NSERC Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) Program – Canada

Location: Canada

Program: Postgraduate – Graduate Research Training

Eligibility: International Students

Duration: 6 years

Deadline: September 22, 2026

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The NSERC Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) Program supports the training and mentoring of highly qualified students and postdoctoral researchers from Canada and abroad through the development of innovative research training programs within the natural sciences and engineering (NSE), or at the interdisciplinary frontier between the NSE and health or the social sciences and humanities. CREATE initiatives encourage collaborative and integrative approaches between institutions of various sizes, facilitate student mobility nationally and internationally, and promote interaction between academic and non-academic sectors including industry, government, and non-governmental organisations.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is Canada’s primary federal funding agency for university-based research in natural sciences and engineering. It supports thousands of researchers, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows across Canadian universities each year. Through programs like CREATE, NSERC fosters the development of new researchers by providing innovative training environments that go beyond the traditional graduate school experience, equipping trainees with the professional and technical skills needed for careers in industry, government, and academia. NSERC’s CREATE program reflects Canada’s commitment to building a highly skilled research workforce capable of addressing significant scientific and societal challenges.

Benefits of the Scholarship

This program will provide the following to its recipients:

Funding of $150,000 in the first year (± $50,000) and $300,000 (± $50,000) annually
Total of $1,650,000 over six years per funded initiative
Other benefits

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Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for this program, applicants must meet the following:

Must be a researcher from an NSERC-supported field at an NSERC-eligible Canadian university and hold an eligible full-time position at that university
Adjunct professors are not eligible to be applicants but may be co-applicants; researchers at non-eligible organisations may participate as collaborators
A researcher can participate in a maximum of two CREATE grants or LOIs at any given time, and a maximum of one as the lead applicant
The focus of the training must lie within the natural sciences and engineering; up to 30% of the co-applicant team may be from non-NSE areas covered under CIHR and SSHRC
All master’s and PhD trainees supported by CREATE must complete a mobility experience of a minimum of one month and two months respectively
CREATE initiatives cannot be renewed or duplicated; a new proposal must differ in theme, training approaches, and applicant team from any previous CREATE grants

Note: Kindly check the official webpage for full and detailed requirements.

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Selection Criteria

A multidisciplinary selection committee composed of distinguished Canadian and international members from academia and other sectors reviews LOIs and full applications. At the LOI stage, proposals are assessed based on the merit of the proposed training program (60%) and the excellence of the team of researchers (40%). At the full application stage, evaluation criteria include the merit of the proposed training program (50%), the excellence of the team of researchers (25%), and program management and long-term sustainability (25%). Equity, diversity and inclusion considerations are assessed throughout, including in team composition, trainee recruitment, and the research and training environment.