Today, UBC graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are participating in a nationwide walkout to call for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to receive needed federal funding for their scholarly activities. The purpose of the walkout is to demonstrate how integral graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are to research institutions, and to push for a federal increase in funding for graduate students and postdocs through awards, scholarships and fellowships.
I share the students’ concerns with the levels of federal funding available for graduate students and my colleagues and I have joined in calling for the government to increase funding to ensure graduate education is accessible and affordable.
I want to emphasize that graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are vital to UBC’s mission and, in addition to contributing to UBC’s academic excellence and research innovation, they make significant contributions to Canada’s economy and society through their studies.
During their studies they drive discovery, innovation, and technology development, and find new ways of exploring old questions. With the knowledge they develop, graduate students go on to be leaders and innovators, making ongoing contributions across economic and social sectors.
We are disappointed that the recent federal budget contains no new funding for Canada’s research granting councils or for graduate students.
Advocating for increasing the value of funding to graduate students and postdocs through scholarships, fellowships and research grants has been a top priority for UBC and for the university sector nationally for many years. UBC has been working closely with other institutions and national university organizations to shape and amplify advocacy on the need to better support graduate students.
Affordability of post-secondary education, combined with increasing living costs, are some of the greatest burdens facing students. However, despite ongoing calls to address these challenges, federal funding for graduate scholarships and fellowships has not kept up with increased living costs or the demand for graduate education in Canada. The number of Canada Graduate Scholarships awarded has remained relatively stagnant, and the dollar amount of CGS awards has not changed since 2003.
That is why, ahead of the recent federal budget, UBC recommended the government increase the current award amounts of Canada Graduate Scholarships by 45%, doubling the number of doctoral awards and tripling the number of master’s awards, including dedicated awards for Indigenous students, and indexing awards to inflation.
Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are also supported by research awards such as research assistantships funded by university faculty members’ research grants to pursue their scholarly activities. This is another reason why UBC and the sector have called on the federal government to renew investments for Canada’s research granting councils, which are now faced with a flatlining of funding and inflation-induced reductions. UBC, along with its partners across the post-secondary sector, have been recommending government increase research granting agency funding by 10% annually for five years and 5% annually for the next five years.
Consistent with recent recommendations of the Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Support System, I believe that Canada needs a new plan for investing in science, research, and our students. We urgently need to come together to ensure Canada’s research ecosystem can continue to flourish on the global stage and that our students are supported.
Deborah Buszard
Interim President and Vice-Chancellor