraw an application from competition if there is any attempt
to lobby the committee or sway the evaluation process.

Every person
recruited to sit on an assessment committee must comply with standard rules of
confidentiality regarding the application packages, committee makeup,
deliberations and   recommendations. The assessment committee
chairperson, members and outside experts are required to disclose any conflicts
of interest and must sign a written statement in this regard.

 

9.

Awarding
of the scholarships and announcement of the results

Awarding
of the scholarships

The applications
will be evaluated and ranked according to merit by the evaluation committees.
Scholarships will be awarded based on available funds. The FRQNT reserved the
right to adjust the offer based on the directions set out by the board of
directors.

Announcement
of the results

The board of
directors of the FRQNT will announce its decision electronically in late April,
advising applicants directly via their e-files. Each applicant will be informed
of his/her ranking and may print his/her announcement letter.

It is strictly
prohibited to contact committee members, who must abide by confidentiality
rules.

The decisions of the
board of directors of the FRQNT are final and without appeal. There is no
review process.

The applicant must
accept or refuse the scholarship in the ten (10) business days following the
receipt of the offer by filling out the e-form in his/her scholarship holder’s
file. Should an applicant fail to accept the award before the deadline, the
Fonds will consider that he/she has refused it.

 

10.

Terms
of the scholarship

Scholarship holders
must hold a Certificat d’acceptation du Québec (Québec Acceptance Certificate)
issued by the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion du
Québec (http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca)
as well as a student authorization issued by consular services that is valid
for the entire study period in Québec.

Warning :
Please note that no scholarship payment will be done before receiving a copy of
the student authorization (visa).

Scholarship holders
must meet all of the scholarship rules set out in the Scholarship Holder’s
Guide.

The scholarship
period must begin between May 1st, 2017, and January 15th,
2018. Unless exceptional circumstances, the scholarship cannot be transferred
from one year to the next. For applicants whose study program is already
underway, the scholarship period will begin in May 2017.

The scholarship is
not retroactive. Any sessions carried out prior to summer 2017 will not be
funded.

Except in special
cases pertaining to part-time studies set out in the Scholarship Holder’s
Guide, the scholarship holder must be registered as a full-time student in the
doctoral program for which the scholarship was awarded.

The scholarship is
granted for the entire eligibility period, conditional upon the presentation of
satisfactory progress reports.

Applicants who seek
to change program, project or place of tenure must first request an
authorization from the FRQNT in writing.

Value of the
scholarship

The FRQNT board of
directors reserves the right to modify the value of scholarships at any time,
without notice, notably in accordance with the credits annually allocated by
the Assemblée nationale du Québec, its strategic priorities and budgetary
process.

The maximum annual
value of the doctoral research scholarship for international students is
$20 000. During the eligibility period (nine sessions or 36 months), the
scholarship holder may receive up to nine payments totalling $60 000. Each
payment of up to $6 667 covers a period of four months or one session.

Place of tenure

Scholarship holders
must attend the Québec university at which they were preselected and carry out
studies or research activities in Québec.

Concurrent awards

Cumulation is
prohibited with:

Awards granted by
government departments and agencies and the funding agencies of the Canadian
and Québec governments.  

Cumulation is allowed
with:

Awards granted by
the private sector, the scholarship holder’s home country and universities.

Remuneration

Except in special
cases pertaining to paid work set out in the Scholarship Holder’s Guide, the
scholarship holder may accept employment that does not exceed the maximum hours
per session allowed by its institution, provided that his/her research
supervisor does not object and that the employment does not interfere with the
research activities.

The salary that the
scholarship holder receives exclusively for his/her research project is
considered to be a scholarship that may be held concurrently with a doctoral
research scholarship for international students.

 

11.

False
or misleading information

In accordance with
the Act Respecting the Ministère du Développement Économique, de l’Innovation
et de l’Exportation (R.S.Q., c. M-30.01), applicants who give false or
misleading information in view of obtaining or procuring financial support is
guilty of an offence and liable to a fine. If found guilty, he cannot obtain
financial support for a period of five years.

Where a legal person
commits an offence, every director or representative of that legal person who
was aware of the offence is deemed to be a party to the offence and is liable
to a fine, unless he proves to the satisfaction of the court that he did not acquiesce
to the commission of the offence.

The FRQNT reserves
the right to impose any sanction or supplementary measure deemed useful, and
initiate legal proceedings to obtain reimbursement of fraudulently obtained
amounts and a compensation for suffered damages.

 

12.

Research
Ethics and conformity

All research
projects involving human subjects; biological materials;
administrative,   scientific or descriptive data from human subjects;
animals or animal parts, products or tissues require the approval of the
research ethics board of the principal applicant’s institution (Common General Rules) , section 5.3). Furthermore, if
applicable, scholarship holders must indicate on their application form any
environmental impacts of their research project and employ reasonable efforts
to minimize them. To that purpose, they must obtain any necessary permits and authorizations
before starting the project.

 

13.

Responsibilities
of the FRQNT

The FRQNT is not
responsible for any direct or indirect damages resulting from the processing of
any application with regards to any award, grant or any other type of request.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the FRQNT is not responsible
for any direct or indirect damages resulting from the unauthorized disclosure
of any information contained in an application.

Act respecting access
to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information

The FRQNT is subject
to the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the
protection of personal information (R.S.Q., chapter A-2.1).

The applicant should
contact the person in charge of access at the FRQNT for information:

Responsible for access
to documents and protection of personal information:

Mylène Deschênes,
B.C.L., LL.B., LL.M.l
Advisor, Ethics and Legal Affairs
responsableacces.nt@frq.gouv.qc.ca

 

14.

General
considerations

The FRQNT reserves
the right to modify the value of the scholarships and the program rules detailed
in this document without prior notice.

 

15.

Effectife
date

These rules apply to
the 2017-2018 fiscal year.

 

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