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NSERC Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) Program – Letter of Intent (LOI)

Sponsor/agency: NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada)

Program: NSERC Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) Program

Description 

To create a value-added training program for graduate (master’s and doctoral) students beyond that of normal graduate programming to better prepare research trainees for their future careers in industry, government or academia. The CREATE program is designed to improve the training and mentoring environment for the Canadian researchers of tomorrow in areas such as technical and professional skills, collaboration, as well as by providing mentoring and mobility experiences relevant to both academic and non-academic research environments. The committee expects to see innovative pedagogy or interestingly different methods of training (e.g. immersive experiences). Initiatives do not necessarily have to involve the development of new professional skills training courses but can take advantage of existing training offered at the university, provincially or by other organizations. 


The Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program supports the training and mentoring of teams of highly qualified students and postdoctoral fellows from Canada and abroad through the development of innovative training programs that:

  • Raise the standards in graduate training
  • Encourage collaborative and integrative approaches between large and medium or small sized institutions to address significant scientific challenges
  • Facilitate the transition of new researchers from trainees to productive employees in the Canadian workforce

See Additional Information section below for additional details.


New: This year, there is no LOI quota. Instead, the LOI stage will be semi-competitive. NSERC will admit, via peer review using established criteria, a specific number of LOIs from each institution to the full application stage. When an institution submits a number of LOIs greater than their allotment, the LOIs will be evaluated by the NSERC Selection Committee to determine which of these will advance to the application stage. Ontario Tech has a quota of one (1) full application that can be submitted to this year’s competition. 


For all LOIs, a letter of support from the VPRI is required confirming that the application has been endorsed by the university. The application is submitted by the applicant through the NSERC online system, a letter from the VPRI must be included with the submission.  

Program Summary 

Deadlines: [April 17, 2025]: Mandatory ORS notification of intent to apply

[April 22, 2025]: Mandatory Administrative Completion Review deadline. 

Submit the Research Grants Authorization (RGA) Form and the completed NSERC CREATE LOI Form 187 (excluding the VPRI endorsement letter). Important note: if this deadline is not met, the Applicant acknowledges that the required VPRI endorsement letter may not be issued.

[May 1, 2025]: NSERC CREATE LOI Deadline at 8 p.m. ET. Please submit LOI to NSERC Online Portal by 9 a.m. to avoid delays.

[September 22, 2025]:  NSERC CREATE Full Application Deadline at 8 p.m. ET. Note: For those invited to submit a full application, a timeline for a comprehensive review will be provided. Also note that co-applicants from other institutions will need to fill in an external applicant form.

Value: $$1.65M over 6 years ($100K-200K in the first year and $250K-350K per year for up to five subsequent years).

Note: At least 70% of the CREATE grant must be used for trainees’ stipends (up to 30% of this portion can be distributed to trainees who are not enrolled in the NSE).

Indirect Costs: N/A

Duration: Up to 6 years

How to Apply:

  1. Mandatory: Notify Joanne Hui of your intent to apply by April 17, 2025.
  2. Mandatory: Submit the following to Joanne Hui by April 22, 2025 for an Administrative Completion Review and to facilitate the required VPRI letter:
    1.  Completed NSERC CREATE Letter of Intent (Form 187 located in the NSERC online system) – excluding the Endorsement letter from the VPRI. Note that the F187 has a section for an industrial support letter. Please disregard this component as it is a vestige from when the CREATE program had an industrial stream. 
    2. Personal Data form (Form 100 located in the NSERC online system) for the Applicant only 
    3. Research Grants Authorization (RGA) Form signed by your Dean. 

Important note: if this deadline is not met, the Applicant acknowledges that the required VPRI endorsement letter may not be issued.

3. The VPRI endorsement letters will be released to all applicants on April 29, 2025. Applicants are to upload the VPRI letter to complete their LOI package.

