Congratulations to the 2021 Knowledge Mobilization Bursary Winners
The CESI team is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) bursary, which is funding the participation of three U of G graduate students/post-doctoral fellows in all three courses of the 2021-2022 offering of the University of Guelph's Certificate in Knowledge Mobilization. The Cerficiate is an online professional development opportunity targeted at professionals from the academic, policy and service delivery sectors. It provides in-depth training into the principles and practices of knowledge mobilization – that is, the process by which research is shared, used and applied to inform real-life situations. The KMb bursary is offered by CESI as part of our efforts to build capacity for engaged scholarship and impactful research. We would like to congratulate the recipients of this year’s award:
Amy Peirone - Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Sociology
Amy’s postdoctoral research project uses Canadian population-based data to explore the different types, risk factors, and consequences of Intimate Partner Violence to develop a more detailed understanding of how diversity or variations in experiences of partner violence are related to outcome measures such as help-seeking, police response, and well-being. Ultimately, Amy wants her research to have an impact, and aims to use her experience in the Certificate in Knowledge Mobilization to achieve this goal: “I want to change my approach [to knowledge] as an academic and as a researcher by helping turn knowledge into action, as this is truly the only way that research can inform social issues and impact change.”
Alyssa Ramuscak - Master’s Student, Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition
Alyssa’s research focuses on comparing the perceptions and opinions of the 2007 and 2019 Canada's Food Guide among parents participating in the Guelph Family Health Study. She understands that translating complex scientific research into practical resources is an integral skill to facilitating and promoting healthy behaviours, and hopes to apply the knowledge and skills she acquires from the Certificate training to her own Master's research project. As she notes, “Canada’s Food Guide (CFG) is a knowledge translation tool. Despite CFG having a high level of recognition and credibility among the public, there is evidence to suggest that many Canadians do not use the food guide or may not even understand it... I hope my research project will help inform future implementation and knowledge translation strategies to target Canadian families’ engagement and understanding of CFG.”
Justine Townsend - PhD Candidate, Department of Geography
Justine uses community-informed and decolonizing research methods to investigate the reconciliatory potential of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas and Indigenous-led conservation in Canada. She plans to use her experience in the Certificate to continue supporting and advocating for Indigenous communities and organizations advancing conservation and stewardship initiatives in their territories. “As a scholar-practitioner, I aim to collaboratively generate high-impact research that galvanizes change on the ground,” says Justine. “I seek to positively influence partners, policymakers, and purpose-driven organizations such as conservation organizations by building capacity to create brave spaces and transformative change. This means translating knowledge and research for maximum uptake as well as innovating in spaces of collaboration.”
Congratulations again to all three winners! Learn more about the Certificate in Knowledge Mobilization to gain insight on what our bursary recipients will be learning.