New federal funding for the University of Victoria will be put towards research in natural sciences and engineering.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada awarded the school $18.8 million in the form of grants, scholarships and other funding – including the Discovery Grants Program, which was awarded to 51 recipients, totalling $9.8 million.
According to a media release from the university, the federal investment will power UVic students and researchers to tackle “fundamental questions” and find “solutions to the world’s most complex problems.”
The money will benefit wide-ranging research areas – everything from medical breakthroughs, agriculture and materials science to clean energy systems and “understanding what the universe is made of” and how it operates.
The money comes as part of a half-billion-dollar federal investment in the work of more than 4,850 researchers and graduate students as well as early-career researchers.
The funding stems from the federal governments’ $4 billion allocation for research funding, announced in Budget 2018.
Kirsty Duncan, minister of science and sport, said the funding demonstrates the federal commitment to science.
“Our government has worked hard to bring science and research back to their rightful place and this historic investment in the discoveries of tomorrow is just one example of how we are achieving this goal.”
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