Smirnoff Fellowship

The Wladimir A. Smirnoff Fellowship is a initiative of the Société de protection des forêts contre les insectes et maladies (SOPFIM) and Natural Resources Canada – Canadian Forest Service.

  • A $5,000 fellowship will be awarded annually to each of two Master’s or Ph.D. students in biology and integrated management of forest pests (insects and diseases) at a Quebec university.
  • The deadline for submission of application is February 28th 2019.
  • The names of the award winners will be announced at the end of March, and the fellowships will be available as soon as the recipients enroll in the programs.
  • At the request of the two funding organizations, the award winners should agree to participate in promotional activities.

Laureate of 2019

Ms. Caron is a PhD student in biology at Concordia University. She’s directed by Dr. Emma Despland of Concordia University and co-directed by Dr. Benoît Lafleur of UQAT. Her PhD project is on retroactive contributions between outbreaks of Malacosoma forest deliveries and soil arthropod communities, their role in structuring epidemic cycles of livery and their predators delivered.

Laureate of 2019

Ms. Wong is a PhD student in biology at the Institute for Integrative Biology and Systems (IBIS) at Laval University. She’s directed by Dr. Richard Hamelin (IBIS) and co-directed by Dr. Ilga Porth (IBIS), Dr. Kishan Sambaraju, and Dr. Philippe Tanguay, both scientists at Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service. Her research project focuses on the impact of climate change on tree disease.

You would like to register for the Wladimir-A Smirnoff fellowship?

Here’s our selection criteria


                

                

                                    

            

        

    

    

    
        

        

            

                
Eligibility criteria

                

                    
The applicant must:


    

  • be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada;
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  • be enrolled in a full-time program at the graduate or post-graduate level in a Quebec university during the year following the application, for at least two semesters;
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  • study biology and integrated management of forest pests, including insects and diseases (development of new pest control, prevention and detection approaches, development of application technologies for biological pesticides, improvement of knowledge of the ecology and physiology of pests, development of decision-support tools for pest management, etc.);
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  • have the support of a research director for the project.
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Selection criteria

                

                    
Provisional list of selection criteria:


    

  • Quality of the candidate’s academic record;
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  • Letter of interest;
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  • Value and originality of the proposed project;
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  • Relevance and potential impact of the project;

      

    • Position held;
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    • Description of duties;
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    • Work location;
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    • Contact information for immediate supervisor;
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    • Period of employment.
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    • Letters of support from the research director and from an immediate supervisor about the applicant’s work experience to illustrate his or her ability to complete the project. The letter of support from the research director shall certify that the student is registered full-time.Contribution of the proposed research to the advance
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Research experience

                

                    
Attach an annex entitled Research experience. Include the following:


    

  • Position held;
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  • Description of duties;
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  • Work location;
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  • Contact information for immediate supervisor;
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  • Period of employment.
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  • Letters of support from the research director and from an immediate supervisor about the applicant’s work experience to illustrate his or her ability to complete the project. The letter of support from the research director shall certify that the student is registered full-time.
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Research project description

                

                    
Attach an annex entitled Research project description. Include the following:


    

  • Description of the project (maximum 4 pages);
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  • Work plan, schedule and research budget;
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  • Institution involved in the project;
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  • Contact information for the research director;
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  • Contact information for co-directors and/or partner scientists.
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Required documents

                

                    
Before submitting your application by e-mail, make sure that it includes, in one PDF file, all of these documents in the following order:


    

  • the Formulaire_inscription_2019.pdf duly completed
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  • a letter of interest
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  • a copy of proof of Canadian citizenship or permanent resident of Canada
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  • a copy of all academic transcripts (undergraduate, master’s and doctorate, if applicable)
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  • an annex entitled Research experience including letters of support from a research director and an immediate supervisor
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  • an annex entitled Research project description
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  • a copy of the curriculum vitae
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  • a copy of university diplomas
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Progress report

                

                    
The report (4-5 pages) is a prerequisite for the second payment of the scholarship to the recipient (the first payment is made in April). The report must


    

  • include an introduction, a description of the work carried out and of the results obtained, as well as the objectives and schedule of activities for the continuation of the work;
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  • be accompanied with a letter from the research director stating that he or she agrees with the content of this report;
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  • be accompanied with a letter from the research director or registrar stating that full‑time studies are continuing; and
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  • be submitted no later than the first Friday of November.
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To register, please complete the form below