Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
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Science Promoters

Prizes

Science promotion activities help stimulate the public’s interest in science and encourage the next generation of students to consider science careers.
Encouraging vaccine confidence in Canada grant
The Encouraging vaccine confidence in Canada grants support activities to deliver evidence-based, vaccine-promoting information to key communities and groups and/or to build capacity in the community to promote confidence in vaccines. The grants are jointly administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
PromoScience
NSERC's PromoScience program offers financial support for organizations working with young Canadians to promote an understanding of science and engineering (including mathematics and technology). PromoScience supports hands-on learning experiences for young students and their science teachers.
Science Odyssey
NSERC leads Science Odyssey, a ten-day celebration of science and technology taking place in May every year. The focus is to engage and inspire young Canadians and the general public across the country by showcasing Canada’s STEM accomplishments. This unique science festival is a connection point that brings together a wide variety of partners that deliver fun, engaging, innovative and captivating science promotion experiences from Canada’s prolific scientific community.
Science Literacy Week
Science Literacy Week is a nationwide back-to-school celebration of books, organizations and activities that explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) topics. It is an opportunity to expose Canadians to the wide range of science literature available at libraries, stores, museums and science centres.
Little Inventors
Little Inventors takes children's invention ideas and makes them real. NSERC brings Little Inventors to Canada in partnership with the project originators in the UK. The central mission which defines NSERC’s strategy is to ‘Build a Culture of Scientific Discovery and Innovation’, and we strongly believe this applies to young people too. The purpose of Little Inventors is to stimulate, at an early stage of life, the intrigue and involvement in this mission through activities that nurture creativity and an inquisitive mind.
NSERC chair programs for inclusion in science and engineering
The NSERC chair programs for inclusion in science and engineering support researchers who contribute to a culture of inclusion in the natural sciences and engineering fields by catalyzing networks of supporters of this work, promoting equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the research ecosystem, and undertaking activities to enhance awareness and understanding of barriers and inequities faced by members of underrepresented groups in these fields.
Science Exposed
A picture is truly worth a thousand words. The Science Exposed image contest challenges research groups or individuals to tell science stories through vibrant and exciting images. This is your chance to showcase your work and your creativity to provide Canadians with a whole new perspective on science.
Science, Action!
NSERC's Science, Action! video contest challenges postsecondary students to film the people, research and innovations that are transforming the way Canadians live and work. The contest is your chance to help Canadians discover how science and engineering contributes to our understanding of the world and universe around us.
The NSERC Awards for Science Promotion
The NSERC Awards for Science Promotion honour individuals and groups who make an outstanding contribution to the promotion of science in Canada through activities encouraging popular interest in science or developing science abilities.
Connecting traditional knowledge with the periodic table of elements
Many of the foundations of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education underrepresent cultural and traditional connections to the understanding of the world. NSERC and the Canadian Light Source are collaborating on the development of a new educational tool that presents traditional knowledge alongside standardized scientific information: an interactive Indigenous table of the elements.