 |
|
VICTORIA – Three of British Columbia’s graduate students will have a chance to conduct sustainability research after winning the walkingthetalk Sustainability Education Graduate Scholarships totalling $30,000.
“Our government is committed to rewarding research that is meaningful for our communities,” said Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell. “We’re proud to support students studying issues that will benefit British Columbians.”
The walkingthetalk: Sustainability Education Graduate Scholarships were created in 2007 by the BC Working Group on Sustainability Education. The walkingthetalk scholarships cover both environmental and social sustainability and each student was required to show that their research had an educational goal and was locally relevant. Applicants were evaluated according to their community engagement, academic achievement and the merit of their proposals.
“We are really pleased to be able to support students working on sustainability education,” said Bonnie Fenton, acting director of the BC Working Group on Sustainability Education. “Our working group will learn from the results of their research, and we are excited to offer these award recipients the opportunity to connect with a larger network of sustainability educators across B.C.”
The $30,000 in awards are shared by three students.
·
Thomas Green, a PhD candidate at UBC, will receive one
$15,000 scholarship to study best practices for addressing sustainability
concepts in the first year university economics curriculum.
· Meghan MacIver, an MA candidate from Simon Fraser University will receive $7,500 to conduct social sustainability research on an in-house media production program for an at-risk youth-serving agency with a substantial aboriginal population.
· Garry Cotter, an MA candidate from Royal Roads University, will receive $7,500 to study motivating factors that contribute to the high level of commitment among youths who volunteer in the North Vancouver Outdoor School youth leadership/counsellor program.
“I am extremely honoured to receive this award,” said scholarship award winner Thomas Green. “This scholarship provides me with the funding I need for my research into sustainability education and I'm looking forward to sharing my study when it's complete.”
The scholarship recipients will participate in the BC Working Group on Sustainability Education meetings and will submit both a written and oral presentation at the end of the year.
In 2007, government introduced several new scholarship programs, including a $15-million scholarship endowment fund to help transferring students complete university degree programs, $10 million for the province’s first-ever graduate scholarship program, and $11 million in endowments to encourage international education.
Since 2001, the Province has also increased the value of three major scholarships, tripling the Premier’s Excellence Award from $5,000 to $15,000, tripling the Queen Elizabeth II British Columbia Centennial Scholarship to $60,000 for two years of study, and increasing the United World College Scholarship from $48,000 to about $60,000 for two years of study.
-30-
|
contact: |
Communications Director 250 952-6508 |
|
|
|
||
|
For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
||
