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Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards
Award Overview
- Nominee can be of any citizenship, including Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected people.
- Nominee cannot have a current affiliation with a Canadian institution and must be currently studying or working abroad.
- Nominee must be eligible to enrol in a doctoral program at the nominating institution in Canada as of the award activation date.
- Nominee must have applied for admission to their proposed doctoral program.
May 4, 2026
4:00 p.m. ET
The Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards are a one-time initiative designed to recruit international or returning Canadian doctoral students to Canada. These awards support the recruitment of doctoral students in priority areas, helping build capacity, strengthen the research ecosystem and enhance Canada’s global competitiveness.
Priority Research Areas
These new awards will invest in eight priority research areas:
- Advanced digital technologies (AI, quantum, and cybersecurity)
- Health, including biotechnology
- Clean technology and resource value chains
- Environment, climate resilience, and the Arctic
- Food and water security
- Democratic and community resilience
- Manufacturing and advanced materials
- Defence and dual-use technologies
Holding the Award at Western
Accept the Offer of Award
Accept the offer of award from the agency following the instructions provided in the letter of offer, and then activate it for payment by completing the required agency forms.
Activate Your Award for Payment
Initiate the payment process at Western through your Student Center account.
- Log in to your Student Center account.
- Select Student Financials from the main menu, then Financial Aid and Funding.
- Select Graduate External Scholarships and follow the activation steps.
The annual value of the Canada Impact+ Research Training Award is divided into three equal instalments. Funds are applied to the award holder's Student Center account at the start of each term:
Each instalment is applied towards any tuition and fees owing on the account before being refunded to the award holder.
It is the responsibility of the award holder to understand and abide by the terms and conditions of the award as set out of the Tri-Agency Research Training Award Holder's Guide.
These policies became effective September 1, 2016 and the Guide is available on NSERC's website. The guide contains all the forms that training award holders and the University need to facilitate post-award activities allowed by the Tri-Agencies.