International Research and Experiential Learning

IREX team — Research and innovation

International Research and Experiential Learning

International Research and Experiential Learning (IREX) is a recently-created unit of the Office of the Vice-President Research and Innovation (OVPRI) resulting from the merger of the Office of International Research and the Centre for Research Opportunities. IREX helps University of Ottawa researchers address challenges facing the world, in collaboration with leading national and international partners, by serving the research community, ensuring compliance, and creating research partnerships of global significance

International impact

$13M

In extramural grants and contracts involving international partners (2020)

$750K

Internal seed funds, leveraging over $350K in external cash contribution (annually)

1st

Rank in growth of International Collaboration Publication (580% over 2000-2019 period)

Research Support

Pre-Award Administration of International Grants and Contracts

IREX supports international research grants and contracts of uOttawa’s full-time Faculty members through the provision of supporting documentation and the review, negotiation, and approval of agreements with funding agencies. uOttawa researchers are invited to consult the management process and submit all documentation (including the RE form) to the attention of: [email protected].

Admission Procedure for Visiting Research Students

Visiting Research Student (VRS) status is available to graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in a full-time degree program at a recognized post-secondary institution in Canada or abroad. A VRS student must conduct research activities for a minimum of 280 hours at the University of Ottawa, at the invitation and under the supervision of a full-time Faculty member. For more information, contact [email protected].

Funding opportunities

uOttawa-Mitacs International Research Award

In partnership with Mitacs, this program funds uOttawa senior undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows to conduct 12- to 24-week research projects at a partner institution. The program also allows international students to conduct research on campus under the supervision of a professor.

Our partners

Max Planck Society for the advancement of science: The society has numerous research collaborations with the University of Ottawa in the natural, life and social sciences, arts and humanities. Of note is the Max Planck - uOttawa Centre for Extreme and Quantum Photonics established in 2015, and renewed in 2019, encompassing many topics of interest in optics and photonics, such as the development of high intensity laser sources and optical methods of relevance to quantum information science and the fabrication of quantum devices .
Chinese Academy of Sciences: The academy is ranked a top research institute in the world by Nature Index. Since the original 2005 agreement, joint collaborations have expanded rapidly, from obstetrics to systems biology, fish biology, social sciences and many other areas of knowledge. 2017 saw the creation of the Joint Research Center on Systems and Personalized Pharmacology, a platform established between uOttawa and the Shanghai Materia Medica Institute. The center was renewed in July 2022.
National Cheng Kung University: A public research university located in Tainan, Taiwan, it is best known for engineering, computer science and medicine. Since 2011, an agreement has allowed research partnerships in these areas to take off, encouraging exchanges of both professors and students.
National Centre for Scientific Research: This French state research organization is the largest basic science agency in Europe. Over the years, several joint research projects and other forms of exchanges have involved a significant number of uOttawa researchers. In January 2022, the Centre national de la recherche scientifique Office for Canada was established at the University of Ottawa.
Université Claude Bernard de Lyon 1: The university has 65 state-funded research units working in three fields: health, the environment and material technologies. University of Ottawa researchers have longstanding collaborations in these areas and many others.