The Hugh C. Morris Experiential Learning Fellowship will be awarded to a Masters or Doctoral student who exhibits excellence in research and seeks to further their knowledge through a program of experiential learning.

The Fellowship is inspired by the life experiences of Dr. Hugh C. Morris who was awarded a fellowship in the late 1950s that enabled him to travel to, and learn from, more than 65% of all mines in North America while undertaking his doctoral training at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Following the Gold Medal model, the Hugh C. Morris Experiential Learning Fellowship is intended to provide a program of travel that includes visits to communities, industry facilities and/or research laboratories which, taken together, will shape the future life-course of the award recipient and his or her contributions to the field

The Hugh C. Morris Experiential Fellowship is open to any masters or doctoral student (domestic or international) registered at a Canadian post-secondary institution.

The Foundation will privilege applications that strive to pursue experiential learning programs that ultimately will enable the applicant to positively contribute toward global environmental sustainability or which will position them to pursue a future leading to significant societal impact.

Students eligible to apply to the Fellowship may be studying any discipline and be registered in any department. However, the focus of the experiential learning journey must pertain to one of the following priority areas:

• earth or geological sciences
• water sciences
• alternative energy sciences
• climate change
• sustainability
• environmental studies, including either life, design, or engineering sciences
• social impact assessment of any of the above areas
• social sciences concerned with any of the above areas, or
• design sciences concerned with any of the above areas

The Experiential Learning Program is a detailed description of the planned travel, site visits, industrial engagements, research laboratory visits and / or other activities tied to a clear statement of objectives. It will include a robust rationale and a statement of objectives and activities for the fellowship period. There are no prescriptions for the nature of the ELP. However, the overall program must include engagement with more than one sector (industry, research, government, community). Notably, the Hugh C. Morris Experiential Learning Fellowship is intended  not to duplicate or be similar to existing graduate travel or visiting research grants to spend time at a single other university and such a proposed program would not be successful in this competition.

To assist you in thinking about and developing your Experiential Learning Program we have prepared a standardized application form that covers issues of interest to us and hopefully will help you systematically develop your program.  We can’t wait to see what you have envisioned.

The Hugh C. Morris Experiential Learning Fellowship is valued up to $40,000 (Canadian), depending on the specific ask of the applicant tied directly to their Experiential Learning Program.

The Hugh C. Morris Experiential Learning Fellowship is intended to support activities between April 15, 2022 and August 31, 2023. Note: We do not expect you to be travelling contiguously during this time period, although that it certainly possible. Rather, more typically we find that fellows travel somewhere – experience, learn, return home and reflect – then travel somewhere else; the fellowship program becoming a series of experiences that together form a larger integrated vision of experiential learning. The timeline and type of travel strategy will be unique to each application.

The Fellowship Award Amount may be directed only for the expenses of the Awardee and as directed to the following purposes, a clear statement of which is to be identified in the Budget submission at the time of application:

(Note: ELP stands for Experiential Learning Plan)

• Travel
  • Economy air, train, boat or bus travel
  • Economy sized car rental for travel to remote locations as well as associated fuel costs
  • Travel visas, immunizations, and personal protective equipment as well as appropriate insurance for car and other transportation
  • Medical insurance coverage if including international travel (Note: most health insurance plans are NOT covering COVID related health expenses.)
• Meals to a maximum of $75 Canadian per diem, excluding alcohol
• Accommodation, including fees for internet if charged
• Conference / symposium registration fees
• Demonstrated ELP research related expenses
• ELP Related Research Supplies
• Bench Fees required for visits at research institutions and/or facilities
• Participation in safety programs required as a prerequisite to visit a specific facility or site
• Meeting room, audio visual and presentation equipment expenses (if required to showcase research activities with external groups)
• Community engagement expenses (eg. holding a meeting in a community setting might require provision of facilities and snacks for local residents)
• Printing, communication materials, poster expenses
• Other types of expenses clearly justifiable to achieve objectives of ELP may be considered and need to be detailed in budget rationale section of formal application

Ineligible expenses include:

• Emergency evacuation costs
• Health related expenses of any kind (other than insurance as provided for above under eligible expenses)
• Hotel incidentals such as movies, mini bar, athletic facilities, spa treatments, etc.
• Costs of any nature accrued during travel-related quarantine periods (including accommodation, travel, meals)
• Expenses related to maintaining a residence while undertaking the experiential learning journey or to maintain registration at a Canadian university are not eligible under this program.