4. Submit LOI package on the NSERC online system by May 1, 2025. Please submit to the NSERC portal by 9 am. Important notes: 

  • At the time of LOI submission, the applicant team composition must be finalized, meaning that the individuals listed as applicants and co-applicants should remain the same throughout both the LOI and application stages. However, if changes to the team composition are required between the two stages due to unforeseen and exceptional circumstances, please notify the CREATE team at CREATE@nserc-crsng.gc.ca
  • Submitting your LOI: Before submitting the LOI, ensure that all the required information is complete and validated. Note that the LOI is submitted directly to NSERC without involving the research grant office.

Contact: ORS Grants Officer: joanne.hui@ontariotechu.ca 

Agency Program Contact: CREATE@nserc-crsng.gc.ca 

Program information:

NSERC Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) Program

NSERC CREATE Webinar Recording Link 

Eligibility 

Program 

  • Student mobility experiences (internship, exchanges, etc.) are mandatory for all master and doctoral trainees, with a minimum duration of one month at the master level and two months at the doctoral level. These can occur in industry, government, non-governmental organizations and/or academia in or outside of Canada. Multiple mobility experiences may be conducted to cumulatively meet the minimum length required.
  • Only trainees supervised by the applicant, co-applicants or collaborators at one of the grantee institutions are eligible for CREATE stipends and expenses
  • The focus should be on new training initiatives; for example, CREATE initiatives cannot be renewed nor duplicated, and a new proposal must be different in theme, approaches to training, and applicant team from previous grants
  • Additional Requirements for the LOI:
    • Outline of Training Program: previous CREATE grantees and co-grantees must clearly describe how this application differs from those previously funded in terms of participants, training approach, theme and subject matter.
    • Excellence of proposed team of researchers: Participation of members of the applicant team in previous or active CREATE initiatives should be mentioned, as well as how this will impact their contribution to the proposed initiative.

Applicant and Co-Applicants

  • A researcher may only be the lead applicant on one CREATE initiative annually 
    • Researchers can participate in a maximum of two CREATE grants and/or LOIs at the same time as either an applicant or co-applicant (active or applied for)
      • If a researcher is already a grantee or co-grantee on two active grants, the timeline for determining eligibility to apply for a new initiative depends on the grant end date of the oldest of the two grants
  • All universities that will be involved in the application must have at least one co-applicant listed in the proposal. All co-applicants must fulfil NSERC’s eligibility criteria. 
  • Note: at least 70% of the team must be from NSE fields, but co-applicants at the interdisciplinary frontier between NSE and the areas covered under the umbrella of SSHRC and CIHR may be incorporated into proposals. [provide summary of applicant eligibility]
  •  
  • Up to 30% of the co-applicant team can be from non-NSE areas covered under the umbrella of CIHR and SSHRC

Partner Organization 

CREATE projects can involve Canadian/international academic/government/industry/NGO collaborators

Additional Information 

These innovative programs must foster the acquisition and development of important professional skills among students and postdoctoral fellows that complement their qualifications and technical skills and improve their job readiness for careers in industry, government, nongovernmental organizations and/or academia. These programs should encourage the following as appropriate:

  • Student mobility, nationally or internationally, between individual universities and between universities and other sectors*
  • Interdisciplinary research within the natural sciences and engineering (NSE), or at the interface between the NSE and health or the social sciences and humanities—however, the main focus of the training must still lie within the NSE
  • Increased collaboration between academic and non-academic sectors

*Important: See Program Eligibility note regarding mandatory student mobility experiences.


In addition, industry-supported training programs will be recognized for their capacity to support improved job readiness within the industrial sector by exposing participants to the specific challenges of the private sector, and to support training in skills that have been identified as needed for a career in industry, such as leadership, business management, entrepreneurship and marketing.


Supported training programs will be recognized for:

  • Their innovative nature to create a rich research training and mentoring environment
  • The excellence of the researchers and their success in training and mentoring highly qualified personnel (HQP) for future employment in all sectors, including industry, government and academia
  • Their capacity to raise the standard for best practices in research training, mentoring and development of professional skills of new researchers
  • Encouraging student mobility, as appropriate, between different Canadian universities, between the universities and potential workplaces or among participating Canadian and international institutions, thus promoting international awareness.

Resources