Alberta Innovates High School Youth Researcher Summer (HYRS) Program

To be eligible, students must:

• Have a clear interest in pursuing a health research career.
• Currently be registered as a grade 11 student at a central Alberta high school. This includes all high schools south of Red Deer to north of, but not including, Claresholm. Students in or south of Claresholm should apply to the University of Lethbridge. Students north of Red Deer should apply to the University of Alberta.
• Have a minimum of 85% standing in each of Math-20-1 or 20-2, Biology 20, and one other grade 11 science (Chemistry 20 or Physics 20). Transcripts, detailed academic report (DAR), and/or an interim report signed or stamped by the school office must be provided as proof.

A maximum of 2 students per high school will be selected for the Alberta Innovates HYRS program.

You cannot save the application webform, so we recommend that you save your written responses in a word processor. The application requires that you:

• Write an essay demonstrating your interest in biomedical and health research.
• Upload a scanned copy of your most recent transcript or detailed academic report (DAR) to demonstrate your completed courses, and if needed, an interim report or report card (stamped or signed by your school office) to demonstrate your in-progress courses.
• Obtain references from two science teachers, or one science and one math teacher, and one non-academic reference.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your references have submitted before the deadline. Both students and referees should receive a confirmation email after their application is submitted. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact hyrs@ucalgary.ca to ensure it was received. 

Before you submit your application, please ensure that the individuals you list as references have agreed to provide a reference. Please also ensure that your selected references identify you by the preferred name provided in your application; this helps to ensure the reference is appropriately matched to your application. References that cannot be matched to an application will not be considered, and incomplete applications will not be eligible for adjudication.  

The selection committee is composed equally of high school teachers and University of Calgary postdoctoral fellows. Each application is reviewed independently by the committee members. Based on these reviews, all of the applications are adjudicated and ranked in a committee selection meeting.

Applicant grades are not used for scoring purposes during the committee review; grades are used only to determine applicant eligibility.

Selection committee decisions are final and cannot be appealed.

Results of the Alberta Innovates HYRS competition will be released approximately 8 weeks after the submission deadline. All candidates will be informed by email regarding the outcome of their submission using the email address provided in their application. Successful applicants will be required to formally indicate their acceptance of the award.

Every effort will be made to match successful applicants with a mentor working within one of the areas of interest identified within the student application. However, please be aware that an exact match is not always possible due to mentor availability, lab safety protocols, and other considerations. 

Students are placed in a lab setting depending on the nature of the research their mentor is involved in; this could mean they will be involved in a wet lab (typically bench top experiment based labs) or a dry lab (typically computer based analysis). All placements will be made at the discretion of the university and are final.

Value and tenure: 

• HYRS studentships run for 6-weeks, from early July to mid-August each year.
• The awards consist of a $3,000 non-taxable stipend.
• Students must make a full-time commitment to their research during the period of the award.
• Additional costs, including meals, health benefits, and transportation, are the responsibility of the student.
• Successful applicants residing outside of Calgary who require accommodations should contact hyrs@ucalgary.ca.

Applications and offers:

• HYRS applications must be written by the student.
• The University reserves the right to confirm, through independent means, representations of authorship or credentials.
• In the event of material deviations in the submitted information, the University reserves the right to disqualify any applicant from the competition.
• Students offered an award will be required to accept or decline the offer by a date specified in the notification of the offer, with written approval of a parent or legal guardian. Students who decline the award may claim credit for the award on their curriculum vitae, noting that the award was declined.
• Only two students per high school will be offered an Alberta Innovates HYRS award.

 Communications

• All publications, including public messages, arising from research supported by Alberta Innovates grants or awards must acknowledge their support.
• Alberta Innovates reserves the right to publish and/or disseminate information regarding its grants and awards.

Alberta Innovates HYRS students are to conduct their research in a safe and ethical manner under the guidance of their mentors. During the period of the award, they are to maintain regular scheduled hours. In no case should HYRS students conduct research for more than 35 hours per week. Timesheets will be collected from all students to ensure adherence to this guideline.

HYRS students are expected to follow the procedures and rules of the research environment in which they conduct their research, including all policies governing research at the University of Calgary.

Students are required to attend all cohort events such as guest lectures, facility tours, and the final symposium.

Students are responsible for their own transportation, parking, and food during the program.

Students will be required to submit a final report to the University of Calgary Research Services Office upon completion of the award.

Students will also be required to give a presentation about their HYRS experiences to a class at their high school. Additional information will be provided to successful applicants.