CSF Bursary Application Guidelines

The Canadian-Scandinavian Foundation invites applications for bursaries of CAD $500 to CAD $2,000 (at the discretion of the jury) to facilitate study in Denmark, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Finland, Norway, or Sweden. It is differentiated between long term and short term study grants.  Long term study grants are valued between $1,000 and $2,000; set up in order to help defray travel expenses incurred during a longer study/research visit to Scandinavian destinations (e.g. one semester or more) whereas shorter study grants are valued $500 each; set up in order to facilitate a shorter study/research visit to Scandinavian destinations. Thus, the successful candidate must have additional means at her/his disposal for carrying out the intended study/research enterprise.

The requirements for the a bursary application are the following:

A. Applicants must be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants currently or previously registered in a Bachelors, Masters, Doctoral programs, or equivalent in Canada.

B. Applicant’s proposed program of study or research must be carried out in Denmark, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Finland, Norway, or Sweden.

The Canadian Scandinavian Foundation will award scholarships in 2021. The application deadline for the scholarships is May 2020.

Selection criteria

Due to the limited annual number of bursaries, selection is very competitive and based primarily upon Nordic relevance of the proposed program of study, as well as applicants’ academic records, references, and support material (if applicable). In your application, please describe why it is important or even essential to undertake your studies in one of the Nordic countries, versus elsewhere in the world.

Completed applications and all supporting documentation must be postmarked before or by the deadline date. The application deadline for students beginning their studies in September 2019  will be May 31, 2019. 

The successful applicants will receive the scholarship in two payments. The first cheque in the amount of 75% of the total value of the scholarship will be paid prior to the beginning of the academic term. The second cheque in the  amount 25% of the scholarship will be paid after the successful applicant has provided proof of study, such as a certificate, proof of travel such as a boarding pass as well as submit a brief report upon completion of their project, and will recognize the contribution of CSF whenever possible.

Other Funding Sources

A. The Royal Norwegian Embassy offers $500 travel grants to members of the Association for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies in Canada ( AASSC ).

B. The Canadian Institute for Nordic Studies offers CINS Undergraduate Summer Bursaries, valued at $1,500, normally up to 4 bursaries per year. The competition is open to Canadian citizens and landed immigrants enrolled in an undergraduate language course in Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, or Swedish at a Canadian university or college. The bursary is tenable at any recognized summer programme offering language and/or culture courses in a Scandinavian language in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, or Sweden. Deadline: February 15 of each year.

C. The Canadian Institute for Nordic Studies offers CINS Graduate Scholarship, valued at $5,000, usually one award each year. The competition is open to Canadian citizens and landed immigrants enrolled in an undergraduate language course in Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, or Swedish at a Canadian university or college. The bursary is tenable at any recognized summer programme offering language and/or culture courses in a Scandinavian language in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, or Sweden. Deadline: February 15 of each year.

 

For further information, please contact the Embassy at:

Royal Norwegian Embassy
90 Sparks Street, Suite 532
Ottawa, ON
K1P 5B4

AASSC Memberships

Birgitta Wallace, Staff Archeologist
Parks Canada Historic Properties
Upper Water Street Halifax, NS
B3J 1S9

 For more information, please contact CINS at:

Dr. Richard d’Alquen
Chair, Canadian Institute for Nordic Studies
c/o Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies
200 Arts Building, University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
T6G 2E6

Past Recipients

Sarah Alden

2011, Master of Arts Thesis
Aalto University School of Art and Design
Diving in and Stepping Back: Exploring the Object in Environmental Art

Abstract

I begin by presenting the main practical work of art for the thesis, 100 Boats for Aina. It consists of the construction and semi-private ‘sailing’ of 100 small boats made of natural materials intended to disintegrate rapidly, and documentations of the process, recognizing the 100th anniversary of my great-grandmotherÄs departure from Finland to the U.S.A. My reflections on the work focuses on the value of: a small gesture, the role of ephemerality, allowing a story to emerge that is beyond just facts, and emphasis on the creative process. In fact, I see the process as indivisible from a work of environmental art, and my reading of it, whether culminating in one or more objects or acts – or, as in 100 Boats for Aina, both. Two recurrent questions surfaced for me from the work, including how to reduce the distance between the subject and aesthetic object and how to include others in the creative process. I address these questions through case examples of my participation in (1) an international architecture project that resulted  a work being constructed in Helsinki, and (2) a youth camp in Helsinki that invited participants to construct huts using natural materials. I analyse the two projects, as well as the principal work of art, through a modified ‘Action Research’ method.

Eliazer Kramer

2013, Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Music with Specialization in Interpretation Performance, Gothenburg University

Abstract

In 2009 I began my studies in Scandinavia at the Music School in Piteå, a faculty of the Luleå University of Technology, in Norbotten, Sweden. During this time, I decided to continue a project I started in Canada, that is setting Karin Boye’s poems to music. I had decided to do this in order to become more familiar with the Swedish language as well as to experience Swedish culture. Two years later while studying in Gothenburg, the former home of Boye, it seemed appropriate to perform my song cycle there as I surmised that the audience would most likely have a closer relationship with the poet than audiences in other cities. I was given the use of a concert hall in the University of Gothenburg and performed the song cycle to an audience consisting of students, teachers, and several members of the Karin Boye Society. The cycle is for soprano and mainly consists of piano accompaniment which I provided and also contains appearances by string and woodwind instruments. During 2014, my final year in Scandinavia, I participated in an exchange programme at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and performed part of the cycle there.

Camille Moussette

2007, MA Interaction Design
Umeå Institute of Design

Abstract

For the past decades, the repertoire of input and output forms used in mobile devices has been generally limited to the traditional buttons-display paradigm, inherited from their telecommunication or computing origin.

HAPI aims at exploring and developing new sensorial interaction techniques for mobile devices based on the touch sense. This research-oriented degree project focuses on hardware sketching to evolve new ideas and possibilities. The goals are to explore how haptic interfaces and techniques could enhance mobile interaction to fully exploit and embrace users’ capabilities for richer, more intuitive and enjoyable experiences.

This project has been carried out in collaboration with Nokia Design, Insight and Innovation.

http://www.guchmu.com/

Derek Yaple-Schobert

1996, Danish Piano Music Student of Anne Øland
Royal Danish Acedemy of Music

Abstract

Well-traveled American / Canadian pianist Derek Yaple-Schobert (“Yaple” rhymes with “Maple”) guides newcomers to classical music as well as experienced concertgoers on memorable musical journeys nuanced with his own engaging commentary. His well-crafted programs range in suitability for audiences who “think they don’t like classical music”, to audiences who wish to discover Yaple-Schobert’s specialty: Scandinavian piano music.

He won Prizes at the Eckhardt-Gramatté National Competition, at the National Finals of the Canadian Music Competition, Prix d’Europe, “Journées de la musique française” (magazine article) and the Montreal Classical Music Festival. BRAVO! Television featured him on The Classical Now II highlighting “the best of the next generation of Canadian classical musicians”. Yaple-Schobert has received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts et des lettre du Québec as well as the American-Scandinavian Foundation and has performed in seven countries from house recitals to large venues. UNIVERSAL distributes his Edvard Grieg CD which Toronto’s “The Whole Note” qualifies as “a delight!”. Having completed a Doctorate in Piano Performance from the University of Montreal, Yaple-Schobert enthusiastically and sensitively gives workshops to aspiring pianists of all ages.

http://yaple-schobert.com/