2024 BioCanRx Indigenous Student Summer Internship Program

Eligibility

Student Eligibility 

• Applicants must be working towards their undergraduate degree at a Canadian university/college, have completed at least two semesters, and be in good academic standing. Awardees cannot be enrolled in a graduate program at any point while holding this award. 
• Summer students cannot simultaneously receive award-based funding from any of the tri-council research agencies (NSERC, CIHR, SSHRC) while receiving a stipend from BioCanRx.

Supervisor Eligibility 

• Candidates' proposed supervisors for the Open Research and Policy Stream studentship placement must be working in cancer research or policy at any Canadian Institution. BioCanRx supports multidisciplinary research in multiple disciplines. Contact Megan Mahoney (memahoney@biocanrx.com) if you have any questions regarding fit to program.   
• A supervisor can host an undergraduate student from a different institution other than their own.  
• Supervisors may concurrently submit one Indigenous Student Summer Internship Application and one Summer Studentship Program Application (open to Indigenous and non-Indigenous students). Program Details and Application Form found on the BioCanRx website - i.e., two applications total; one for each program.)  

IMPORTANT NOTE TO STUDENTS: At the time of the application, students must have found a supervisor with whom they wish to work and have made arrangements with the proposed supervisor to co-apply to this award. If you are interested in working with a specific researcher, contact them as soon as possible. Please contact Megan Mahoney (memahoney@biocanrx.com) for help facilitating this process with existing BioCanRx Network Investigators. We cannot guarantee any placement. You can find a list of BioCanRx funded investigators here. Please note that this is just a starting point. As stated above, your supervisor can be any investigator as long as they are doing cancer research or policy work at a Canadian Institution

Summary

The goal of the BioCanRx Indigenous Student Summer Internship Program is to provide Indigenous undergraduate university or college students with meaningful hands-on research or policy experience in the area of cancer. This is accomplished through internships with research groups at post-secondary institutions across Canada. Although BioCanRx’s mandate focuses on cancer immunotherapy and biotherapeutics, the BioCanRx Indigenous Student Summer Internships open to any cancer-related research or policy-related work including that with an Indigenous-oriented framework, such as Indigenous traditional knowledge. An additional intent of this program is to promote and strengthen Indigenous students’ participation in cancer research and policy and careers by providing networking, mentorship, and hands-on, practical experience opportunities. Other opportunities available to Summer Students In addition to working on a project over the summer, students will be invited to participate in BioCanRx webinars and other training activities – both virtual and in-person.

BioCanRx is also hosting an informational webinar about the program on Thursday, January 25, at 1 - 2pm ET. To register, click here. 

Specific Terms of the Award  

• The BioCanRx Summer Studentship Award provides $9,000 CAD in salary support (+ additional travel and housing related expenses on a case-by-case basis) over a 14-week work term where the student will be working full time.  
• Acceptance of the BioCanRx Summer Studentship Award is conditional upon a commitment from the supervisor and the student co-applicant that the student will complete a 14week work term. 
• The value of the Award is paid out to the Supervisor’s institution  
• At the conclusion of the placement, the student will be expected to submit a short report on the experience and its impact on their career choice by completing the End of Term Form (sent to the student towards the end of their work term). The purpose of the End of Term Form is to provide BioCanRx with a high-level summary of the students’ work, describe the student’s academic or career plans, and provide BioCanRx with their opinion and feedback of the program. 

Application deadlines

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Application Procedure 

(Please refer to the Application Form and Program details document found on the BioCanRx website) 

• Student and proposed Supervisor/Principal Investigator (i.e., supervisor) co-complete the Application Form
• The student provides a summary of the proposed research project (co-developed with the supervisor).
• The student provides a summary of what they will be responsible for, and what will gain from the Summer Student experience (co-developed with the supervisor). 
• The student provides a statement of interest. 
• The proposed supervisor provides a letter of support. 
• The proposed supervisor describes specific, concrete practices that they have in place to ensure that Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion is intentionally and proactively supported in their training plan. 

Evaluation Criteria 

Applications will be reviewed by the Indigenous Student Summer Internship Student Working group according to the following criteria:  

1. Does the program align with the overall goals of the students’ academic and/or professional goals? 
2. Does the application align with the goals of the Indigenous Student Summer Internship? 
3. Is the project scope realistic for the studentship timeline? Will it be a beneficial learning experience for the student candidate?  

Please note that Indigenous students applying to this Indigenous Student Summer Internship Program will also automatically be considered for the Summer Student program (inclusive of non-Indigenous students), and do not need to apply twice.