Bourse de la Montagne

Why give now?

Our world needs leaders who want to be change agents and who can apply their combination of professional skills and scientific education to galvanize their communities.

In Canada, people with doctorates are underutilized. Businesses don’t fully appreciate their skills and potential.
There is also a lack of investment in R&D compared with other countries.

A De la Montagne scholarship enables our graduates to enrich their profiles by acquiring professional skills and prepares them to take on change agent roles when they enter the job market.

The program develops eight professional skills

In addition to supporting the recipient’s research, De la Montagne scholarships enable graduates to develop eight job-readiness skills through courses, meetings, seminars and a summer school offered by Les Saisons des ESP.

Communication

Increase self-confidence and the ability to promote one’s ideas.

Collaboration

Promote negotiation-based decision-making, information sharing within an interdisciplinary team and cooperation based on trust and authenticity.

Management

Develop effective action strategies for a wide range of situations and successfully lead projects to completion.

Leadership

Articulate ideas that drive change and inspire people to work towards a common goal.

Digital, media and information literacy

Adopt and promote behaviours consistent with digital citizenship and thoughtful, secure information management in a rapidly changing world.

Integrity and responsible conduct

Form interpersonal relationships based on trust and respect, and promote social and environmental responsibility.

Professional autonomy

Effectively navigate one’s chosen career path and achieve one’s goals.

Creativity and innovation

Develop the ability to formulate and implement innovative solutions to the complex problems of the present day.

Another benefit: Mentoring

An individual development plan is prepared for each recipient of a De la Montagne scholarship based on a skills self-assessment and discussion with a mentor. The mentor is a well-established professional with a PhD who can help the recipient to:

Broaden their perspectives;
Clarify their professional goals;
Identify and strengthen the skills and competencies needed to improve their employability;
Network ahead of future integration into professional circles.

For more information on the mentoring program, visit the Saison des ESP website.

Support UdeM to help equip our graduates to start serving the community quickly and strategically

To enable PhD graduates to start serving the community as quickly as possible, the Office of the Vice-Rector for Student and Academic Affairs has partnered with all UdeM faculties and schools engaged in research.

We will:

Help our doctoral students round out their profile with skills development activities that will be useful in many settings and situations;
Diversify the experiences of our future graduates by connecting them with partner companies, organizations and agencies in the course of their studies;
Ensure that their personal and professional skills are recognized and utilized to their full potential.

Required funds

We hope to award fifty $25,000 research and skills development scholarships to first-time recipients every year, renewable twice. Talented students could therefore receive a total of up to $75,000 over three pivotal years to help them achieve the career to which they aspire. The total cost over three years will be $7.5 million.

Transformative impacts

For students

They can build a career plan that meets the needs of the job market and make a confident, successful transition.
They gain confidence and a sense of being in the right place and on the right path.
They can graduate more quickly because they can devote themselves to their studies full-time.
Their motivation is increased and their quality of life is improved.

For society

Society benefits from the contribution of graduates who can quickly enter the job market and help solve the complex issues facing Quebec society.
Society realizes a return on its investment in the training of doctoral students.

For Université de Montréal and its donors

We fulfill our role as a leader in developing the professional skills of doctoral students.
We build bridges between the campus and the world through graduates who meet societal needs.