ECE Graduate Orientation – NSERC/OGS Information Session

1. ECE Graduate Orientation – NSERC/OGS Information Session Speaker: Prof. Dana Kulić Graduate Scholarship Committee Chairdana.kulic@uwaterloo.ca Graduate Scholarship Coordinator: Diana Macfarlane dfmacfar@uwaterloo.ca– EIT 3025

2. Information in this presentation is provided as a guide only. The applicant is responsible for checking the GSO website for the most recent regulations, information etc.

3. Graduate Scholarships • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Post Graduate Scholarship Doctoral (PGS-D) and Tri-Council Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS-M) • National competition for graduate students in the natural sciences or engineering • Separate competition for MASc and PhD candidates • PGS-D Award can be held either in Canada or internationally • PGS-M can only be held at the university where it is awarded • Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) • Provincial competition for graduate students in any field • Award must be held at an Ontario university

4. Value • OGS • $5,000/term for 2 or 3 terms • NSERC • CGS M: $17,500 for one year • PGS D: $21,000/ year for 2 or 3 years • CGS D: $35,000/year for 2 or 3 years • plus…UW’s President's Scholarship $10,000/year

5. Eligibility • OGS • Canadian, Permanent Residents and International students • Students must apply for the OGS at the institution where they want to hold it. The OGS is not transferrable; it must be held at the institution that awarded it • cannot be held for 1 term • NSERC PGS/CGS • Canadian & Permanent Residents only • Note: MEng students are not eligible for NSERC

6. Eligibility and Averages OGS/NSERC • OGS and NSERC are very competitive • High 80s-90s from prior history • Minimum is 80% • Averaging rules are very complicated, and calculated differently for NSERC and OGS • if in doubt about eligibility, please see the Diana Macfarlane (EIT 3025) before you start the process of applying

7. Scholarship Deadlines • OGS • - TBA- applications in ECE grad office (last year Oct 4) • NSERC Tri-Council Master’s Competition • TBA online (last year Dec 1) • NSERC Doctoral Research Competition • TBA online (last year Oct 15) https://uwaterloo.ca/electrical-computer-engineering/current-graduate-students/scholarship-fall-2013

8. Numbers from 2013 • OGS • 2013: UW quota 170 (5 international) • ECE Department • 84 applied (31 Doctoral, 53 Master’s) • 11 awarded (9 Doctoral, 2 Master’s) (no international) • NSERC Tri-Council • UW 409 applications received (73 ineligible) • UW quota and awarded 53 • ECE Department: • 49 applied • 2 awarded

9. Numbers from 2013 • NSERC Doctoral • UW 207 applications received (25 ineligible) • UW quota and forwarded 108 • UW awarded 47 • ECE Department: • 16 applied • 7 forwarded • 1 awarded

10. What is in the application? • Biographical (resume) info • Past work/research experience • Past leadership/volunteer experience • Evidence of research ability/potential • Research statement/proposal • List of publications • Two letters of reference

11. Evaluation Criteria - MASc • Academic Excellence – 50% • Grade point average • Scholarships and awards held • Research Ability/Potential – 30% • Contributions to R&D • Merit of the proposed research • Evidence of research abilities/potential • Communication, interpersonal and leadership abilities – 20% • Quality of the application • Awards for oral presentations or papers • Professional and relevant extracurricular activities (mentoring, organizing, project management, elected positions held, etc.)

12. Tips for Preparing a Strong Application • Get top grades (above 90% average) and scholarships in undergrad • Have existing publications (conference, journal) and clearly present them in the application • Write a good research proposal • Get strong reference letters • Clearly indicate in the application your communication, interpersonal and leadership experiences • Proof read your application (no spelling, grammar mistakes, clear, engaging writing)

13. How to prepare a strong research proposal? • Demonstrate knowledge of the field • Propose a novel contribution • Clearly describe how the new contribution will be achieved (methodology, experimental validation, etc.) • Write with a general engineering audience in mind • Discuss ideas and have your proposal reviewed by your potential MASc thesis advisor!

14. How to get good reference letters? • Best letters are from a professor who has worked with you and can comment in detail on your research ability and potential • USRA, URA or co-op supervisor • Check out Prof. Davison’s handy guidelines to see if a prof is a good reference: http://www.control.uwaterloo.ca/davison/ • Give your reference: • Plenty of time • Information (resume, transcript, research reports, summary of main research and communication/leadership achievements) • The option to say no

15. A note on reference letters Reference Letter excerpt A: I highly recommend student X for the scholarship. Student X received an A+ in my undergraduate algorithms class. He was ranked 2nd out of 100 students and got the highest score on the final. Reference Letter excerpt B: I highly recommend student Y for the scholarship. Student Y received a B in my undergraduate algorithms class. He was ranked 29th out of 100 students. Halfway through the semester we started working on network flows. Student Y seemed extremely excited by this topic. He disappeared for 4 weeks and even missed an exam. However when he came back, he showed me some work he had been doing on a new network flow algorithm for high-degree graphs. He had simulations of his new design and a proof showing stability. I’ve been working with student Y for the past two months since then and he is full of ideas for new algorithms. I think student Y’s initiative makes him an excellent candidate for graduate studies. Which letter is stronger? Adapted from M. Harchol-Balter, “Applying to Ph.D. Programs in Computer Science”

16. Communication/Leadership • Communication/Leadership matters • Often separates applicants • Volunteer work/ extra curricular activities/ TA • Relevant industrial/project experience • Leadership: at work, at school, in volunteer positions • Make sure your referees are aware of your extra curricular activities so they can comment on this in their letters

17. Action Items: • Find a potential supervisor • Discuss potential research topics • Start reading the academic literature (papers) on your topic of interest • Read through information on NSERC & OGS on GSO website • Start brainstorming (and drafting) content for statements, contributions, plan of study, leadership, etc. • Ask your potential supervisor to review your proposal

18. Plan to attend: GSO Scholarship Presentation: Date: TBA Location: TBA Have scholarship questions? Attend this presentation to receive valuable information on applying for OGS and/or NSERC. ECE Scholarship Presentation: Date: TBA Location: TBA This session is part of the Grad Student Orientation

19. Important Website Addresses: • http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/PG-CS/BellandPostgrad-BelletSuperieures_eng.asp • https://uwaterloo.ca/engineering/future-graduate-students/funding-and-awards • https://uwaterloo.ca/graduate-studies/awards-funding/external-awards • https://uwaterloo.ca/graduate-studies/awards-funding/transcripts-scholarship-competitions Any Questions?