Scholarship for Internship outside Québec (BSHQ)

1. OBJECTIVES

• Encourage the national and international mobility of outstanding students in order to widen their scientific network and enrich their intellectual development through contact with different research traditions.
• Provide an added value to the doctoral training of the scholarship holder through mobility and collaboration outside Québec and internationally.
• Foster scientific exchange and openness to new research perspectives.

In keeping with its Knowledge Mobilization Strategy, the Fonds encourage funding recipients to carry out such activities (sharing, valorization, dissemination, etc.) for the general public, whenever such activities are relevant in the context of their research.

In accordance with the Fonds de recherche du Québec open access policy for the dissemination of research, all funding recipients must agree to provide open access to their scientific publications no later than 12 months after publication. To learn more about the FRQ’s requirements on this subject, please visit our page on open science.

Finally, the Fonds de recherche du Québec wish to contribute to supporting a research ecosystem based on equity, diversity and inclusion. Measures have been put in place to strengthen the integration of these principles. Funding recipients are also encouraged to consider them in the context of their research activities. For more information, please visit our website.

2. TARGET GROUP

This program is intended for FRQSC Master’s (A2Z1-B1Z) or Doctoral (A2Z2-B2Z) scholarship holders wishing to do a short-term internship in an academic setting outside of Québec. If you meet the eligibility requirements and wish to submit an application, please write to bshq.sc@frq.gouv.qc.ca in order to access the application form.

3. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must meet all eligibility requirements at the competition deadline and throughout the duration of the scholarship.

To be eligible for this program, applicants must:

• Be enrolled as a full-time student in a master’s or doctoral program in a Québec university.
• Carry out the internship under the joint supervision of their master’s or doctoral research supervisor and an internship supervisor at the host environment.
• Clearly demonstrate the nature of the scientific activities in which he/she will participate and their added value in terms of scientific experience and networking in relation to the program of study.
• Have completed, at the beginning of the internship, all required coursework for the program of study; in addition, the master’s project or thesis topic must have received final approval from the designated authorities.

To be eligible, the proposed internship must:

• Be located outside Québec. In the case of a joint program, the co-tutoring institution is not eligible.

• Last at least two months, and a maximum of six months*.

• End no later than the end of the ninth full-time term of the master’s program or the eighteenth term of the doctoral program.

• Not be aimed solely at pursuing course work or lectures.

Only one internship can be funded under this program during the duration of the FRQSC master’s or doctoral scholarship.

* It is possible to conduct the internship in several stages, but only one round trip will be reimbursed.

4. ELIGIBLE INTERNSHIP HOSTS

Universities, organizations, industries with an R&D department outside Québec.

5. COMPETITION DEADLINES

There are two annual competitions. Application deadlines are March 5 and December 5*. When the deadline falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the deadline is extended to the next business day.

Depending on the targeted competition, internships must begin no later than:

* These dates are subject to change without prior notice. The official competition deadline is posted in the Summary section at the top of the Program Rules.

6. VALUE OF THE SCHOLARSHIP AND EXPENSES COVERED

The value of the BSHQ scholarship is determined based on the eligible expenses described below. A BSHQ scholarship may be held concurrently with a FRQSC Master’s or Doctoral Scholarship. It may also be combined with other internship funding sources, but may not be used to cover expenses charged to another source of funding.

Tuition fees

Tuition fees required by the host institution will be reimbursed to a maximum of $4,000. When calculating the amount owed, the Fonds considers tuition fees only and does not include enrolment fees or membership fees for student associations, etc. In all cases, official receipts must be provided.

Travel allowance

The cost of round-trip economy-class travel by plane, train or bus to the location of the internship will be reimbursed upon presentation of a copy of the ticket (paper or e-ticket), along with a detailed invoice. Only round-trip tickets on which the departure city is identical to the arrival city will be considered for full reimbursement. A travel allowance claim involving two one-way tickets will be reimbursed at the price of the less expensive ticket. Expenditures for travel to or from train or bus stations and airports are reimbursed on presentation of supporting documents.

For travel by car, the amount payable is $0.48 per kilometre to a maximum equal to the price of round-trip economy airline fare. Car expenses are payable upon presentation of two service station receipts, one issued at the start of the trip and the other at the destination.

Only one round trip is payable even if the internship is carried out in separate stages. Only cost of a round trip to the site of the internship can be reimbursed. No additional amount to cover any other travel expenses is paid during the internship.

No additional amount is paid to cover other expenditures such as travel expenses for a spouse or dependants, moving personal effects or transporting research material.

Living expenses

A lump-sum allowance of $1,500 per month is granted for living expenses, indexed to the cost of living at the location of the internship. Payment is made upon receipt of an attestation from the internship supervisor specifying the start date and the completion date of the internship.

In addition to the allowance for tuition fees, the maximum amount reimbursed for indexed living expenses and travel expenses is $10,000.

7. APPLICATION PROCESS

If you meet the eligibility requirements and wish to submit an application, please write to bshq.sc@frq.gouv.qc.ca to receive access to the application form. The form will be available at least one month before the competition deadline.

The application form must be completed in English or French.

