Environment 1 (EV1), room 347
519-888-4567, ext. 33463
Beginning in 2021, the Caivan communities Post-Doctoral Fellowship offers an opportunity to accelerate scholarship and careers for emerging scholars with international (non-Canadian) experience from all disciplines, focused on future cities and on the processes, issues, and discoveries that will shape them. This Fellowship is made possible through a generous philanthropic gift by Caivan Communities.
One Fellowship will be awarded annually, normally for a period of two years in 2023, and will be $60,000 per year with the possibility of an additional $3,000 per year to support research-related expenses.
These exceptional scholars will interact with the University community and Caivan Communities in meaningful ways including:
The University of Waterloo is one of Canada's premier research-intensive universities. Our international reputation for excellence and innovation attracts some of the most innovative and creative researchers in the world, including approximately 400 postdocs. Waterloo’s research community includes more than 30 University research centres and institutes supported by over 1,300 faculty members.
The University’s external partnerships, including private sector support for research, are among the strongest in Canada, spurred in part by the University’s intellectual property policy and commitment to research commercialization. The Region of Waterloo, where the University is located, is central to southwestern Ontario’s Innovation corridor, home to the second-highest density of startups and entrepreneurial activity in North America.
The University of Waterloo regards diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to employment equity and accessibility for all employees. As such, we encourage applications from women, indigenous (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) peoples, persons with disabilities, members of diverse gender identities, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas. At Waterloo, scholars will have the opportunity to work across disciplines and collaborate with an international community of scholars and a diverse student body, situated in a rapidly growing community that has been termed a “hub for innovation.”
The window of eligibility can be extended by a cumulative maximum of two years if the applicant had their academic career interrupted for one or more of the following reasons:
Interruptions used to extend the eligibility window for degree completion must have occurred after the “fulfilment of the degree requirements” * and before the application submission deadline.
*“Fulfilled all requirements of the degree” refers to the date that all degree requirements were met, including thesis defense corrections and submission of thesis. It does not refer to the convocation date.
The program seeks to attract globally recognized, emergent scholars whose work will inform the design of future cities by focusing on processes, issues, and discoveries that will shape them. The University seeks candidates who have demonstrated:
All eligible applications will be reviewed by a panel of four members/alumni of the University of Waterloo, chosen by the Dean of the Faculty of Environment.
A short-list of candidates will be identified by early February 2023. The short-listed scholars may be invited to participate in an online interview with the committee, with decisions and offers being made by end of February 2023. Scholars will have until March 31, 2023 to accept the position. The University of Waterloo is eager to host scholars as early as July 1 and no later than September 30, 2023.
We are now seeking a third pool of applicants. Applications are due on January 31, 2023.
The first component of the application includes obtaining endorsement from a Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo faculty member. The Faculty of Environment Research Clusters web page outlines the research expertise of faculty members.
Applicants should consider the proposed faculty member’s research and the alignment with their own research expertise and background prior to contacting the prospective faculty member.
When contacting a Waterloo faculty member, applicants are encouraged to share their up-to-date curriculum vitae and a proposed outline of the research that can be accomplished as part of the Fellowship, working in partnership with the Waterloo faculty member.
Once a partnership has been arranged between a proposed scholar (applicant) and a University of Waterloo faculty member, the supervisor will confirm to the applicant, via email, their support of the candidate’s application and willingness to work with him/her. This email must be included with the application materials. The University of Waterloo faculty member will also be required to provide a letter to the Dean of Environment outlining the ways in which the proposed research aligns with University and Faculty research priorities, the fit of the proposed research with the faculty members’ research, and the plan of support in terms of mentorship and other opportunities.
The Caivan Communities Fellowship application requires two reference letters, one of which must be from a referee who is at arm’s length from the applicant.
The arm’s length referee should be an expert in the field of the proposed research and should be able to assess the research proposal and academic CV in that capacity. Examples of an arm’s length referee include but are not limited to, the external examiner from the applicant’s doctoral defense or a specialist the applicant met at a conference. It is not necessary for the applicant to have met the arm’s length referee.
The arm’s length referee cannot be:
The second referee should be either the applicant’s doctoral research supervisor or committee member.
Referees must be able to provide relevant evidence, perspectives, and insight to support the review of the application. The assessments contribute to a major part of the evaluation of the application and its potential success. It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide the referees with the information they require in order to complete an informed and strong assessment.
Reference letters must address the creativity, rigour, and impact of the dissertation and other scholarly work.
Referees will be required to send a PDF copy of their letter (signed and on letterhead) that addresses the above criteria, to Juli-Ann Perkins at juli-ann.perkins@uwaterloo.ca by January 28, 2023.
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is centralized within our Office of Indigenous Relations.