In 2018, NSERC launched a five-year pilot initiative to support the promotion of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to Canadian youth.
The purpose of the NSERC Young Innovators grant is to encourage youth to use their creativity by supporting their participation in competitions within the natural sciences and engineering, thus becoming role models for other youth.
To be eligible, you must:
To be supported through this program, a young person must be:
NSERC is acting on the evidence that equity, diversity and inclusion strengthen the scientific and engineering communities and the quality, social relevance and impact of research. Organizations are encouraged to consider using the grant to support youth from groups who are under-represented or disadvantaged in STEM, and/or those who would otherwise not be able to participate.
The value of the grant is $1,000. Each organization can receive a maximum of one grant per fiscal year (April 1 – March 31).
The grant must cover costs associated with the participation of the Young Innovator(s) in a competition within the natural sciences and engineering. These include and are limited to:
The full value of the grant must be used by or for the Young Innovator(s). This could entail providing the funds to the Young Innovator(s) or using the funds on the Young Innovator(s) behalf. In the latter case, the use and distribution of the funds must be disclosed to the Young Innovator(s).
Organizations must submit a completed
NSERC Young Innovators Application Form
electronically via the
Secure Submissions Site for NSERC’s Innovative Collaborations and Science Promotion Programs. The application must be submitted as a single document in Portable Document Format (PDF).
There are no fixed deadlines for this grant. Applications must be submitted between two and six months before the competition for which the requested funding will be used.
NSERC will notify you of the decision on your application within one month of receiving it. The notification of decision will be sent by email to the contact person identified in the application. Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis until all available funds for the fiscal year (April 1 - March 31) are expended.
For more information, or any questions about the initiative or the application process, contact us at ambassadors@nserc-crsng.gc.ca using “NSERC Young Innovators” in the subject line.