Feds announce research chairs, funding at U of M

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This article was published 14/11/2018 (2578 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Federal science minister Kirsty Duncan came to Winnipeg Wednesday to announce 10 Canada Research Chair appointments at the University of Manitoba as well as the addition of $210 million for the creation of 285 new chairs over the next five years.

The additional funding, announced in the 2018 federal budget, will boost the number of these significant research appointments across the country to 2,285 and is the largest investment of new funding to support Canadian research in decades.

In addition to the 10 CRCs at the U of M which come with $9.8 million worth of funding, Duncan announced funding of $163 million for 187 Canada Research Chairs throughout the country.

The U of M appointments target health sciences, social sciences and engineering including one renewed chair, Annette Desmarais, chair in human rights, social justice and food sovereignty.

Duncan said, “This is a good day for research, a good day for our country because our researchers build social cohesion, they push the boundaries of knowledge they keep us at the forefront of innovation. It is a really exciting day.”

The 10 U of M appointments were split evenly between tier I and tier II chairs. Tier I chairs include funding of $200,000 per year for seven years and tier II chairs include $120,000 per year for five years. This year, the tier II awards include an increase of $20,000 annual stipend that is in addition to what had previously been included in the award.

Digvir Jayas, the U of M’s vice-president research and international, said the U of M’s awards are in line with the quota the university has earned. He said there are 14 more that are in the process of being awarded. There are currently 40 CRCs at the U of M.

“The program as a whole has been very successful in attracting people from around the globe (to the U of M),” Jayas said.

Today’s announcement brings researchers to Manitoba from the U.S., Germany and the U.K.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca