Polar Knowledge Canada funds hundreds of students in support of northern scientific research
News release
Cambridge Bay, Nunavut – For over 60 years, the Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP) has provided supplementary funding to help university students gain northern research experience. Polar Knowledge Canada (POLAR) has administered the NSTP since 2016.
For the 2023-2024 research season, Polar Knowledge Canada has awarded a total of $920,000 in funding to 340 students from 36 universities across Canada.
The program also offers four special awards for graduate students valued at $2,500 each. The students’ project topics give a sense of the wide variety of research the program helps support:
Éric Dewailly Memorial Award (Health Sciences)
- Aimee Yurris, a Master’s student in Public Health Science at the University of Waterloo, is assessing socio-economic dimensions and dynamics of community food security in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.
George Hobson Memorial Award (Physical Sciences)
- Rachelle (Rae) Landriau, a Master of Science candidate in Geography and Environmental Studies at Carleton University, is analysing the stability of drilling waste disposal sites in the permafrost of the Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories.
Malcolm Ramsay Memorial Award (Life Sciences)
- Caitlyn Lyons, pursuing a Doctorate in Biological and Chemical Sciences at Wilfrid Laurier University, is studying the effects of thawing permafrost on the boreal forest of the Northwest Territories, especially whether the trees can use the nutrients released when permafrost thaws.
Robert McGhee Award (Human Sciences)
- Chloe Hamilton, a Doctoral candidate in Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University, is studying the role of Inuit-led cultural programming in suicide prevention strategies in Nunavut.
Canada’s next generation of northern researchers receive important training and support through the NSTP, one of the many ways POLAR is advancing Canada’s knowledge of the Arctic and strengthening Canadian leadership in polar science and technology.
Quotes
“Collaboration and engagement is fundamental to expanding our knowledge of the North and Arctic. Helping to support northern researchers allows us to expand on the depth and breadth of knowledge that results in new insights and informed decision-making in responding to the challenges and opportunities northerners are facing now—and in the future.”
– Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs
“Canada's global leadership in northern research owes much to the Northern Scientific Training Program, which helps students with northern research experience that includes building meaningful relationships and sharing their research with northern Indigenous communities. I wish this year's NSTP students an exciting and rewarding field season.”
– Jennifer C. Hubbard, President and Chief Executive Officer, Polar Knowledge Canada
“It is great to see so many graduate students from across the country, including the North, taking on the rewarding challenge of northern research. Like so many NSTP recipients before them, they're gaining valuable experience that may inspire a northern career, whether in research or another important field. Through their research, each one is helping build a new understanding of the many dimensions of a rapidly changing North—knowledge that will help northern communities adapt to today's challenges and plan for the future.”
– David Hik, Chief Scientist and Executive Director of Programs, Polar Knowledge Canada
Quick facts
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Polar Knowledge Canada (POLAR) is a Government of Canada agency responsible for strengthening Canadian leadership in polar science and technology. It is headquartered at the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS), which it operates, in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.
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The Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP) is one of the Government of Canada's longest-running and most successful northern research programs. Established in 1961 to encourage Canadian universities to train northern specialists to meet national needs, it provides supplementary funding to students at universities across Canada. Most of Canada's northern researchers, past and present, received NSTP grants as students. The program is now administered by POLAR as part of its mandate to foster science and technology in Canada’s North.
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The NSTP Management Committee, an intergovernmental committee consisting of northern experts, is responsible for reviewing funding applications and reports, making funding recommendations, and ensuring the effective use of funds provided by the Program to Canadian universities and northern post-secondary institutions.
Associated links
Contacts
Polar Knowledge Canada
Email: communications@polar.gc.ca
Telephone: 343-548-5456
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