The INRS Foundation’s 2023 Scholarship Presentation Tour concludes with pride at the Centre Eau Terre Environnement
Members of the INRS community, donors and the families of four students gathered in Quebec City on October 31 to mark the presentation of the Foundation’s 2023 scholarships to the INRS Centre Eau Terre Environnement research and training centre. In a convivial setting, INRS Director General Luc-Alain Giraldeau, Centre Director Louise Hénault-Éthier and INRS Foundation Executive Director Élise Comtois highlighted the importance of inscreasing the support to our student community at INRS.
Three INRS students were awarded the Bourse de la Fondation Arbour in 2023, including two at the Centre Eau Terre Environnement research and training centre:
- Ludivine Lafosse, doctoral student in water sciences (scholarship holder in 2022 and 2023), under the supervision of Jacob Stolle; and
- Ablema Sephora Tanoe, doctoral student in water sciences (scholarship holder in 2023), under the supervision of Patrick Drogui.
In addition to generous financial support of up to $30,000, this scholarship offers the opportunity to expand one’s network of contacts through a mentoring programme offering advice and encouragement outside the university setting.
Five Université du Québec scholarships worth $3,000 were awarded in 2023, including one at the Centre Eau Terre Environnement, namely to :
- Mackenzie Anne Clifford Martyniuk, a doctoral student in water sciences under the supervision of Patrice Couture.
Offered for the first time this year, the scholarship aims to highlight the diversity of our student community by supporting individuals from groups that face particular barriers to accessing higher education.
In the presence of the Director of Institutional Affairs from the Office of the President of the Université du Québec, Marie-Josée Fortin, the Executive Director of the Foundation had some exciting news to share with her audience: the Université du Québec has renewed its commitment of $15,000 in support of the INRS student community. The scholarships will therefore be offered again in winter 2024.
Finally, the first Career Transition Scholarship was awarded to:
- Karima Hadria Gondry, a student in the professional master’s programme in water sciences, now pursuing a research master’s at INRS under the supervision of Professor Anne Crémazy.
Created thanks to the generosity of members of INRS senior management, this $5,000 scholarship is intended to promote atypical career paths and support deserving students who are undertaking graduate studies after a variety of personal and professional experiences.
Announced in autumn 2021, this is one of the first new sources of support for the INRS student community put in place by the Foundation as part of our personalised scholarship programme.
Scholarship recipients Ablema Sephora Tanoe and Karima Hadria Gondry shared their personal and academic experience so far and eloquently demonstrated the recognition and importance of receiving such scholarships.
This concluded the first series of scholarship presentation ceremonies for the INRS Foundation. Such events are important in the life of our institution. First and foremost, because we sometimes forget that a master’s or doctoral degree is made up of a series of challenges to overcome and successes to celebrate—long before the graduation ceremony. Secondly, and this is what makes the work of the members of our team so meaningful, because occasions like these allow us to fully appreciate the generosity of our donors—many of whom were in attendance—and the enormous difference that recognition such as a scholarship, bursary or excellence award can make to the lives and careers of our students.
The Foundation sincerely congratulates the scholarship recipients and all those who applied for the scholarships. Our warmest thanks go to the teams in the various centres and departments who contributed to the success of the tour of scholarship award ceremonies for the INRS student community. A very special thank you to our generous donors who give life to the scholarships that help support Quebec’s next generation of scientists.
So far in 2023, the Foundation has directly supported the success of 22 students in the four INRS centres, to whom it has awarded nearly $150,000 in scholarships. The competition for the new Rio Tinto Scholarships for Diversity in Science at INRS, the Career Transition Scholarship and the INRS Foundation Board of Directors Scholarships is closing on November 5, 2023. Other scholarships will be offered in the winter of 2024.