Killam Connection

View All Awards
Deadline
Likely in September 2024
Annual Value
$25,000
Citizenship
Canadian
Permanent Resident
International
Degree Level
Masters
Doctoral

 

The Killam Connection program provides up to $25,000 to enable UBC faculty to host an innovative and interdisciplinary research forum and graduate course focused around a theme of general interest and public importance, and including a series of invited scholars. The purpose of the Killam Connection is to provide an opportunity for faculty and graduate students to engage with leading scholars on matters of importance, and for students to gain experience developing and possibly implementing scholarly products oriented to impact beyond academy.

The applications for the year 2022/2023 are now closed, and applicants informed of the outcomes. Full applications are now expected until Friday, September 2, 2022, for a graduate course to start in either January or September 2023, or January 2024. Please see below for details. 

The Letter of Intent

The Letter of Intent shoud be no longer that 3 pages and contain the following: 

- A course description that includes: an explanation of the course basics; why it would appeal to graduate students from different disciplines and how it would benefit them; and the timeline associated with the course;

- Potential scholarly products by students intended for impact that goes beyond academy (some ideas may include: Op-Eds, Course Syllabi, Museum Curation Material, Reports for Companies or NGOs, Policy proposals for Policy Makers, Videos or Podcasts, and others...); 

- Names and associations of potential academic and non-academic collaborators and their roles; 

- Details on public facing events that are part of the course, including names of potential public speakers; 

- Any other relevant information that the adjudication committee should know. 

 

 

Eligibility

1. The lead applicant must be a UBC-V faculty member. UBC-O faculty are invited to contribute as co-applicants.   

2. The proposed course is expected to be offered primarily in-person on the Vancouver campus, but may be available online to students located elsewhere.

3. The proposed course should not be already available at UBC.

4. The proposed course should be interdisciplinary in nature, and the course design should contain activities for students to work collaboratively on knowledge exchange/mobilization.

5. A minimum of five public lectures should be organized, at least four of which should be held in the Greater Vancouver area.

6. Joint applications are welcome, and cross-disciplinary collaboration is strongly encouraged.

Evaluation Criteria

Subject matter that is of current interest and importance to scholars, students and the broader community

Strong potential to attract a large number of faculty and students to participate from a range of disciplines

Demonstrated understanding of the field, and of the potential for impactful public scholarship

High caliber of invited speakers as scholars and public speakers

Interest of speakers (e.g., email response from speaker stating they may be interested in participating)

Strong potential for graduate students’ development in the content area and in public scholarship

Approval from the participating departments for credit of the proposed course

Appropriately justified budget

Seminar topic not currently available as a UBC graduate course

Potential for new initiatives and collaborations to emerge from the forum

Application Procedures

The Office of the Dean and Vice-Provost of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies invites all faculty members to submit a proposal for the Killam Connection Program.

The Killam Connection program provides up to $25,000 to enable UBC faculty to host an innovative and interdisciplinary research forum and graduate course focused around a theme of general interest and public importance, including a series of invited scholars, public events, and incorporating various aspects of public scholarship. The purpose of the Killam Connection program is to provide an opportunity for faculty and graduate students to engage with leading scholars on matters of importance, and for students to gain experience developing and possibly implementing scholarly projects aimed at a public impact beyond academy. The course should be available to students in one of the following terms: January 2023, September 2023, or January 2024.

All faculty members are invited and encouraged to apply. The first step of applications is to submit a Letter of Intent to the attention of Dr. Serbulent Turan, Public Scholarship Coordinator, at serbulent.turan(at)ubc.ca. The letter should be no longer than 3 pages and should include a broad description of the course and its potential appeal and benefit to graduate students from various departments and faculties; a list of potential public speakers and public events; and ideas about the public scholarship component including scholarly products by students. The deadline for the letter of intent for 2022-2023 Killam Connection projects is 4:00 p.m. on Monday, May 23, 2022.

Adjudication Procedures

An adjudication committee will be formed by G+PS and comprise faculty from a variety of fields.

Previous Award Winners

Heavy Metal (2021 winner)

KIN 500P 001 Healthy Aging From Cells to Societies (Jan 2020)

PHYL 548B Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine – What does the Future Hold? (Jan-Apr 2018)

RES 500W Leading the Way Toward a Low-carbon Future (Jan-Apr 2017)

Further Information

Questions can be directed to Dr. Serbulent Turan at [email protected]