Recruiting global trainee talent to UCalgary.
The internal Expression of Interest process is closed.
The federal government has announced a new initiative to attract top international research trainee talent, called the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards (CIRTA). This one-time program is jointly administered by CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC, and provides funding to recruit 600 doctoral students and 400 postdoctoral researchers to Canada.
UCalgary has received an allocation to recruit 19 doctoral and 11 postdoctoral trainees on an accelerated timeline. UCalgary leadership has launched an internal selection process to identify the 30 faculty members who will be invited to nominate trainees for these positions.
This is a time-sensitive process and interested faculty members must be prepared to move rapidly to participate in this program. Please read the program details below closely before proceeding with the application process.
The Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards recognize and support international researchers at the doctoral and postdoctoral levels. By providing high‑quality training opportunities in priority fields, the program strives to attract global talent and strengthen Canada's research ecosystem.
In order to distribute UCalgary’s allocated doctoral and postdoctoral nominations, the VPR Office has established a competitive selection process, which will be adjudicated by a committee comprised of senior leaders from the VPR Office and Faculty of Graduate Studies.
A faculty member may submit up to one (1) doctoral student nomination and one (1) postdoctoral scholar nomination (up to two (2) nominations in total), although it is very unlikely for a single faculty member to receive more than one (1) nomination.
Nominating faculty members must complete and submit an internal expression of interest (EOI) for each nominee, in advance of the internal deadline. Nominators and nominees should review the detailed eligibility requirements for this program and the preview of the internal EOI form prior to beginning an expression of interest.
RSO and Faculty of Graduate Studies will review all nominations for eligibility and completeness.
Nominations recommended by the selection committee will be reviewed by the RSO Research Security team to identify affiliations of concern and other research security risks that should be mitigated prior to acceptance of a CIRTA award.
Nominations will be adjudicated on four criteria
Nominators and nominees will be notified of the result of the internal selection process in the week of February 9. Those selected to proceed to a final nomination will be provided instructions for completing the full nomination package in advance of the Tri-Agency deadline.
Details on the contents and format of the full nomination package will be provided to selected nominators and nominees once they are made available by the Tri-Agency. Full nominations must be submitted to the Postdoc Office and Faculty of Graduate Studies by February 27.
The main nomination form has a few standard fields for the nominator to complete, plus it requests a statement of support of not more than 1,800 characters (about 300 words), and a signature on a consent form. The rest of the form is filled out by the nominee and the institution.
Review full Nominator eligibility on the CIRTA website.
Impact+ programs focus on strategic priority areas established by the Government of Canada to address pressing global and domestic challenges, strengthen Canada’s contribution to international research and innovation, and generate lasting social and economic benefits.
Transforming institutions, governments, societies, and spaces to be equitable, inclusive, and diverse. Considers justice, democracy, freedom, autonomy, pluralism, anti-racism, and decolonization - through a lens of sustainability and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. *Intersects all focus areas.
Ways to design, plan, and build sustainable, healthy communities to ensure all societal members thrive. Considers technology, innovations in smart cities, transportation, infrastructure, biodiversity, healthy cities and populations, and designing for equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.
How data can be used to expand and create connections to inform a world with no boundaries. Considers how we can harness new technologies and themes of extended reality, human connection and enrichment, intelligent tools, security, ethics, regulations and law, and socio-culture transformation.
The evolving energy system, how potential scenarios might develop over time, and the technological, economic, social, and political opportunities and challenges. Considers climate and environment, energy use and sources, politics and policy, economics, and the socio-cultural role of energy.
Child health and wellness, cancer, inflammatory and chronic diseases, brain and mental health, cardiovascular health, bone and joint health, public health, and others. Considers biomedical engineering, health informatics, nursing, and themes of biodiversity and health and wellbeing for people, animals, and the environment. Builds on UCalgary's network of health research institutes.
By supporting engaged scholarship from inception to impact, we can make research meaningful to society and our communities.