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Do you have a research project an undergraduate student could contribute to over the summer? Submit your project description for the Undergraduate Research Awards (URA) program by Wednesday, November 20.

The URA program is a university-wide student competition run by the Office of Research Services (ORS) that allocates awards to students contributing to summer research projects under the supervision of Â鶹´«Ã½ University faculty members. These awards include:

• Â鶹´«Ã½’s Student Training Assistantship in Research (STAR) Award.
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA).

Note: NSERC makes additional USRA awards available to qualified Indigenous students. Self-identified Indigenous students are strongly encouraged to apply.

Students who apply for an award need to know which core faculty members are interested in supervising an undergraduate student, and the available projects they could potentially contribute to. All tenured and tenure-track faculty members interested in supervising a student through this program between May and August 2020 must complete and submit the Project Summary Form as a PDF to the Office of Research Services by selecting the Submit Form button on the top right-hand corner of the form no later than Wednesday, November 20. ORS staff will confirm receipt of all forms submitted.

Note: Only answer Yes to the question: Are you eligible to supervise a NSERC USRA? if you hold one of the grants listed in the Eligible NSERC Research Grants document. Please double-check your eligibility before answering this question.

Once all project summaries are received, ORS will post projects, application instructions and program details on the URA website. Students will also receive application instructions to their ontariotechu.net email.

Note: An electronic signature is required at the bottom of the Project Summary Form. By inserting your electronic signature, you agree to all terms and conditions of the URA program and the individual award your student may receive. If you do not have an electronic signature, selecting the signature box on the form will open a dialogue box that will guide you through the process of creating one. Please do not ‘lock’ this form when applying your signature.

Application process

The competition opens to students Friday, November 29. On their applications, they may identify up to two possible projects they are interested in.

Students must obtain their prospective supervisors’ signatures on the application form prior to the application deadline of Friday, January 17. A signature from the faculty member endorses the student to engage with them if offered an award. Please do not sign the student’s application form if you do not feel the student will be a good fit for the research project.

By submitting a research project to the competition, you agree to:

• Make yourself available to students to discuss project roles and responsibilities.
• Supervise any successful award recipient, provided that the student’s application bears the signed endorsement of the proposed faculty supervisor.

Program timeline

Program launch: Student Research Connections Days – November 26 and 27

ORS staff will hold two information sessions to present the program (including application instructions, eligibility criteria, deadlines, and selection criteria) to undergraduate students before the competition opens.

Downtown Oshawa location:

• When: Tuesday, November 26 from 5 to 6 p.m.
• Where: Bordessa Hall, Room 524

North Oshawa location:

• When: Wednesday, November 27 from 5 to 6 p.m.
• Where: Energy Systems and Nuclear Science Research Centre, Room 1092

Please encourage your undergraduate students to attend.

Student application deadline - Friday, January 17

Students submit applications to ORS. Detailed application instructions and forms will be sent to all undergraduate students’ ontariotechu.net email addresses.

Selection process - February

Student application packages are sent to each faculty for applicant ranking. Applicant rankings are based on student merit as determined by the Faculty Rankings Committee and URA guidelines. In the spirit of Â鶹´«Ã½’s interdisciplinary research environment, students can apply to any two projects they are interested in, regardless of their home faculty. When deciding on applicant rankings, the internal Faculty Rankings Committee will evaluate all students equally regardless of their faculty of origin. If a student from another faculty is selected to receive an URA, the award will come from the allocation associated with the supervisor’s faculty. The faculty member’s e-signature on a student’s application confirms to the respective Faculty Rankings Committee that the faculty member agrees to supervise the student, should that student receive an award.

Awards confirmed and student contracts finalized – February/March

ORS is notified of the award rankings, reconfirms eligibility and finalizes award details.

NSERC USRA Application - May

Successful NSERC USRA recipients and their supervisors must complete and submit a separate application to NSERC, due in May 2020.

Undergraduate Research Awards Recognition Event – Summer 2020

Successful award recipients will receive an invitation to the Undergraduate Research Awards Recognition Event.

In addition to celebrating award recipients, the event will provide them with opportunities to:

• Network with the Â鶹´«Ã½ research community.
• Generate cross-faculty exposure.
• Build on the university’s growing culture of innovation and discovery.

For more information, contact studentresearch@ontariotechu.ca.