Artificial Intelligence for Public Health Scholarship, Canada

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ELIGIBILITY

AI4PH is strongly committed to equity and diversity and encourages applications from racialized persons, persons of colour, women, Indigenous Peoples, persons living with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ persons, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of scholarship in the area of AI and public health.

Academic Status:
Candidates must be in first, second, or third year (if applicable) of their program/ fellowship at the time of submission.

PhD, DrPH or MSc candidates must be registered at a Canadian institution in a full-time graduate program for the duration of the scholarship (September, 2023 to May, 2024).

Postdoctoral candidates must have completed all PhD degree requirements and registered as a postdoctoral trainee by September, 2023.
Research:
Candidates must have a strong record of research and academic excellence commensurate with career stage.
The candidate’s proposed project should clearly demonstrate:

Scientific rigour and clearly articulated research skills and assets

Alignment with the mission of the AI4PH Training Platform, including Relevance to public health systems/public health system partners and strong equity considerations

EDI and Community Engagement:
After consultation with our Community Advisory Board, questions have been added to the application to capture engagement with people with lived or living experience (PWLE). Applicants need to:

Describe their commitment to equity, diversity, accessibility and inclusion in their academic or research work.

Articulate potential challenges in engaging people with lived experience in their research (e.g. design, data collection, dissemination, etc.).

Describe the actions planned to overcome these challenges.

Resources to help answer these questions can be found on our website ai4ph-hrtp.ca under traineeships

Supervision:
Candidates must be supervised or co-supervised by an AI4PH mentor. We encourage co-supervision or committee members from a complementary discipline covering AI, public health, equity and ethics.
The Supervisor(s) should:

Have an area of expertise that aligns with the trainee’s proposed research and the goals of the AI4PH HRTP.

Have a clear plan to integrate the trainee into their existing professional and academic networks

Be based and can hold funds at a Canadian academic institution and permitted to supervise a trainee.

VALUE & DURATION

The AI4PH review committee will adjudicate applicants on an annual cycle. Each year they will offer scholarship support at the Masters’s, doctoral and postdoctoral level. There are two possible funding levels for Master’s and Doctoral students, as indicated below. The full stipend is for those who do not currently hold a major tri-council (i.e. NSERC, CIHR, SSHRC) graduate award. For successful applicants that hold a major award, a top-up stipend will be awarded instead of the full amount. The postdoctoral award is a top-up only stipend awarded at one level. For doctoral and postdoctoral awardees, there is an opportunity to apply to renew funding for up to 3 years.

Funding period: 1 year starting in the Fall

Amount:
Postdoctoral top-up stipend: 20,000 CAD
Doctoral (PhD and DrPH): 20,000 CAD (full) or 9,000 CAD (top-up)
Masters (MSc or MPH): 15,000 CAD (full) or 6,000 CAD (top-up)

EXPECTATIONS & DELIVERABLES

AI4PH HRTP community participation

Engaging with faculty members and other trainees through AI4PH events

Invitation to present at the annual capacity-building workshop and webinars offered throughout the year

Join and participate in the AI4PH Slack channel

Acknowledge AI4PH-HRTP funding in all related publications and presentations

Submit a final report summarizing trainee research and provide metrics on products that were created during the scholarship funding period (e.g., publications, presentations, etc.)

Commit to becoming an AI4PH alum and engage in alumni activities, including mentorship and networking with future funded trainees

EVALUATION CRITERIA 

⇒Quality of the research proposal and public health impact

⇒Alignment with the AI4PH HRTP goals

⇒Quality of the training environment

⇒Commitment to equity, diversity, accessibility, and inclusion

⇒Perspectives on engaging people with lived or living experience

FAQ

Can I apply if I am working on a group project/can multiple people who are working on the same project apply?
⇒ You need to have your own project for this scholarship. Your project may be part of a larger undertaking, but your own individual work needs to be apparent in your application.

Can International students apply?
⇒ International students can apply if they are registered at a Canadian university.
Can MD students apply?
⇒At this time, only Masters, doctoral, and postdoctoral applicants are accepted. Medical student applicants will not be considered.

Do you have to have publications prior to application?
⇒ No. If your application is accepted, any future publications based on work conducted during this scholarship should acknowledge AI4PH-HRTP funding.

Do applicant projects have to clearly align with the expertise or research program of an AI4PH mentor?
⇒ Yes. Information about our AI4PH mentors can be found halfway down this page: https://ai4ph-hrtp.ca/about/

Can you apply if you are only in the starting phase of a project?
⇒ Yes!

How many applicants will be selected?
⇒ We currently have funding for 10 scholars per year.

Are 4th year PhD students/candidates eligible?
⇒ At this time, no. Only 1st, 2nd, or 3rd year applicants (at the time of the award) are eligible.

Are applicants who come from other fields (for example communications or media programs) eligible?
⇒ Any applicants who are in a Masters/ doctoral/ postdoctoral program are eligible.

Do succesful applicants have to work with an AI4PH mentor?
⇒ Yes. Successful applicants must work with an AI4PH mentor. If you have a current supervisor, we encourage co-supervision with one of our AI4PH mentors

When will the final list of those who got the scholarships be released?
⇒ Applicants will be notified of the results of the review process in August.

Do we need references/reference letters for this application?
⇒ Yes – 2 reference letters are required. There is further guidance on references in the application form.

Can one of my references be an AI4PH mentor?
⇒ If a reference is a mentor, and NOT your supervisor/co-supervisor, their letter will be accepted. We require referees that DO NOT include your supervisor/co-supervisors.

Can I apply for multiple funding streams (Doctoral & Masters, for example)?
⇒ No – please only apply for one type of award. Pick the award that best applies to your degree program.