About the Graduate Student Bursary

The Graduate Student Bursary is awarded annually by the Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs, on the joint recommendation of the Directors of the Centre for Research on Inclusion at Work (CRIW) and the Dean of the Sprott School of Business. Awards can be granted to graduate students affiliated with CRIW who are entering or continuing in a graduate degree program within the Sprott School of Business, and who are studying issues around workplace diversity and inclusion. Eligible students must be Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents of Canada (landed immigrant or a protected person,) and must meet OSAP’s Ontario Residency requirements. Recipients will also demonstrate financial need. Endowed in 1996, Revised 2018, 2020.

A total of $15,000 is made available annually for up to three students at a minimum of $5,000 each. Students may receive the Graduate Student Bursary once during their graduate degree. Students receiving awards will be asked to participate in inclusion-related research activities hosted by CRIW.

How to apply

Applications for this bursary are accepted once per year, during the Fall academic term, To access the application, please log into Carleton Central, scroll down to Awards and Financial Assistance, find Graduate Online Application Forms and click on Graduate Bursaries/Awards to search for the KPMG Graduate Bursary. 

Other information

A total of $15,000 is made available annually for up to three students at a minimum of $5,000 each. Students may receive the Graduate Student Bursary once during their graduate degree.

Students receiving awards will be asked to participate in inclusion-centered research activities and other activities hosted by CRIW.

Inquiries

For more information, please contact CRIW at criw@carleton.ca.

Previous award recipients

2023 award recipients

This is a headshot of Dunja Palin. She is wearing a black and grey plaid blazer with a black shirt. Dunja Palic is a PhD in Management Candidate at the Sprott School of Business, specializing in International Business. Her field of research lies in International Management, with consideration given to individual-level phenomena. As an interpretivist, Dunja is interested in understanding the ways in which immigrants make sense of, and navigate, new cultures and labour markets. She recently co-authoring a published paper describing four career change narratives of highly skilled immigrant women. She continues to pursue research investigating the construction of immigrants’ careers through her dissertation. Progressing beyond narratives of career barriers and challenges in the workforce, Dunja’s interpretive, qualitative research seeks to additionally highlight the positive elements and resources intertwined in newcomers’ career development, demonstrating that immigrants are capable of flourishing in meaningful careers.

This is a headshot of Amar Benaissa. He is wearing a dark grey pin-striped suit, with a white dress shirt and black tie.Amar Benaissa is a doctoral student pursuing studies in Management at the Sprott School of Business. He is also the President of the Sprott Graduate Research Students Society. Amar’s current research focuses on examining the role of gender diversity in promoting sustainability reporting and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Particular attention is given to gender diversity within mining firms in Canada – a sector representing a major part of the Canadian economy, one that has a significant impact on the environments and communities in which it operates, and one that has historically been male-dominated. Grateful for the support from CRIW, Amar seeks to leverage his industry experience and academic skills to contribute to the advancement of inclusive, diverse workplaces and progressive management governance. His ultimate goal is to foster positive change that benefits all stakeholders in the corporate landscape.

2022 award recipient

This is a headshot of a woman is leaning against a brown wall looking at the camera.Chelsie Smith is a doctoral student studying Management at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business, specializing in organizational behaviour. Her research broadly explores the actions individuals take after experiencing or witnessing workplace mistreatment, with specific focus on historically underserved groups and precarious work contexts. Chelsie’s dissertation research comprises two related projects. The first project is aimed at conceptualizing and developing a scale to measure the roots of employees’ hesitancy to speak up about workplace mistreatment. The second project investigates how precarious work contexts shape employees’ responses to workplace mistreatment, through the trust, psychological safety, and sense of power that their workplaces afford them. Based on her findings, she will build recommendations to help mitigate workplace mistreatment and its harms. Chelsie is honoured to have CRIW’s support and to work together towards building safer, more inclusive workplaces for all.

