University of Saskatchewan
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

Several mechanisms exist on campus to promote and increase student sustainability research, including: Several funding sources exist at USask for student sustainability research, with the goal of promoting and increasing its presence by removing barriers to entry. Funding for student sustainability research is provided to the university annually by Fisher Scientific as part of its preferred supplier agreement. This funding is made available to students to cover expenses associated with undergraduate projects and research. The University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union (USSU) Sustainability and Student Life Committee also serves as a source of funding for student sustainability research and projects. The Committee, which receives dedicated annual funding from both the USSU and the Office of Sustainability, provides funding to student applicants who wish to improve sustainability on campus through their studies or their actions. For advanced students whose research may result in larger capital projects on campus, the Sustainability Revolving Fund (SRF) provides much larger amounts of funding for actionable solutions that meet the SRF criteria. The Office of Sustainability also funds a number of sustainability awards at undergraduate research symposia across campus. Both the Life and Health Sciences Undergraduate Research Expo and the USSU Undergraduate Research Symposium feature up to four sustainability awards at $500 each for exemplary undergraduate research within four categories: Sustainability and Planet, Sustainability and People, Sustainability and Prosperity, and Sustainability and Peace. The goal of these awards is to encourage undergraduate students to integrate dimensions of sustainability into their research to apply for these additional awards. An active NSERC CREATE grant at USask sponsors TRANSECTS, a research training collaborative/community of practice involving academic researchers and administrators, teachers, students, early career researchers, professionals, and practitioners. It is designed to co-create and share innovative teaching tools, reduce barriers to knowledge sharing between the global North and South, help participating universities cement long-term relationships for ongoing research, and provide multi-site evidence by which to advocate for institutional change. The researcher development workshops and resources provided through TRANSECTS are made available to undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty or staff researchers, helping new researchers gain valuable transferable skills to continue to focus on transdisciplinary sustainability research as they continue their careers The Office of Sustainability is currently funding an Educational Development Specialist role at the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning who is actively developing sustainability content across the undergraduate curriculum. Part of this work is redesigning our campus Living Lab program, which will provide students directed, resourced, and well-supported avenues for conducting sustainability research at USask about USask. Three colleges at the University of Saskatchewan offer undergraduate environmental degree programs in which sustainability research is intrinsically encouraged and focused upon. In The College of Agriculture and Bioresources, students can pursue environmental degrees focused on protecting renewable resources and the environment through responsible management and conservation of the world's soil, water and ecosystems. From the College of Arts and Science, environmental degrees are available focusing in areas such as the earth sciences, biodiversity, ecology, conservation, toxicology, and environmental studies and policy. Finally, in the College of Engineering students may pursue an environmental degree focused on the application of science and engineering principles for the protection and improvement of public health and the environment. There are eight undergraduate environmental degree options, a number of which include undergraduate research project options. These degree options can be explored more at: https://admissions.usask.ca/environmental-programs.php The School of Environment and Sustainability (SENS), while primarily a graduate school, also offers an undergraduate certificate in sustainability to attach to any undergraduate degree program (https://sens.usask.ca/programs/undergraduate/certificate-in-sustainability.php). One of the requirements of this certificate is participation in ENVS 401 - Sustainability in Action, a project-based course that has students engage in sustainability research over the course of a semester designed to transform an aspect of campus to be more sustainable. Completion of the certificate is conditional on the completion of sustainability-focused research in this course. At the graduate level, SENS has a strong program of student research that is interdisciplinary, problem-oriented and experience-based. Any graduate students attending SENS conduct sustainability research as a mandatory part of their program. The One Health Initiative also fosters and facilitates student and faculty research across disciplines addresses complex problems in human, animal and/or ecosystem health and is undertaken by integrated teams of medical, animal (including veterinary), social and environmental scientists. http://onehealth.usask.ca/about/uofs-one%20health%20initiative.php.

An active NSERC CREATE grant at USask sponsors TRANSECTS, a research training collaborative/community of practice involving academic researchers and administrators, teachers, students, early career researchers, professionals, and practitioners. It is designed to co-create and share innovative teaching tools, reduce barriers to knowledge sharing between the global North and South, help participating universities cement long-term relationships for ongoing research, and provide multi-site evidence by which to advocate for institutional change. The freely available (through application) researcher development workshops and resources provided through TRANSECTS are designed to encourage researchers of all experience levels gain valuable transferable skills to continue to focus on transdisciplinary sustainability research as they continue their careers As part of a continuous MOU between USask and the City of Saskatoon, Research Junction is a collaboration between the City and Research Acceleration and Strategic Initiatives to support and fund the development of joint research projects that address contemporary urban issues for the benefit of Saskatoon residents. Research funded through Research Junction focuses on sustainability-related projects at the intersection between the university and the City. In 2023-24, three new projects were funded through the Research Junction Development Grant for a total of $89,000, all co-led and co-designed by USask faculty and City staff. These projects included optimizing theatre resource sharing and creating a sustainable theatre production ecosystem, designing preventative systems and policies to fight housing insecurity and homelessness, and a tax policy and municipal revenue stream redesign with associated public communication strategies. The University of Saskatchewan's "signature areas" of research all touch upon dimensions of sustainability and are relevant across disciplines. They are: 1. Sustainability and Communities 2. Health and Wellness 3. Quantum Innovation 4. Energy and Minerals for a Sustainable Future 5. Water 6. Agriculture 7. Indigenous Peoples 8. One Health 9. Synchrotron Sciences Being a part of these research streams identifies researchers as being of critical importance to maintaining the university’s sustainable and pre-eminent research impact globally, advancing the institution’s national and international profile, aiding in recruiting top students and faculty, and facilitating the accessibility of resources in a post-secondary landscape that has become increasingly competitive.

The following statement is from the Principles Section of the University's Standards for Promotion and Tenure (2011): "The University of Saskatchewan's Mission Statement indicates that we value interdisciplinary research and teaching and we should foster it within our institution. The Mission Statement highlights the four scholarships of teaching, discovery, integration, and application. This inclusive approach to scholarship is intended, among other things, to ensure that faculty who have interdisciplinary interests will be encouraged to pursue them and they will be taken into account and valued in the context of tenure and promotion considerations."

We have library resources on sustainability and support research in this area. Primary support is via librarians and library resources across relevant disciplines.

Full collection of USask Library's research support pages: https://libguides.usask.ca/?b=s

One Health Research Guide: http://libguides.usask.ca/onehealth

Environment & Sustainability Research Guide: http://libguides.usask.ca/SENS

Community Health & Epidemiology Research Guide: http://libguides.usask.ca/communityhealth

Public Health Research Guide: http://libguides.usask.ca/publichealth