The following presentation standards are suggested for all documents submitted:

Font: Times New Roman

Size: 12 point

Left and right margins: 1.25 cm or 0.49 in.

Top and bottom margins: 1.25 cm or 0.49 in.

Justification: left

The scholarship application submitted to the Fonds must include the following items, to be sent via the E-portfolio in the sections intended for that purpose or in the “Other documents”, section where applicable:

• A duly completed application form;
• A letter of support from the master’s or doctoral research supervisor;
• A letter of support from the internship supervisor at the host environment.

To be admissible, scanned copies of documents in PDF format must be legible and must not be read-protected or have special double tab configuration.

Pages in excess of the number permitted in each section of the application will be removed from the application before submission for evaluation.

Any missing documents will render the application ineligible.

An incomplete application that does not contain the information necessary to establish eligibility or which cannot be evaluated will be deemed invalid by the Fonds. Any documents that are not required and which are included with the application will not be submitted to the evaluation committee. Applicants will not be notified of any information or documents missing from the application.

Once the application has been submitted, it may not be modified or resubmitted regardless of the transmission date, even if it is before the competition deadline. No documents received after the application deadline will be considered and applications cannot be updated.

As indicated in Section 3 of the CGR, applicants attest that the information provided is accurate and complete and agree to respect the rules and principles set out in the Fonds de recherche du Québec Policy for the responsible Conduct of Research. Applicants authorize their institution to transmit any personal information in accordance with this policy, where applicable. An agreement to that effect is required before submitting the application.

The FRQSC reserves the right to verify the authenticity of all documents and information provided with the organizations concerned.

THE APPLICANT MUST NOT FORGET TO TRANSMIT THE APPLICATION AFTER COMPLETING AND VALIDATING IT.

At any time, applicants can verify in their E-portfolio that their application has been successfully transmitted to the Fonds. The application file in “My forms” must be flagged as “Transmis au Fonds” before the competition deadline. This indicates that the application has been received by the Fonds. All applications received by the Fonds are assessed for eligibility. Applicants will be informed by email, at the latest one month following the competition deadline, of the progress of their application and, if applicable, its transmission to the evaluation committee. The evaluation committee has the right to declare an application ineligible if it considers that the application does not meet the program conditions and objectives.

Applicants whose application package is deemed incomplete or invalid will be notified by email that their application has not been transmitted to the evaluation committee.

Throughout the application process, applicants are encouraged to check that no correspondence from the Fonds has ended up in the “junk” or “spam” folder of their email Inbox.

8. APPLICATION ASSESSMENT

Evaluation criteria, indicators and weighting

Internship (50 points)

• Objectives and relevance of the internship
• Appropriateness of the internship with respect to the master’s or thesis project
• Added value of the internship (for the host environment and for the applicant)

Timeframe (20 points)

• Relevance of the proposed activities
• Feasibility of the timeframe

Host environment and supervision (30 points)

• Quality of the host institution and supervision

Evaluation committees use the FRQSC Scores and Ratings Grid. Applicants are advised to attach equal importance to both the evaluation criteria and their associated indicators.

To be recommended, an application must obtain an overall score of 70% or more.

Evaluation process

Applications are evaluated by multidisciplinary expert committees recruited within Québec. The evaluation committee analyzes all applications received on a comparative basis using the evaluation criteria in force. It also recommends the funding period based on the proposed time frame and the objectives of the internship. Consequently, the recommended length of the internship may differ from that indicated in the application.

The evaluation committee makes recommendations for each application received. The number of recommended applications that receive funding will depend on the availability of FRQSC funding for the program.

9. ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS

The results will be announced two months after the competition closing date via the applicant’s E-portfolio. Successful applicants are responsible for contacting the consulate or embassy of the host country to obtain a visa if necessary.

10. TERMS OF THE SCHOLARSHIP

• BSHQ recipients must continue to be enrolled as full-time students in their program of study for the duration of the internship.
• The internship start and end dates may be modified, subject to Fonds approval of a documented modification request sent by email to the program officer. The proposed changes must meet all eligibility conditions and cannot change the nature of the internship presented and evaluated in the initial application.

11. RULES GOVERNING CONCURRENT FUNDING

A BSHQ recipient may not accept funding from any mobility program (Soutien aux cotutelles) or other Government of Quebec or Government of Canada mobility programs during the same period. Students funded under the mobility support program (Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement Supérieur in collaboration with universities) can claim only the difference between the value of the mobility scholarship and funding received under the BSHQ program.

12. INTERNSHIP REPORT

BSHQ scholarship holders agree to submit to the Fonds, no later than one month after the end of the internship, receipts for reimbursement of covered expenses (Section 6) and a report summarizing the work done and the achievement of the objectives. This report must be signed by the master’s or doctoral research supervisor, the internship supervisor and the scholarship holder, and submitted in the scholarship holder’s E-portfolio. The final scholarship instalment is conditional on the submission of this report and its approval by the Fonds.

The internship supervisor at the host environment must complete the section provided for this purpose, detailing the successes and/or failures of the internship as perceived and/or evaluated by the internship host.