Alberta Innovates Summer Research Studentship

Overview

The Alberta Innovates Summer Research Studentships (AI SRS) is now considered an award. There is no supervisor contribution and no requirement for the number of hours worked. The time allotted to the project depends on the nature of the proposal and will be decided by the supervisor and student in the application phase. The awards are now project-based and not considered employment, therefore they are not subject to CPP and EI deductions. The AI SRS award was added to the scholarships portal managed by Scholarships and Student Finance. Applications will now be accepted via the scholarships portal and not by ORIS. ORIS will work with the Scholarships and Student Finance Office to facilitate the adjudication process.

• Value: $7,200
• Supervisor contribution: $0
• Application deadline: January 31, 2025
• Notice of decision: Late March or early April
• Duration: Summer project over May 1 - August 31
• Contact: awards@uleth.ca for questions about the application portal. 
• Contact: oris.health@uleth.ca for questions regarding eligibility and content of the application. 

New to 2025: 

• Students should submit a simple abstract with application.
•  Applications will be evaluated for adherence to human health. Please ensure your proposed project meets the criteria.
• Small changes to supervisor adjudication criteria. See the pro-grid tool below. 
• Please contact oris.health@uleth.ca with any questions about these changes or the application. 

Description

The SRS Program provides summer job opportunities for undergraduate students across the province with a focus on cross-disciplinary training in health and emerging tech (e.g., ICT/digital). Students work with a supervisor to complete a summer project. Supplemental skills development and networking opportunities are also provided through workshops, speaker series, career mentorship, and other events approved by Alberta Innovates.
The Program serves as an important mechanism for engaging top talent early on in their training trajectories, enhancing their capacity to identify and prepare for high-impact careers in Alberta’s research and innovation (R&I) ecosystem.

The NEW Priority Areas include:

• Digital or Data-Driven Health Research: projects that recruit, train, or deploy talent to advance digital or data-enabled methods, tools, or technologies in health research. Areas of interest include: computer modelling or simulation for drug discovery or technology development; overcoming data access, collection, or data infrastructure challenges; approaches to preparing health data for machine learning applications; overcoming participant/patient recruitment, engagement, or retention challenges; predicting therapeutic outcomes or adverse effects; overcoming challenges with acceptance of digital health solutions; novel approaches to decentralized clinical trials design.
• Commercialization: projects that recruit, train, or deploy talent to develop and commercialize an emerging health technology, preferably digital or data-enabled, with the potential to generate commercial economic returns (jobs, revenue, investment) for Alberta and cost-effective, beneficial health outcomes.
• Health System Transformation: projects that recruit, train, or deploy talent to enable the advancement of data and digitally-enabled care models, including facilitating adoption, implementation, and/or scale across the continuum of care in Alberta. Key areas of interest include but are not limited to implementation studies in healthcare settings; policy development; approaches to citizen-centric care.

A minimum of 40% of applications supported through this program will be those applications that identify one or more Priority Areas listed above as part of their project. It is expected that the funds requested in each competition will exceed the funds available.

Pre-application Checklist

• Eligibility: To be eligible to hold a SRS Studentship, Studentship Applicants must:
  • be registered in an undergraduate degree program at the University of Lethbridge with a minimum 3.30 GPA.
  • Students in their last semester may apply as long as they are enrolled as an undergraduate at the time of application and are not entering a graduate program during the term of the award.
  • While SRS Studentships are not renewable, recipients from prior years can submit new applications provided they meet the other eligibility criteria.
• Time Commitment 
  • Students must be committed to completing their research project between May and August. They should also discuss the expected time commitment and the project scope with their supervisors before applying for the award.
  • Considering the limited duration of summer projects (4 months), it is generally expected that students will not have other conflicting commitments (i.e., summer courses, exams, volunteer work). Therefore, in advance of undertaking a project, students are encouraged to discuss with their supervisors any commitments that may influence their availability and come to a mutual agreement with their supervisors about hours of work during the project.
  • Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that the student’s hours of work comply with the University’s policies and procedures.

How to Apply

General Guidelines

This is a stipend-only award. It requires that the applicant be sponsored by a faculty supervisor who possesses both a record of productive health-oriented or priority area research and sufficient resources to ensure the satisfactory conduct and completion of research. The student must link with a faculty member who has an ongoing research program. The student should discuss the application thoroughly with the faculty member before application. There is a limit of four (4) students per supervisor per year that can apply for the SRS Program. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the complete application is submitted before the application deadline.

Application Instructions:

1. Applications can be accessed via the University of Lethbridge Bridge under the Student tab by selecting “Apply for ULethbridge Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries”.
2. Be sure to say YES when asked if you are enrolled in a summer research program.
3. Application components will include:
   1. Simple Abstract (maximum 250 words): The student should write an abstract in layman's terms, so a person without expertise in the field can understand the project. They should provide background for the problem, a clear hypothesis, identify the methods, and the expected results for the project. No references are necessary.  
   2. Project Proposal (recommended maximum 2 pages): This document should be developed in cooperation with the proposed supervisor. Include a project title and provide summary of the research project that highlights how the student will be involved. Be sure to describe the role of the student in the proposed project with respect to the skills they will gain and the expected outcomes. Explain how the project relates to the following Priority Areas, if applicable:
      • Digital or Data-Driven Health Research
      • Commercialization
      • Health System Transformation
   3. Supervisor CV (recommended maximum of 5 pages): Select 3-5 of your most relevant research publications, provide the complete citation for each and briefly describe the relevance of your chosen publications to the proposed research. If you have fewer than 3 relevant publications and/or are an ECR in the first 5 years of your academic appointment, please address the relevance of your background/expertise to the proposed research project. 
   4. Student Letter (recommended maximum 1 page): The student must upload a detailed letter indicating the specific learning objectives associated with the academic program and the student's qualifications (e.g. education, experience, leadership roles, etc.) for this research award. This letter should also list the student`s previous awards and scholarships. The student must include an explanation for any course withdrawals and/or lower transfer credits and/or semesters of study with less than 5 courses.
   5. Reference: The student must provide an email address of a faculty member who will use the award platform to complete a reference. This may be the supervising faculty, other UofL faculty, or a faculty member from another post-secondary institution that is known to the applicant. This maintains consistency for the reviewers. Please see the Conflict of Interest Guidelines below for guidance on requesting a recommendation.
   6. Transcript(s): Please upload up-to-date official or unofficial transcript(s) of your entire academic record (including transfer credit). Official transcripts for the University of Lethbridge can be requested through the online BRIDGE system and sent to the student's address. Transcripts from other institutions should be uploaded as well.
   7. Proof of enrollment: The student must be able to submit proof of enrollment at the time that the application is submitted (January), as well as when the notice of award is issued (late March/early April). 

