Friedman Award for Scholars in Health

Deadline

Likely March 2022

Annual Value

Awards of up to $50,000 each will be granted for 6 to 12 months of study

Citizenship

Canadian

Permanent Resident

International

Degree Level

Masters

Doctoral

The Friedman Award for Scholars in Health supports learning and research opportunities for graduate students or medical residents working in the broad area of health, to bring new perspectives to their education and further their career.

The Friedman Award for Scholars in Health is named after two of the earliest faculty members in the UBC Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Sydney Friedman and his wife Dr. Constance Livingstone-Friedman believed that well-rounded and transformative education includes learning from different perspectives and cultures, and they wished to support such learning among UBC graduate students and medical residents.

Awards of up to $50,000 each will be granted for 6 to 12 months of study outside Western Canada. The award amount will be at the discretion of the adjudication committee. Each recipient of a Friedman Award will be designated a “Friedman Scholar”.

Travelling outside of Canada: When students are planning travel outside of Canada for university purposes, they have obligations under UBC’s Student Safety Abroad Policy (SC12). Students are required to have adequate travel medical insurance, to register their travel on UBC’s Safety Abroad Registry, and to use the resources provided by UBC to support safe travel planning and risk management. In locations where the Government of Canada has official travel advisories in place, students are required to request High-Risk Authorization before travelling. For more information, see: https://safetyabroad.ubc.ca or email safety.abroad@ubc.ca.

Eligibility

The Friedman Award for Scholars in Health is open to any UBC graduate student or UBC medical resident studying in the area of health. ‘Health’ is interpreted very broadly, and includes health promotion and disease prevention, mental health research, laboratory sciences related to medicine or health, public health, health services research, or any area intended to impact human health.

Applicant eligibility:

As of the application deadline, applicant must be enrolled in a UBC graduate program (Master's or Doctoral) or UBC medical residency program

Opportunity Eligibility:

Friedman Scholars are expected to travel to other areas of the world to seek new perspectives, learn from experts in their fields and be exposed to different cultures.

Host organizations or groups may include universities or research centres, non-governmental organizations, private sector companies, government agencies or units, or any other groups or individuals who are leaders in the field.
Travel must be outside of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Travel must be for a minimum of six months, to carry out scholarly work, gain new knowledge and perspectives in the field of study, and absorb the scholarly culture of the host institution. The six-month time period may be distributed over a longer period (e.g., one year) if circumstances merit it. Note: remote work based in Vancouver would not count as part of the minimum six months period.
Travel must begin no earlier than June 1, 2021 and no later than August 31, 2022.
Applicants are expected to seek new experiences and perspectives. If applicable, applicants should include in their "outline of the educational opportunity" document a strong justification for returning to a setting where they have already worked or to a host supervisor that they have already worked with.
Regarding COVID-19: The Friedman is an award to fund travel. In many cases, travel is not currently possible due to the ongoing pandemic. However, applicants should approach their application with the assumption that travel will be possible in 2021/2022.

Eligible Budget Expenses:

Funds received from this award are to be used for expenses related to the opportunity. These may include: travel expenses (airfare, visas, health insurance, etc.), living expenses (rent, groceries, etc.), fees assessed for related educational endeavours. Other kinds of research or project-related expenses should include a justification.

The funds may not be used for expenses already incurred. None of the funds shall be used to pay down or reduce current or past educational debt, to pay a personal stipend for the learner, or to pay UBC tuition.

Any unused funds must be returned to UBC for future disbursement through the Friedman Scholar Program.

Evaluation Criteria

Student/resident past accomplishments and future promise

Awardees should be individuals with evidence of and future promise for innovative outlooks and scholarship, leadership ability and high likelihood of making a positive difference in the field of health.

The nature and quality of the learning opportunity

This includes the calibre of the mentor or organization with whom the applicant will work, and the quality and likely contribution of the learning experience with respect to the applicant’s career and personal development.

The potential impact of the learning/work opportunity on the field of health

This may include potential direct impact, or potential impact on the field through significant scholarly growth of the individual awardee.

Application Procedures

A complete application must be submitted online by 4:00 pm on Friday, 12 March 2021. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered; it is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that their application is complete by the deadline. Please follow up with your referees before the deadline as appropriate.

A complete application consists of the following:

Submitted by applicant - submit application here

Application form
Concise outline of the educational opportunity (4 pages maximum)
- Description of key personnel, host organization, and their mission and contributions to the broad area of health
- Timeline of the opportunity - Include start/end dates and key milestones
- Details of the opportunity - Describe the learning environment, learning objectives, specific activities, and expected outcomes
- Potential impact of the opportunity on the field of health and on your career and/or personal development
References/bibliography/citation (1 page maximum, in addition to the 4-page limit for the outline of the educational opportunity)
- If applicable, list publications and other works/sources that are cited in your outline
Simple budget (1 page maximum) (see Excel template)
Synopsis of your education to date (1 page maximum)
- You may, but are not required to, format this section to resemble a short CV
- Recommended content to include: Awards, Publications

Submitted by applicant’s chosen referees – submit reference here (this link is for referees only)

One letter of support from UBC supervisor (2 pages maximum)
- For graduate students, your UBC research supervisor
- For medical residents, your UBC program director
One letter of support from host supervisor (2 pages maximum)

Letters of support must be signed by the author (digital e-signature or scanned handwritten signature are acceptable), and letters should be on institutional letterhead, where possible.

Presentation standards for free-form materials provided by the applicant:

Attachments must be in PDF format.
Pages must be 8½” x 11” (216mm x 279mm); margins must be set at a minimum of ¾” (1.87 cm)
Use a font that will be easily readable by adjudicators, e.g., 10-point Arial, or equivalent
No condensed type or spacing (single- or double-spaced are acceptable)
Please include section titles, as appropriate, and page numbers.
Write in plain, non-technical language. Your “outline of the educational opportunity” should be readable by someone with a background in the discipline but with no specialized knowledge of the particular field of research.

Adjudication Procedures

The Associate Dean, Funding will convene an adjudication committee composed of UBC faculty members in health and health-related disciplines from across the university.