Backgrounder

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

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2011 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

August 3, 2011
Hamilton, Ontario

Canada's prosperity as a nation is increasingly based on science and technology and the highly skilled and creative individuals whose talents bring innovative ideas to the marketplace. The Government's Science and Technology Strategy, announced in May 2007, set out a multiyear framework for improving Canada's long-term competitiveness with the priority of attracting and retaining the best minds.

Announced by the Harper Government in Budget 2008, and launched in 2009, the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (Vanier CGS) Program's goal is to strengthen Canada's ability to attract and retain the world's top-tier doctoral students by providing successful candidates with significant freedom to pursue and complete doctoral studies. Vanier scholars demonstrate leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies in the fields of social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health.

The Vanier CGS Program helps Canada's universities attract sought-after doctoral students from across Canada and around the world. These promising scholars help create a dynamic and innovative environment on our university campuses. Many will stay on to become academics and professionals in Canada, helping to foster innovation, create the jobs of the future and strengthen Canada's globally competitive knowledge base.

This year's 167 new scholars will receive $50,000 each year for three years, for a total of $25 million split equally among the three granting councils. Including this year's recipients, a total of 507 scholarships have been awarded – 121 of them to international doctoral students from the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia.

The Vanier CGS Program honours distinguished Canadian soldier and diplomat Major-General the Right Honourable Georges Philias Vanier (1888-1967), who served as Governor General of Canada from 1959 to 1967.

Selection process

Students must be nominated by a recognized Canadian university. Vanier CGS candidates may only apply to one of the three federal research granting agencies – the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) – in a competition year. They may not concurrently hold more than one agency scholarship or fellowship.

Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships are awarded after a competitive process that includes a two-stage peer review of nominees. All nominees are first evaluated by peer review committees from each of the three federal research granting agencies.

The committees each select 70 nominations for the disciplines covered by that agency. These nominations (for a total of 210) are then forwarded to the arm's-length interagency selection board, which makes the final recommendation. Each year, the Selection Board will choose 166 or 167 awardees from the candidates presented by the three federal granting agencies.

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The Prime Minister's Office - Communications
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