Conditions of the Award

1. Ethics: If the proposed research program involves human subjects or the use of either animals or biohazardous material, it is the responsibility of the sponsoring faculty and/or department to ensure that the research has received the approval of the appropriate Institutional Ethics Review Committee(s).
2. Reports: In August, a request for a report will be sent to the student and supervisor for information on activities over the summer as well as feedback on the program. During a 5 year period after the award, AI may contact the U of L to collect additional information on impacts and outcomes resulting from its funding in the SRS Program. ORIS will contact the supervisor for this information, as it is requested.
3. Personnel: Personnel employed with grant funds are not governed under a collective agreement.
4. Enrolled Student: The student must be enrolled full time at a post-secondary institution when applying for the award (January), as well as when they accept the award (March-April). They do not have to enroll in classes over the award period (May-August). 
5. Acknowledgment of Funder: All publications, presentations, and public messages concerning the SRS Program and projects funded through the SRS Program must acknowledge the contribution of Alberta Innovates. Use of the full legal name ‘Alberta Innovates’ is required, rather than ‘AI’ or a similar acronym. Alberta Innovates’ logos must be included in all promotional materials, if possible. Logos can be requested by email to grants.health@albertainnovates.ca.

Evaluation Criteria and Process

The U of L uses the PROGRID system as a tool to evaluate the proposals for AI SRS awards. This system utilizes an alpha-numerical rating scale. The Language Ladders used in determining this rating scale are attached to these instructions. The application form is designed around these Language Ladders and gives the candidate and supervisor space to provide the appropriate information relating to each of the criteria listed.

In its evaluation of each application, the AI SRS Review Committee will look primarily for evidence that: (1) the candidate has an excellent academic record; (2) the supervisor is conducting a productive research program in an area relevant to the objectives of AIHS; and (3) the supervisor has adequate research funding - preferably from a competitive granting agency. Applications will be assessed for their involvement of one or more Priority Areas, if applicable.

The following evaluation criteria apply to all applicants:

1. Student (50%): Transcripts, Student Letters, and References are evaluated for research/scholarly/creative achievements of the applicant as well as how the project fits with the learning objectives of the student. 
2. Supervisor (25%): The supervisor's capacity to oversee the proposed project is evaluated through their CV.
3. Overall Impression of the Project (25%): The Project Description and the complete application package may be used to form an Overall Impression. 

NOTE: A limit of four applications may be submitted by a faculty supervisor. Faculty supervisors sponsoring candidates to this program must have a record of productive research and sufficient funding to ensure the satisfactory conduct of the research. A separate research project must be submitted for each student. The supervisor must be prepared to provide direct and continuous supervision during the term of the award. Those applications that demonstrate a link to the listed Priority Areas will be prioritized.

Following the application deadline, applications are evaluated by the Selection Committee who are asked to rank the application packages on the above criteria using the Pro-Grid system. Applicants and proposed supervisors are strongly advised to read the Progrid Decision Assist Tool document, especially the language ladder that will be used to assign scores and ranking. This document also provides language that will be used to assess the Letter of Recommendation. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the application addresses the evaluation criteria. At a roundtable meeting, the Selection Committee will rank all applicants relative to each other. Each applicant will receive a summary table of the scores from the three reviewers to compare to the language ladder in order to have an indication of the relative strengths and weaknesses in their application package. Once the applications have been placed in rank order, the first awards will be offered. The number of applications that are funded is based on the budget allotment for that funding year from AI. It is expected that the number of fundable applications will exceed the amount of available funds for each competition. Because applicants often apply to other studentships (e.g. NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRAs), SSHRC USRAs, and Chinook Summer Studentships), the ORIS will work towards funding as many students as possible with all available awards. It is hoped that all awards will be accepted and finalized near the end of March or early April.

Conflict of Interest Guidelines for Recommendation Selection

A conflict of interest is a conflict between a person’s duties and responsibilities concerning the review process, and that person’s private, professional, business, or public interests. There may be a real, perceived, or potential conflict of interest when the review committee member, external reviewer, or observer:

• May receive professional/personal benefits resulting from the funding opportunity or application being reviewed;
• Has a professional/personal relationship with an applicant or the applicant’s institution; or
• Has a direct/indirect financial interest in a funding opportunity or application being reviewed.

A conflict of interest may exist when review committee members, external reviewers, or observers:

• Are a relative or close friend or have a personal relationship with the applicant(s);
• Have had long-standing scientific or personal differences with the applicant(s); or
• Feel for any reason unable to provide an impartial review of the application.

The ORIS reserves the right to resolve areas of uncertainty and to determine if a conflict exists.

* Adapted from the Government of Canada website.