B.E.S.T. Project Fund

Bishop’s Exceptional Student Talent

In 2010 a Bishop’s graduate (who wishes to remain anonymous), with a strong belief in our University and a desire to help our most promising students achieve their full potential, made a gift commitment to establish the B.E.S.T. Project Fund.

The B.E.S.T. Project Fund is the premiere experiential learning opportunity at Bishop’s.

This unique fund is intended to assist students to determine their career paths and realize their ambitions.

The funds are awarded to students whom the Selection Committee believes have the potential for significant achievement and impact once they graduate from Bishop’s.

All project proposals should:

• Assist the student in defining and/or achieving their career objectives.
• Emphasize a significant interaction with a mentor.
• Articulate how the project relates to the student’s area of academic interest or links to future studies or career directions.
• Describe how this learning experience will be shared with the Bishop’s community upon the student’s return to campus in the fall.

NOTE: In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel may still be difficult in 2021 and travel restrictions may remain unpredictable. Therefore, applicants for B.E.S.T. project funding are strongly encouraged to propose meaningful projects that can be undertaken in their local communities.

Here are the successful applications for project funding in 2020:

• A Biology student who was accepted into a Summer Student Research Program in Neonatology
• An English, Film and Media student who applied to attend a visual storytelling workshop, including an introduction to digital cinematography
• An Arts Administration student who was invited to participate in an international Arctic sailing expedition for artists, scientists and educators
• A Psychology student who was accepted into a summer course on the topic of legal proceedings involving children and how these can be made more child-friendly
• A Drama and Film student who was accepted to participate in an oratorio camp that blends the religious, dramatic and musical elements of theatre and the sacred
• A Physics student (who has studied flute for 10 years) who was accepted to participate in a flute symposium with the opportunity to attend master classes and receive coaching from international flautists
• An Arts student who applied to attend a professional development course in dramatherapy, which blends psychology, drama and education
• A Music student who applied to attend an international jazz improvisation workshop
• A student majoring in Secondary Education and Social Studies who applied to volunteer as a Geography and History teacher in Tanzania
• A Political and International Studies student who applied to take part in a European study tour followed by a two-month internship at an EU-affiliated institution
• A Psychology student who was accepted for a summer research internship in the Laboratory for Child Development at Johns Hopkins University
• A student majoring in Secondary Education and English who developed a project to work with an Inuk woman collecting stories from Inuit men and women, which would then be published in English and Inuktitut
• An International Studies student who planned a video documentary on the life cycle of the Giant Mine in the Northwest Territories and its impacts on the community
• An Applied Psychology student who was accepted to participate in a workshop on Dignity Therapy, a type of therapy administered to patients at the end of life
• A Sociology student who was accepted into a two-week program to learn about concepts, theories and ethical considerations relating to ‘big data’ and data analysis techniques
• A Master’s student in Computer Science who took part in a virtual summit on artificial intelligence, including workshops on real-time data processing and the completion of a practical project
• A Business and Liberal Arts student who applied to attend a four-week course learning about Bhutan’s National Happiness Index

Complete details on past B.E.S.T. projects:

• 2019 B.E.S.T. projects
• 2018 B.E.S.T. projects
• 2017 B.E.S.T. projects
• 2016 B.E.S.T. projects
• 2015 B.E.S.T. projects
• 2014 B.E.S.T. projects
• 2013 B.E.S.T. projects

Range of Funding

Applicants may request up to a maximum of $7,000 in support. These funds may be used to fund:

• Travel or accommodations if the project takes place outside of Lennoxville/Sherbrooke.
• Purchase of necessary equipment (which would remain property of Bishop’s upon completion of the project), supplies or related fees.
• Workshop fees.
• Conference fees.
  • Conferences will be accepted for review by the committee, but there must be strong reasoning as to why it would be an exceptional experience for the B.E.S.T. Project Fund to accommodate; for example, presenting a paper or a poster at a conference.
• As a general rule, compensation is not provided for lost earnings; however, this may be considered under exceptional circumstances.
• The range of funding requested last year was from $2,000 to $7,000. The average funding requested was $4,500.
• The range of funding awarded last year was from $2,000 to $6,200. The average funding awarded was $4,050.

Eligibility

Applicants for B.E.S.T. Project funding must be full-time students at Bishop’s and be endorsed by a Bishop’s faculty member or senior administrator as a sponsor/mentor for the project.

The student must not receive Bishop’s academic credit for the project. Students must have completed at least one year of full-time studies at Bishop’s prior to starting the project.

The project may take place during the academic year, the spring or the summer, and must be completed while the student is a full-time student at Bishop’s.

Students not returning to Bishop’s University will not normally be considered except under exceptional circumstances.

A student may apply for one project per year.

The student must have a minimum 70% cumulative average in courses taken at Bishop’s. The cumulative average for last year’s recipients was 88%.

Application Process

The details of the B.E.S.T. Project Fund will appear on the Bishop’s website, and in the academic calendar.

If you have any questions, please contact Denise Lauzière, Chief of Staff, Office of the Principal and Vice-Chancellor, at denise.lauziere@ubishops.ca or 819-822-9600 ext. 2201. Completed applications must be received by Friday, January 29, 2021. Applications must be submitted electronically by completing the online form.

Application for B.E.S.T. Project Fund

The B.E.S.T. Project Selection Committee will review applications with a goal of advising students and their sponsors of the Committee’s decisions before the end of February.

The Committee may wish to interview students prior to making a final decision.

Each application must include:

• Explanation of the project and how it fulfills the objectives of the Fund.
• Intended outcome or goal of the project.
• Timeline for the project.
• Detailed budget and specific request for financial support from the Fund.
• A reference letter from the sponsor/mentor which states why the candidate should be considered and why the project will help the student achieve their goals. The sponsor/mentor letter should also include how they will provide active support to the student before and during the project.
• Biography of the student.
• If there is participation in a program, include specifications of the program, as well as what makes it exceptional.

Additional Information

The B.E.S.T. Project Fund is not a travel fund. Consequently, if travel is proposed, the applicant must demonstrate why a similar experience could not be attained without such travel.

If you are participating in an internship or a program and have not yet received notice of acceptance, you may still submit your project for review. If you receive the B.E.S.T., your remittance will be conditional until you receive official acceptance to the internship or program.

Frequently Asked Questions