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