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Trainee funding opportunities

The Owerko Centre offers a number of awards to support the development and research of trainees and their labs.

Upcoming competitions

We are currently not accepting any applications. Please keep visiting this page to find out when the next round of applications for the following grants and awards will open. 

  1. Owerko Centre Training and Education Grant

    The Owerko Centre Trainee and Education Grant provides an opportunity for Owerko Centre graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to obtain further training in new methods and techniques that will enhance their research skills and projects. The training and education opportunities must be external to the University of Calgary, thereby giving recipients access to a broader set of experiences not currently available at the University of Calgary.

    Eligibility:

    • Registered graduate student (Masters, PhD) at the University of Calgary
    • Post-Doctoral or Clinical Fellows
    • All applicants must have an Owerko Centre investigator as one of their supervisors

    Number of awards available: 2

    Award amount: Up to $5,000 each

    Detailed grant description

    Grant application

    Application deadline: Not currently accepting applications 

  1. Owerko Centre Spark Grant

    The Owerko Centre Spark Trainee Grant provides an opportunity for Owerko Centre graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to expand their research scope and skillset beyond their current expertise. The purpose of this grant is to support successful applicants in initiating new techniques, experiments, and collaborations that will complement their current thesis/research projects.

    Eligibility:

    • Registered graduate student (Masters, PhD) at the University of Calgary
    • Post-Doctoral Fellows
    • All applicants must have an Owerko Centre investigator as one of their supervisor

    Number of grants available: 1

    Grant amount: Up to $5,000 

    Detailed grant description

    Grant application

    Application deadline: Not currently accepting applications 

  1. Owerko Centre Trainee and Community Partnership Grant

    The Owerko Centre Trainee and Community Partnership Grant provides support for graduate student trainees and post-doctoral fellows to access opportunities in the community to enhance their research training by partnering with community partners. Examples include shadowing a community service provider to understand the treatment of children with neurodevelopmental disorders, partnering with community association on education events or materials or working with an advocacy group on policy improvement. 

    Eligibility:

    • Registered graduate student (Masters, PhD) at the University of Calgary
    • Post-Doctoral or Clinical Fellows
    • All applicants must have an Owerko Centre investigator as one of their supervisor

    Number of grants available: 1

    Grant amount: Up to $5,000 (a portion of the budget should include a contribution to the community partner)

    Detailed grant description

    Grant application

    Application deadline: Not currently accepting applications 

  1. Owerko Centre Pathways to Independence Grant

    This grant enables early-career investigators to conduct research in areas aligned with the Owerko Centre mandate of advancing neurodevelopment and child mental health. This grant can be used to conduct studies to collect preliminary/pilot data or to extend current work where funding for exploratory or novel studies is limited. This grant is intended to provide a mechanism for fellows and research associates to launch the next independent phase of their career.

    Eligibility: 

    • Completed a doctoral (PhD) or equivalent degree (MD). 
    • Be a post doctoral fellow or research associate employed within the research group of grant tenure or have an identified mentor in place for clinical fellows.
    • Have an on-site mentor or senior collaborator who is supportive of the project and willing to provide access to laboratory space and equipment.

    Number of grants available: 4

    Award value: Up to $25,000

    Detailed Grant Description

    Grant Description 

    Application deadline: Not currently accepting applications 

  1. Owerko Centre Graduate Scholarship Award

    Owerko Centre Graduate Scholarship Awards are internal awards that provide stipend support to trainees currently pursuing graduate research. These awards are intended to support graduate students who do not currently hold any other competitive scholarship funding. The goal of these awards is to ensure that the Owerko Centre continues to build a diverse and inclusive training community of graduate students.

    Eligibility: 

    • Applicants must have an Owerko Centre investigator as one of their supervisors
    • Be a registered graduate student (Masters, PhD) at the University of Calgary
    • May not hold other internal or external competitive scholarships at the time of the award
    • Applicants cannot have held a graduate tri-council award at any time

    Number of awards available: 10

    Award amount: $5,000

    Detailed award description 

    Application Deadline: 11:59 p.m., May 31, 2024 (competition opens April 1, 2024) 

  1. Owerko Centre Knowledge, Dissemination, and Engagement Award

    The Owerko Centre Knowledge Dissemination and Engagement Award recognizes individuals or groups who have developed and implemented community-oriented projects that showcase the Owerko Centre’s commitment to studying neurodevelopment and child mental health, in a creative and impactful way.

    Number of available awards: 1

    Award value: $500 each

    Eligibility: Registered students (Undergraduate, Masters, PhD); Post-Doctoral and Clinical Fellows at the University of Calgary

    Not currently accepting applications. 

  1. Owerko Centre Publication Award

    The Owerko Centre Trainee Publication Award recognizes trainees who have first-authored papers focused on neurodevelopment and/or child mental health.

    Number of available awards: 2

    Award value: $500 each

    Eligibility: Registered students (Undergraduate, Masters, PhD); Post-Doctoral Fellows and Clinical Fellows at the University of Calgary. 

    Not currently accepting applications. 

  1. Owerko Centre Research Staff Award

    The Owerko Centre Research Staff Award is a unique award aimed at recognizing the excellence of research staff that fall within the Owerko Centre. The primary purpose of this award is to honour and publicly recognize the achievements and contributions of research staff in service, leadership, and teamwork that supports the values, mission, and goals of their labs.

    Number of available awards: 1

    Award value: Up to $150.00 in value from the UofC bookstore

    Eligibility:

    • Research staff currently employed within the research group of an Owerko Centre member
    • Examples of research staff include: Lab Manager, Research Coordinator, Laboratory Technician, or Research Assistant
    • Maximum one nomination per lab

    Not currently accepting applications. 

Learn more about past grant and award winners here