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Claire-Deschênes Postdoctoral Fellowship Competition

Win a fellowship, get a faculty position!

Sherbrooke, November 29, 2019 – The Faculty of Engineering at Université de Sherbrooke is launching a competition that fits perfectly with its bold and creative mission. Female doctoral candidates and young doctoral graduates can now participate in the Claire-Deschênes Postdoctoral Fellowship Competition, which aims to encourage post-doctoral training for women who will later become professors of engineering at Université de Sherbrooke. The Competition was named in honour of Claire Deschênes, who received an honorary doctorate in engineering from Université de Sherbrooke on September 21, 2019.

After the recipients of these eight postdoctoral fellowships complete their training, a professorship position will await each of them in the Faculty of Engineering at Université de Sherbrooke. The eight target areas that these newcomers will be assigned to are building engineering, biotechnology engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering, mechanical engineering, and robotics engineering.

“I am very proud to be associated with this postdoctoral fellowship competition: eight women, eight fellowships, eight programs, and eight engineering professorships! I heartily applaud the Faculty of Engineering at Université de Sherbrooke for this remarkable initiative,” said Ms. Deschênes. “For me, this competition inspires a vision for the future. In 25 years, the recipients of these fellowships will continue to be a unique, skilled and closely connected group of women scientists. People will talk about them as role models for young people, about the impact of their research, and about their leadership.”

UdeS is looking for the best candidates

The Claire-Deschênes Postdoctoral Fellowship Competition is open to all women who want to complete a postdoctoral fellowship in order to pursue a career as a professor of engineering at Université de Sherbrooke.

“The Faculty of Engineering is very proud to launch this competition, which will give many young women in science and engineering the opportunity to become known and to contribute to the excellence of our institution,” explained Professor Nathalie Roy, Assistant Vice-Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). 

Competition details

Université de Sherbrooke will commit to financially supporting each winner's postdoctoral fellowship for a period of up to two years. The program is set up to ensure that each recipient has at least $40,000 per year to complete the postdoctoral fellowship.

Since Université de Sherbrooke is a Francophone university, candidates must be proficient in French or commit to learning it.

At the time of their application, women who are registered in a doctoral program and who have successfully completed their comprehensive doctoral examination are eligible. Women who have completed their doctoral studies within the last two years are also eligible. The doctoral and postdoctoral studies of a candidate must be done at a different institution.

The eight fellowships will be awarded in two rounds of four fellowships. The first round is currently open to all areas. Complete applications must be received by no later than March 1, 2020. Once the four initial fellowships are awarded, the areas of the four remaining fellowships will be made public. For the second selection round, applications in the four remaining areas will be accepted until September 13, 2020.

Engineers Canada’s 30 by 30 goal

Engineers Canada wants all new engineers to be 30% women by 2030. The Faculty of Engineering of Université de Sherbrooke has therefore set an equivalent target with a faculty made up of 30% women by 2030, with an intermediate target of 20% by 2022. More than pure numbers, these concrete goals can be achieved with a series of concrete, precise actions that are aligned effectively over time. Equity, diversity and inclusion will open us up to new talents and new perspectives that will provide us with a better understanding of the society to which we contribute our teaching and research.

“Much of the innovation, creation and boldness in all their forms found at Université de Sherbrooke come from diversity. We’re not afraid to think big in terms of our goals and how we reach them. At the Faculty of Engineering, the biggest step we need to take for diversity is to increase women’s representation on the faculty. This competition will help us take a giant step forward and will become a concrete way for us to innovate even further,” said Professor Patrik Doucet, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering.

The model and concrete applications of this scholarship competition make it the first of its kind in the field of recruitment. The reward for each winner of one of these eight fellowships is also quite original!

About Claire Deschênes

Claire Deschênes is a Member of the Order of Canada (C.M.). A retired associate professor from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Université Laval, Ms. Deschênes was the first female professor in this department. She founded a specialized laboratory, the Hydraulic Machines Laboratory of Université Laval (LAMH), as well as a consortium that brings together academics and industry partners. Ms. Deschênes significantly contributes to advancing the scientific community’s expertise and to training the next generation of engineers. She also established three international organizations that promote women in science and engineering. From 1997 to 2005, she held the NSERC-Alcan Chair for Women in Science and Engineering in Quebec to address the need for highly specialized scientific staff in innovation in Canada and to foster the professional advancement of women scientists and engineers.

Claire-Deschênes Postdoctoral Fellowship Competition

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Information:     Isabelle Huard, Media Relations Advisor

Communications Department | Université de Sherbrooke

819 821-8000, extension 63395 | medias@USherbrooke.ca