Exchange Scholarship

The Canadian Water Network is pleased to sponsor exchange scholarships to broaden technical skills and facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration between students.

• Na Zhao’s exchange scholarship report
• Julie Wilson and Gila Somers’s exchange scholarship report

How it works

Two students or young professionals working on Canadian water research projects and studying different aspects of water management will jointly apply for the scholarship.

The students and/or young professionals will submit the CWN application detailing how their collective expertise could address a knowledge gap/research need within their research projects. Applications may be submitted at any time.

Meritorious applications will receive funding to allow individual A to travel to individual B’s research environment for one week, followed by a reciprocal exchange of individual B visiting the research environment of individual A. Exchange periods could be up to five days in each respective laboratory/research environment for a total of 10 days of interaction. Under some circumstances, one-way exchanges may be preferable, where Student A would travel to the research environment of Student B without any reciprocal exchange.

During the exchange (and the period shortly thereafter), a four page detailed report highlighting the benefits of the collaborative research on the knowledge gap/research problem will be authored by both students. A link to the full proposal/report will be posted on the CWN student webpage. A summary paragraph (and pictures), produced by both students will be published in the CWN student newsletter.

If you are a CWN student and interested in participating in the exchange program, it would be a good idea to indicate this on your CWN student profile. You can then approach another student who is conducting research you feel may be complimentary to your own, and inquire about writing a collaborative proposal to participate in the Student Exchange Scholarship.

Application

Co-applicants should submit a two page application containing their names and contact information, and on a single separate page, an application outlining:

1. Knowledge gap/research need that can be addressed using the exchange.
2. A brief description of how the proposed multidisciplinary approach could uniquely help each participant in their research.
3. How the proposed research could potentially impact the public good, and address issues of concern to CWN.
4. An estimated budget for the exchange.

The application should emphasize the anticipated impacts of the exchange and describe how this collaboration is beneficial to the current research of each applicant. The intention is not to coerce participants to research an unfamiliar topic; the emphasis is rather on taking the students’ current research project (or related topic) and examining it from cross-disciplinary vantage point. The result should be an exciting experience that will provide a more holistic perspective for each participant in their chosen area of research (and for their colleagues within each participating research environment).

The budget should not normally exceed $5,000 and should reflect realistic estimates for economy airfare (over a Saturday or equivalent), ground travel, and accommodation expenses for a five-day visit from each applicant (10 days total) in the laboratory/research environment of their co-applicant (or 10 days in the case of a one-way exchange). A food allowance of $40/day/person will be provided by the CWN and should be reflected in the proposed budget. Receipts must be submitted for all budgeted items with the exception of the food allowance. Expenses are initially covered by the supervisors and/or students with full reimbursement by the CWN following submission of the final report and all applicable receipts.

Final Report

The four-page, double-spaced report (submitted within 2 weeks of the final visit) should describe how the multidisciplinary teamwork approach was used (or could be used) to address each participant’s research.

The format of the report should follow these guidelines:

1. A single paragraph summary of the report.
2. A description of the knowledge gap/water management problem that prompted the collaboration.
3. Describe how cross-disciplinary approaches between both students were/could be used to realize novel approaches/techniques.
4. Make recommendations on how information/experiences from this exchange could be applied in future “large-scale” related investigations.
5. The writing style should be that of a non-technical report, appropriate for a reader without a specific background in the chosen water management topic.
6. The last two paragraphs should describe the impact of the student exchange on each applicant personally and professionally with an evaluation of the merit of the CWN Student Collaborative Exchange Scholarship (i.e., valuable contacts established).

Note: An important objective of the exchange program is for each student to gain a better understanding of his or her co-applicant’s discipline as well as what the co-applicant’s role is in addressing Canada’s water management challenges. The report you submit will help you gain this understanding, but the time spent during the exchange should be devoted to the experience itself. Feel free to take notes and talk to others, but write the report after the exchange is finished.

Operational

CWN is receptive to all applicants to collaborate on any aspect of Canadian water management. In accordance with CWN’s Strategic Plan, preference will be given to applications demonstrating innovation, integration across disciplines, potential to impact the public good, and those addressing the three main CWN research areas:

1. Protecting watersheds and ecosystems
2. Protecting public health
3. Ensuring sustainable water infrastructure

Applications should be submitted to: