2026 CALL FOR PROJECT PROPOSALS
The University of Alberta is pleased to offer the 2026 I-STEAM Pathways Summer Internship Program for Indigenous undergraduate students. This cross-faculty program provides First Nations, Inuit, and Métis undergraduate students from diverse faculties across national post-secondary institutions with research and field experience in environmental-related areas such as agriculture, science, engineering, climate change, environmental education, environmental law, policy and planetary health.

Key program objectives are:
1) Provide Indigenous undergraduate students with opportunities to participate in environmentally-related research and a pathway to advanced degrees.
2) Provide hands-on mentorship for Indigenous undergraduate students as they begin their research journey.
3) Enhance the capacity of Indigenous communities to address environmental challenges.
4) Support the inclusion of Indigenous environmental knowledge and values in environmental research. 

Program Participation Includes

For Supervisors & Research Teams 
  1) Orientation introducing principles and practices for mentoring Indigenous students, along with guidance  on Indigenous research approaches.
  2) Regular check-ins, ongoing mentorship and support from the I-STEAM team leads.

For Interns 
   3) A paid, full-time, 16 week summer research internship supervised and mentored by an experienced researcher from the University of Alberta or partner institutions, including the National Research Council.
  4) Orientation introducing the program, expectations, and the professional development workshops throughout the summer.  
  5) A supportive professional development program that includes Elder-supported programming, interactive workshops, and guest speakers from across the University.

For the Community
  6) An end-of-summer Celebration of Indigenous Summer Research, where interns receive their Certificates of Completion and project highlights are shared with University leadership, families, community supporters and leaders, supervisors, and research teams.

CALL FOR PROJECT PROPOSALS AND SUPERVISORS
We are inviting proposals from faculty and researchers from the University of Alberta and our partners for the Summer 2026 I-STEAM Pathways Summer Internship Program.

Supervisor Requirements:
1) Research project submissions must be relevant to environmental educational goals (e.g. environmental sciences, rural economics, law and policy, engineering) AND be relevant to Indigenous communities.

2) Research supervisors will be required to make a contribution towards summer intern funding with the balance being funded by the I-STEAM Pathways Program (exceptions considered on a case by case basis).

3) Participation in final intern selection in February 2026. Researchers are connected with a potential intern, allocated by I-STEAM Pathways, you will be asked to interview to see if they are a good fit to your project and research team. If the intern is a good fit, you will send a confirmation to I-STEAM Pathways. If the intern also feels comfortable to work with you and your team,  we will go forward with the contract process. 

4) If possible, submitting a USRA application with your allocated intern.

5) Attendance at the Supervisor and Research Team Orientation in April 2026. Orientation will be 1 half day at the end of April to maximize training and support for supervisors and research teams. 

6) Commitment to supervise their intern and provide practical field/lab research skills and experience (many of the students do not come from science/research backgrounds) for a duration of 16 weeks during May to August 2026. This includes hands-on mentorship of their interns in order to encourage their research knowledge and skill development and to explore a career pathway in environmental research.

7) Attending regular supervisor check-ins and mentorship discussions to share your experiences, including  how your intern is adjusting to the research environment, and assist in any challenges should they occur.

8) Participate in filming for the end-of-summer celebration video, where you talk about your research, your intern, and your experience with I-STEAM Pathways. (If this is not possible please let us know during the final summer intern selection period in February)

9) Where possible, attendance at the end-of-summer Celebration of Indigenous Summer Research in August 2026 to celebrate their summer Intern's accomplishments
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I-STEAM Pathways 2025-2026 Anticipated Deadlines
Friday, October 3, 2025: I-STEAM Pathways project applications open for Summer 2026

Sunday, November 30, 2025: I-STEAM Pathways project applications for Summer 2026 close

Wednesday, December 10, 2025: I-STEAM Pathways project announcements

Monday, December 15, 2025: Applications open for Summer 2026 I-STEAM Pathways Indigenous interns
 
Friday, January 16, 2026: 2026 I-STEAM Indigenous undergraduate student application process closed 

February 2026: I-STEAM Pathway Indigenous undergraduate student pre-selection and interviews with supervisors

Friday, February 27, 2026: I-STEAM Pathways Indigenous undergraduate interns selected and notices sent

April 27, 2026: Mandatory I-STEAM Pathways supervisor & research team orientation

Friday, May 1, 2026: I-STEAM Pathways Indigenous intern orientation

May 1 to August 21, 2026: Summer internships take place during this time. Student Professional Development (PD) days will be held throughout the summer, featuring Elder teachings, career talks, and a workshop for preparation of research posters for the Celebration of Indigenous Summer Research

Friday, August 21, 2026: Celebration of Indigenous Summer Research at Lister Centre

Tips for Project Submission Success
- Please read and follow all the instructions, addressing all the criteria in each question. Answers to ALL questions are REQUIRED and incomplete applications will not be considered.

- This form does not support most text formatting (e.g. bold, underline, italics) or special characters (e.g. bullets, Greek letters, symbols). Please use CAPITAL LETTERS for headings/subheadings, single-spacing, and avoid other formatting/special characters.

- If you are copying and pasting text from Microsoft Word, we recommend that you right-click and select "paste as plain text."

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Questions?
For program and application inquiries, please contact isteam@ualberta.ca.

Protection of Privacy
The personal information requested on this form is collected under the authority of Section 33 (c) of the Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and will be protected under Part 2 of that Act. It will be used for the purpose of adjudication and administration of the I-STEAM Pathways program.  

Mailing information is gathered in order to mail gifts and certificates as part of the program celebration.

Any questions about this collection can be directed to isteam@ualberta.ca.

SUPERVISOR INFORMATION
Please provide the following details
Supervisor First Name *
Supervisor Last Name *
Supervisor Preferred Pronouns *
Supervisor Preferred Email Address *
Supervisor Phone Number *
Supervisor Mailing Address (optional - for use of mailing appreciation gifts or certificates)
Supervisor Title / Position  *
Supervisor Faculty at the University of Alberta *
Required
Supervisor Department *
Link/URL to supervisor's website or online profile:                  
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