2021 award recipient

Saquib Shahriar is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Management specializing in Finance at the Sprott School of Business, Carleton University. His research explores the areas of corporate governance, equity, and banking. He has recently published an article related to board diversity, culture, and risk-taking behavior of the firms in developing countries. He plans to extend the research and see how culture affects gender-diversity on boards and how that in turn affects risk-taking behavior of firms and firms’ performance in developed countries. For his doctoral research he is working on the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act and its effect on employee motivation, morale, and productivity.

2020 award recipient

Liam Hoselton, recipient CRIW's 2020/2021 Graduate Student BursaryLiam Hoselton is a Master’s student in Management at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University, with a focus on immigration and management. Liam has three years of experience in academic research, having worked as a Research Assistant since the second year of his undergraduate studies. He believes immigration is an incredibly important topic both in research and his own personal life. Liam comes from a Canadian-Slovak background, with his mother having immigrated to Canada in the early 1990’s. He also lived in Southwestern Germany for an extended period of time during a year abroad.

2019 award recipients

Sireen Alkhalili, doctoral student at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton UniversitySireen Alkhalili is a doctoral student in Management with a specialization in Finance at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University. Her research explores the effects of board gender-diversity on different firm characteristics in Canada. She has been actively engaged in researching the effects of women in management, particularly the impact of women involvement and inclusion on firm performance, pensions and shareholder’s activism. With a strong interest in women and work, Sireen is keen to participate in CREWW’s research activities that foster greater understanding of gender and diversity.

Anne Neal, doctoral student at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton UniversityAnne Neal is a doctoral student at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University, taking a gendered lens to professional ethics and disciplinary practices. Anne’s curiosity has led her to research after life as an accountant and teacher of accounting. Her doctoral research investigates the discourses around professional disciplinary activity with attention to differences due to gender. In addition, she is currently involved in a research project looking at professional identity in the Canadian accounting profession after the three professional designation associations unified. Anne is eager to advance research on issues related to gender equity in the accounting profession.

2018 award recipients 

Tasnuva Chaudhury is a doctoral student at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University, with a focus on the areas of Gender and Organizational Behavior. Her passion for research stems from her prior experience teaching and working in non-profit organizations. Her doctoral research investigates the relationship of the spillover effect between copreneurs and overall well-being. Tasnuva has also written a paper related to career resilience and well-being, having subsequently presented her findings at an academic conference. She is currently involved in a research project that seeks both to identify the impact of pedagogical methods used in entrepreneurship programs across Canadian Universities and evaluate women’s entrepreneurial intentions. Working on projects involving women and management, resilience, and well-being, Tasnuva is eager to advance research on issues related to the empowerment of women and the betterment of stakeholder communities.

Hui (Vivi) Zhang is a doctoral student in Management with a specialization in International Business at the Sprott School of Business, Carleton University. Her research explores the career trajectory of newcomers and the implications for workforce integration. She has been actively engaged in a research project exploring the role of professional employment support in refugee integration and has submitted papers to several academic conferences. With a strong interest in women and work, she is keen to participate in CREWW’s research activities that foster greater understanding of gender and diversity.

Testimonials

“I am grateful to be the recipient of the Graduate Student Bursary. Thank you very much for your consideration and generosity. The bursary will be a great resource to support my education and research interests. I am keen to get involved in activities that facilitate research on women and work. I look forward to being part of CREWW’s research activities in the coming months.”

Tasnuva Chaudhury, Ph.D. Candidate, and Research Assistant, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University

“Thanks to the CRIW Graduate Student Bursary, I was able to conduct research investigating how individuals – including precarious workers, gender and sexual minorities, racial-ethnic minorities, and those who are disabled – behave in response to workplace mistreatment incidents. This is an excellent first step in unraveling how to support underserved individuals as they cope with mistreatment at work. The generous support of CRIW allowed me to bring this research to life, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity.”

Chelsie Smith, Ph.D. Candidate, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University