Competition year : 
2023-2024

Deadline (application) : 
November 1st, 2023 at 16:00 (EST)

Announcement of results : 
December 2023

Amount : 
Up to $1 870 per month

Duration : 
Between 2 and 6 months

Reminder

It is the applicant’s responsibility to read the Common General Rules (CGR) of the Fonds de recherche du Québec, which apply to all FRQS programs, in addition to these program rules. The particular conditions of the current program are detailed here and take precedence over the CGR.

Context and objectives

Graduate studies enable students to develop a range of essential skills for aspiring academics, but more and more graduates are earning degrees only to end up in a highly competitive job market. They could benefit from exploring options to transfer these skills to non-research positions. The Bourse Tremplin Internship Award was created with that in mind.

Through the pilot program, the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé aims to:

  • foster collaboration between the university research sector and public, parapublic and private organizations;
  • spark interest in applying knowledge and acquiring work experience in non-academic practice settings;
  • support non-academic practice settings in their efforts to enable students enrolled in a postgraduate research program to develop new skills;
  • facilitate the employability of graduate students.

1. ELIGIBILITY

The eligibility criteria for applicants, possible internship settings, exceptions and restrictions are detailed in the following sections.

Applicants and eligibility period
  • be enrolled in a PhD university research program on a full-time basis and have completed three terms on a full-time basis when submitting their application;
  • carry out an internship in Québec in one of the areas covered by the Fonds de recherche du Québec –Santé in a non-academic, non-research internship setting (e.g. an organization in the public, parapublic or private sector);
  • have obtained approval from the individuals who will supervise the internship in the internship setting;
  • not have completed more than 50% of the internship at the competition deadline. The award is not retroactive. Funding is only available for the months that remain in the internship at the competition deadline.

These requirements shall remain in effect for the tenure of the award.

Internship setting

Organizations in the public, parapublic, community and private sectors in Québec are eligible. The FRQS reserves the right to reject an internship setting that does not meet the program objectives. See Interested partners section if you have not found a place of training.

Restrictions

2. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

The following documents must be submitted by the applicant and/or supervisor.

READ CAREFULLY

It is the responsibility of the applicant to select the right program and application form. It will not be possible to transfer an application to another program following the eligibility review.

The required form and documents must be submitted via the e-Porfolio. Documents submitted by mail or email shall not be accepted.

Required documents that are incomplete or invalid shall not be requested and the application shall be deemed ineligible.

Documents that are submitted but not required shall be removed from the application prior to the evaluation (e.g. letter of recommendation, published article, etc.).

Documents received after the competition deadline shall not be considered. Applications shall not be updated.

Official documents submitted in a language other than French or English must include a certified translation. Other documents submitted in a language other than French or English must include a translation.

Documents required when submitting the application

Canadian Common CV (funding CV version for the FRQS) up to date, i.e. updated in the 12 months preceding the closing date of the competition

Detailed contributions up to date, that is to say updated in the 12 months preceding the closing date of the competition (to be attached in the FRQS electronic portfolio on the Canadian common CV page) – you can consult the document: Instructions for detailed contributions and the Canadian Common CV

Electronic form: Tremplin Scholarship – Non-academic work placement (PDF version – for information), including the documents listed below, attached

  • In the Academic Record section:
    • Recent copies of official transcripts for all years of university studies (completed or not)
  • In the Other documents section:
    • If the session in progress at the time of the request is not recorded on the transcript, attach proof of registration. By proof of enrollment, we mean an official transcript or official document from the Registrar’s Office
    • Form for the host environment – ​​2023 internship offer (available in the Toolbox) duly completed by the person who will supervise the internship
    • Document (letter or email) supporting the internship project by the research director of the university doctoral program
    • Letter justifying the choice of internship and host environment (1 page maximum). This letter should answer the following questions:
      • What are your career aspirations and short and medium term goals?
      • What is your skills development plan?
      • How will the internship help you acquire transversal skills and how do these skills fit into your career development plan? (Explain the transfer of these skills to “non-research” job(s).)
  • Document justifying the achievement of program objectives (1 page maximum). This document must answer the following questions:
    • Title of your doctoral thesis
    • How is the Tremplin internship project different from your doctoral thesis project?
    • Justify how the proposed internship is “non-research”
Final Report

The final report document (Rapport final – Bourse Tremplin, available in the Toolbox) must be submitted to the Fonds no later than one month following the end of the internship. The document must provide an overview of the activities and indicate whether the objectives were attained. The report must be signed by the internship supervisor. The awarding of subsequent funding under another FRQS program is conditional upon the submission of a duly completed report.

3. DURATION OF THE INTERNSHIP

This section details the minimum and maximum duration of the internship, as well as the number of hours per week the awardee may dedicate to the internship.

Duration and maximum number of hours
  • The internship period is 2 to 6 months or up to 225 hours. In exceptional cases, it may be carried out in several phases, subject to prior approval from the FRQS.
  • The internship must begin in the six months following the competition deadline*.

*The start and end dates of the internship may be modified, subject to the Fonds’ approval of a request for changes. The request for changes, including supporting documents, must be sent to the program manager by email. The proposed changes must comply with all eligibility conditions and must not alter the nature of the internship evaluated by the Fonds.

4. AMOUNT OF THE AWARD

The maximum amount granted for an internship and award management rules are detailed here.

Amount and award management

Up to $5,000 (up to $1,870 per month)

The amount will be adjusted based on the duration of the internship and hours dedicated by the awardee. For example:

21 hours per week = $1,870 per month for up to 10.5 weeks or 225 hours

14 hours per week = $1,250 per month for up to 16 weeks or 225 hours

7 hours per week = $625 per month for up to 24 weeks or 168 hours

Funding is awarded for one internship per awardee.

5. EVALUATION

Process

Applications will be evaluated by a review committee whose members will be chosen by the FRQS in accordance with applicable rules.

To be recommended for funding, the application must receive a minimum overall score of 70%.

Quality of the applicant’s academic record 

35

Academic record: score, progress, continuation

15

Experiences: publications, conferences, internships and involvements

10

Awards, honours, distinctions

10

Internship proposal 

45

Quality of the letter justifying the choice of internship and practice setting

20

Objectives of the internship: potential to learn and acquire skills

10

Complementarity of the internship project taking into account the study program

10

Perspectives once the internship has ended

5

Internship setting

20

Relevance of the setting’s activities

5

Description of tasks assigned to the student

5

Integration level of the student in the setting’s activities

5

Human resources available to supervise the student

5

6. UNDERTAKING

All applications submitted to the program must comply with the requirements set out in the FRQnet portals and e-forms.

7. OPEN ACCESS

The FRQ Open Science Policy does not apply to this program.

8. KNOWLEDGE MOBILIZATION

The FRQS encourages awardees to lead and contribute to knowledge mobilization activities (transfer, sharing, development, outreach and dissemination) with practice settings and the public. For more information, see the Knowledge mobilization page.

9. CONTACT US

Geneviève Dalpé

Program manager

bourses.tremplin@frq.gouv.qc.ca