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U of M selected for Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship

March 2, 2015 — 

The University of Manitoba has been selected as one of 34 Canadian universities to manage projects that will offer scholarship opportunities to more than 1,900 university students in the Commonwealth.

The Rideau Hall Foundation and Canada’s community foundation network today announced more than 1,900 scholarships for university students, funded through the new Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships. With initial investments of more than $40 million, including $10 million from the Government of Canada, this initiative will build a dynamic community of young global leaders in Canada and throughout the Commonwealth over the next four years.

The university’s winning proposal is titled: Promoting international community-university partnerships in global and Indigenous health. It is led by Josée Lavoie, Director, Manitoba First Nations Centre for Aboriginal Health Research (MFNCAHR) and Associate Professor in the department of community health sciences, College of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences. The project will be undertaken with the Centre for Global Public Health, and the department of medical microbiology. The three project partners will work with the support of additional program partners in Australia, New Zealand, India, and Kenya.

“I congratulate the research teams and their community partners on their winning proposal for the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship program,” says Digvir Jayas, Vice-President (Research and International). “The University’s strengths in working internationally with global partners and locally with Indigenous community partners will offer unique learning opportunities for the students selected for these scholarships and internships.”

The program goal is to create a community of global inter-disciplinary and program-engaged scholars who will become leaders in global and Indigenous health research. The focus of this scholarship program will be informed by community engagement, community-based participatory research, and program science principles. Scholarships will be provided to outgoing undergraduate and graduate students, and for incoming graduate students from our partnering Commonwealth countries.

“We also plan to facilitate scholar-community engagement, in collaboration with our Winnipeg-based community partners, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Manitoba Metis Federation, and the Manitoba Inuit Association,” said Lavoie. “We will draw on our rich experiences with long standing training programs which are now sunsetting [the Aboriginal Capacity and Developmental Research Environments network, 2001-06; the Network Environment for Aboriginal Health Research, 2006-14; and the CIHR International Infectious Disease & Global Health Training Program, 2009-15].”

The Queen Elizabeth Scholars will benefit from the University of Manitoba’s sustained partnerships in Nairobi, Kenya, and Bangalore, India, as well as the community partners, and strong research ties in Indigenous health research in Australia and New Zealand. The project will link these established training programs to facilitate greater cross-cultural learning opportunities for the scholars.

“Through these synergies we will create a community of approximately 75 scholars over 4 years, who will be linked to the community of nearly 200 scholars trained by our previous training programs,” says Lavoie.

Jointly announced in June 2014, by Governor General David Johnston, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, the Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships will help develop the next generation of innovative leaders and community builders, both locally and globally. Canadian students at the undergraduate and graduate levels will participate in internships or academic study for periods of three months to one year in another Commonwealth country. Scholarships will also be available to students from Commonwealth countries to attend a Canadian university for master’s or doctoral studies. The scholarships form part of university-designed projects that address pressing local, national and global issues.

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