Competition year : 
2022-2023

Deadline (application) : 
March 1st, 2022 at 16:00 (EST)

Announcement of results : 
Monthly announcements by press release. Only the recipients are contacted.

Amount : 
$1,000

Duration : 
One deposit

In the event of a discrepancy between the English and French versions of this program, the French version prevails.

Description

The Relève étoile awards are being given by the three Fonds de recherche du Québec.

The Common General Rules of the Fonds de recherche du Québec provide the basic rules applicable to all the programming of the Fonds de recherche du Québec. The present program rules provide those specifically applicable to these scholarships. Thus, it is necessary to read these two documents to know all the applicable rules. The details provided in these present rules prevail over the Common General Rules.

1. Objectives

  • Recognize the exceptional research contributions of university students (master’s, doctorate), postdoctoral fellows and members of professional orders who are enrolled in advanced research training programs in any of the areas covered by the three Fonds de recherche du Québec;
  • Promote research careers in Québec;
  • Develop strong ties between the Fonds de recherche du Québec and the province’s student researcher community.

2. Award

3. Competitions

  • Two competitions per year;
  • Every month, each Fonds will reveal the name of a recipient.

4. Applications

Only research students, post-doctoral fellows, and members of a professional order in research training can apply.

5. Eligibility

Student researchers whose projects have been released to the public for less than seven months at the competition deadline are eligible. The project must be in the form of an article (in a journal with an editorial review board), a book or book chapter, a patent, a work or a performance of which the applicant is the author. Oral presentations and posters are not eligible;

Articles that are in press or submitted for review are not eligible;

Articles published electronically are eligible. Eligibility will be determined based on the electronic publication date. In the case of publication in paper form following publication of the electronic version, eligibility will be determined based on the online publication date;

All candidates must complete the commitment section included in the competition form;

For publications with several authors, the following rules apply:

  • If several student researchers collaborated on a project in the same capacity and the published article explicitly states that the authors all equally contributed to the work, the student researchers shall share the award;
  • If several student researchers collaborated on a project in the same capacity (without being mentioned in the article) and their contributions are explicitly stated by the applicant on the application form, the student researchers shall share the award.

When submitting an application, the student researcher must be enrolled in an educational institution, affiliated university centre or research centre in Québec. Québec students enrolled in an institution outside Québec are also eligible. In this case, proof of citizenship or resident status is required in addition to the document attesting the registration as a student in an educational institution or, in the case of a postdoctoral fellow, an attestation from the applicant’s host organization. (see section 8 – Application Process);

One application per student researcher per competition. A project may only be submitted once;

A student researcher may receive the award only once.

6. Evaluation Criteria

  • Demonstrate the project’s contribution to the advancement of knowledge in a sector covered by one of the three FRQ. If it is a production resulting from multidisciplinary research, indicate to what extent this is an asset;
  • Demonstrate the project’s social relevance and/or benefits;
  • Demonstrate the ability to explain the subject matter in plain language.

7. Evaluation Process

Applications must be submitted to the Fonds that oversees the research sector identified by the applicant. They are evaluated according to the evaluation criteria by a selection committee set up by the Fonds. The quality of the written language, the applicant’s actual contribution to the project and, in the case of an article, the quality of the journal, will be taken into consideration.

8. Application Process

Deadlines for submitting required documents

  • March 1st and September 1st of each year, 4:00 p.m.

Documents to be transmitted electronically

The e-forms, available from the site of each Fonds.  The e-form may be completed in French or English, but the overview presenting the submitted project must imperatively be written in French. Attention : Once submitted to the relevant Fonds, the online form cannot be changed; you must attach to the online form in, the “other documents” section, the following documents :

  • A copy of the project.
  • Documents for assessing the eligibility of the submitted project, clearly indicating[1]:
    • the exact publication date of the project;
    • its review by a review board (in the case of a journal article).
  • A document attesting that the applicant is enrolled as a student at a Québec higher educational institution or at another higher educational institution outside of the Province of Québec, in effect on the date of submission of the application or, in the case of a postdoctoral fellow, an attestation from the applicant’s host organization in Québec or, in the case of a postdoctoral fellow, a postdoctoral research certificate from the host environment is required.
  • A resident in Québec applicant registered in a higher education institution outside Québec must submit the following documents:
    • A copy of proof of Canadian citizenship or residency status;
    • A photocopy of their medical insurance card of Québec, valid at the competition deadline, or proof that a new card has been requested from the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec or any official document from the Régie de l’assurance maladie establishing the status of resident of Québec within the meaning of the Québec Health Insurance Act.
Applications that do not include all required documents by the competition deadline will be deemed ineligible. The evaluation committee will not receive any appendices or documents other than those required.

[1] Copy of an e-mail or letter from the publisher, screen capture of the journal’s website on which the article is presented and/or the peer review report, or any other relevant supporting document.

To receive the award, winning student researchers must provide the following documents

  • A photograph;
  • Certain administrative information.

9. Announcement of Results

Award recipients will be contacted by the Fonds de recherche du Québec’s service, which makes monthly announcements through a news release.

10. Appendix

Research disciplines

See the document Discipline classification table.

Research areas

Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies (FRQNT)

·        Energy

·        Environment

·        Manufacturing and construction

·        Materials

·        Nature and interactions of matter

·        Living organisms

·        Natural resources

·        Abstract structures

·        Techniques, measures and systems

·        Information and communication technologies

Source: https://frq.gouv.qc.ca/en/nature-and-technologies/mission-and-research-fields/