UVic gets $2.5M for research-focused scholarships

Univ of Victoria has announced $2.5 million worth of graduate scholarships that are focused on research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The fund is part of the $12-million initiative earlier announced by the province to boost its technology and innovation sectors by attracting and retaining top talent. About 16,000 domestic students enrolled in graduate degree programs at 10 public post-secondary institutions in the province are eligible for the scholarships. The provincial government has been trumpeting its booming technology sector and is supporting talent development. The graduate scholarships initiative aims to keep the province competitive as it has been noted previously that the province lags behind other provinces in graduate scholarships. UVic’s Centre for Aerospace Research (CfAR), which is working on unmanned aerial systems (UAS) research, is one research unit that could benefit with graduate scholarships. Its graduate students are conducting research on search and rescue, disaster response, mining exploration, environmental monitoring and telecommunications using UAS. These are the kinds of research that the university said would not be possible without graduate funding.