Special Response Fund for Trainees (Ukraine)

Following the crisis in Ukraine, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) established a limited-time Special Response Fund for Trainees (Ukraine), or SRFT-Ukraine. This fund provides financial support to initiate or maintain the employment or financial support—via stipend or salary—of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who are directly impacted by the crisis in Ukraine. The fund supports trainees through salaries and stipends for a period of up to 12 months. Support can be requested for master's students (up to $20,000), doctoral students (up to $25,000), and postdoctoral researchers (up to $45,000). Direct impact is defined as trainees who are currently in Canada and were expected to return to Ukraine in 2022 but cannot because of the current crisis, or trainees who cannot continue their planned course of studies or research in Ukraine because of the crisis and are now in Canada. Applications are submitted by eligible grant holders on behalf of trainees. Grant holders must hold an active grant under one of the eligible NSERC funding opportunities and attest that the trainee will participate in research activities associated with the direct costs of the grant, is directly impacted by the crisis in Ukraine, is not benefiting from other tri-agency funds for the same purpose, and that the trainee's support would end or not be possible if the requested funds were not granted. Note: After December 22, 2022, this fund is no longer accepting applications. Beyond this date, Canadian researchers may continue to use their existing grants to support international trainees in Canada.