There are a number of funding opportunities available to BCIT students who are interested in research and innovation opportunities beyond their studies.
BCIT’s Student Innovation Challenge is an annual contest aimed at providing support, encouragement and funding up to $3,000 to BCIT students who have “bright ideas”. Since its founding, the Student Innovation Challenge has inspired interesting and innovative students and projects.
The Challenge has 2 Categories:
- Entrepreneurship (Innovative ideas, entrepreneurship, and commercial products)
- Applied Research (Innovative project solving a real world problem)
Learn more about the categories and how to apply.
We are happy to help. If you have any questions, please send a note to research@bcit.ca.
BCIT has a quota of CGS M – Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s Program to award each year. Students submit their application to the institution at which they intend to hold their award using the NSERC Research Portal by December 1 each year.
Members of the BCIT CGS-M Selection Committee independently review the CGS-M applications and use the guidelines for Eligibility screening and for the Selection process to evaluate each of the applications received. They also agreed to respect the relevant BCIT and federal government privacy, confidentiality and conflict of interest rules, including:
- BCIT Policy 1500 – Code of Conduct
- BCIT Policy 6700 – Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy
- Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Policy of the Federal Research Funding Organizations
- Access to Information Act
- Privacy Act
The results are entered into the CGS-M Research Portal.
The Mitacs Accelerate program supports collaborative research projects with colleges and polytechnics (students and faculty) and the organizations, usually companies, that benefit from their expertise. Funding starts at $15,000, and your partner organization’s financial contribution starts at $7,500. For more information, explore the Accelerate website or contact accelerate@mitacs.ca.
Put your skills to work through a paid internship and help Canadian businesses on the road to innovation! The Mitacs Business Strategy Internship (BSI) provides $10,000 or $15,000 to students who develop innovative projects designed to help an organization thrive.
The NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) program is a great fit for researchers hiring Bachelor students to carry out ~16-weeks research projects under their supervision. If all program requirements are met, they may be able to get reimbursed for some of the funds paid to the student.
For the 2026 competition, BCIT has been assigned an allocation of seven (7) Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) awards to offer from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). For these awards, NSERC is the agency whose mandate best aligns with the proposed field of research. BCIT may recommend additional applications from self-identified Indigenous student researchers as well as from self-identified Black student researchers for USRAs beyond our allocation of awards.
In addition, BCIT has been assigned a separate allocation of one (1) award to offer from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). For these awards, SSHRC is the agency whose mandate best aligns with the proposed field of research. At the present time, SSHRC USRAs are exclusively for Black student researchers.
To be eligible, all applicants must be Bachelor students. The amount of funding per award is $6,000. It is the student Supervisor’s responsibility to secure the additional funds required: The USRA award must be supplemented to comply with provincial and/or federal employment standards. BCIT will also be responsible for supplements and fringe benefits (if applicable).
NSERC decisions on USRAs are made close to summer. This is the best way to tap into the USRA opportunity:
- Secure the required funds (not necessarily from other research funds you already hold: NSERC does not require the supervisors to hold an active grant) and hire a bachelor student for 16 weeks, or more (minimum 12 weeks).
- Have your bachelor student ensure their personal eligibility and follow instructions to apply for an USRA by completing Form 202, Part I – Application for an Undergraduate Student Research Award and attaching all required documents. The On-line System generates a reference number for Form 202, Part I, which the student can then provide to you.
- Create and complete Form 202 Part II, again following the on-line instructions. By entering the reference number on Form 202 Part II, the NSERC system will link the two parts to form the complete application. Form 202 – Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) Part II will remain in your Researcher’s Portfolio.
- NSERC asks the selection committee to assess the merit of each application based on the following three selection criteria:
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- academic excellence
- research potential
- expected quality of the training and mentorship to be received
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Since there is little information in the USRA forms that would indicate the candidates research potential, candidates are required to provide, on ≤ ½ page, a description of their Research Potential and submit a PDF copy of that short description to their BCIT supervisor.
Any of the following indicators could be used to describe the candidate’s research potential:
- academic training
- previous research/work experience (can include co-op terms) (e.g., previous USRAs held)
- relevance of work experience and academic training to field of proposed research
- judgment and ability to think critically
- ability to apply skills and knowledge
- enthusiasm for research, relevant community involvement, and outreach
- initiative and autonomy
- research experience and achievements that could reasonably be expected from someone with the applicant’s academic background
Please ensure: BCIT USRA Confirmation Form (250305).xlsx (Sarah Bainbridge to provide) has been completed, and a signed PDF copy submitted to Sarah Bainbridge (sarah_bainbridge@bcit.ca), along with the candidate’s ≤ ½ page Research Potentialdescription to enable it to be shared with the USRA selection committee. Also ensure that the NSERC online applications (USRA Part I and Part II) have been completed and submitted before the end of the day on Friday, March 20th, 2026.
A BCIT USRA Selection Committee will review the applications and determine which ones to approve and move forward to NSERC.
NSERC will review the forwarded applications and decide if any or all of those approved by BCIT will be funded. The NSERC guidelines state “Candidates approved by NSERC will receive an award letter by email from NSERC midway through their award” and “Award recipients will start working on their USRA before awards can be confirmed by NSERC. The university must start payments to students to whom they have offered positions without waiting for approval of the awards from NSERC. They must also continue to employ any students whose applications are rejected by NSERC for the remainder of the work term.” In previous years, BCIT received payment in the fall – we anticipate this will be the same timing for 2026.
If your Bachelor student’s USRA application is accepted by NSERC, you will then be able to save $6,000 on the costs of hiring the student.