The Fellowship will be awarded in two installments, the first 50% being awarded 30 days prior to commencement of approved ELP activities, and the second 50% being awarded upon submission of a mid-term progress report that demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Board of Directors of the Kimberley Foundation, that the Fellowship program is progressing satisfactorily and according to the Experiential Learning Program originally submitted. The Board reserves the right to alter the payment schedule upon review of the midterm report if concerns are noted regarding the applicant’s progress towards experiential learning program goals.

The Kimberley Foundation Board of Directors will undertake an initial review of applications and develop a short list of candidates. As part of the review process, the Foundation, at its discretion may undertake confidential independent review of any application to determine the scientific or partnership merit of the proposed Experiential Learning Program. Final evaluation of shortlisted applicants may include interviews with the applicant (by skype or other electronic means), and may include reference checks, with knowledge of these provided to the applicant, as selected by the Kimberley Foundation Board of Directors.

The criteria for decision-making will be as follows:

• Excellence in research (PhD applicants) or potential for excellence (Masters applicants) in one of the eligible fields for entry
• Leadership experience (of complex research projects or other comparable experiences)
• Clarity, ease and excellence of communication
• Demonstrated desire to create social or community benefit through research innovation
• Viability of Experiential Learning Program

Further, the award will be granted to the candidate who demonstrates excellence in the above areas and who submits the most compelling plan of learning. The applicant must demonstrate that the Experiential Learning Program will be transformative for the awardee, and that it has the potential to lead to novel research, disruptive advances in the discipline, or innovations resulting in long term societal benefit.

Decisions of the Kimberley Foundation are final and are not subject to review. In the event that no applications meet the criteria for the fellowship in a given year, the Foundation may choose at its sole discretion not to make an award.

The Fellowship recipient must abide by the intellectual property, confidentiality and non-disclosure regulations of the university in which they are enrolled and in agreement with all entities in which they engage as part of the Experiential Learning Program. In all cases and with all individuals, organizations, or other entities to which the awardee engages, the matter of intellectual property, confidentiality and non-disclosure rests as a sole matter between the awardee, the University and other entities. In no case does the Kimberley Foundation or its Directors, assume any rights, responsibilities, liabilities, financial, legal or other obligations in these matters. The Foundation may disclose the Fellowship Recipient’s name, university and brief description of the Recipient’s Experiential Learning Program on its website and in any print material released by the Foundation about its activities and financial expenditures.

The Kimberley Foundation requires the Fellowship recipient to submit to the Kimberley Foundation a written report of between 5 – 10 pages identifying the outcomes and lessons learned from the fellowship within 60 days of the recipient completing their Experiential Learning Program. An interim progress report using an update form provided by the Kimberley Foundation must also be completed at the half way point of the ELP and prior to the receipt of the second instalment of funding.

The following deadlines are in effect for the 2021/2022 Hugh C. Morris Experiential Learning Fellowship.

• February 15, 2022 (11:59 pm PST) –  Application submitted through Kimberley Foundation website portal including Support Letters from organizations, communities, etc. that you will visit as part of your learning journey
• February 22, 2022 (11:59 pm PST) – Reference letters from academic supervisors must be sent from the referee directly to the Kimberley Foundation via email to info@kimberley-foundation.org
• March 15, 2022 – Decisions announced.

The application portal is now open.

A completed application will consist of the following items:

• A written proposal of the planned Experiential Learning Program (please download and complete the ELP Description form)
• A Proposed Budget including statement of contributions (cash and/or in-kind, if any) from participating entities in the proposed ELP (please download and complete the budget application form)
• A current curriculum vitae
• 2 written references from academic supervisors (which the applicant must arrange to be sent to the Kimberley Foundation)
• A written Letter of Support / Invitation from each organization, research laboratory, site visit entity, and any participating government or community partners identified in the proposed Experiential Learning Program.

All applications are accepted and considered in confidence.

Check out our FAQ page for answers to some of the most frequent questions.

If you have any other questions, please direct them to Ms. Sue Roppel, President, Kimberley Foundation, at info@kimberley-foundation.org.

We thank you for you for your interest in the H.C. Morris Experiential Learning Fellowship.