Internship Scholarships: Data Storytelling

This scholarship program for data and content creation (e.g., journalism, communications) is aimed at undergraduate and master’s level students. Scholarships are awarded to students in pairs, who must work in close collaboration. One of each pair will be from a more “communications”-focused program of study (e.g., journalism), with the other from one focused more on “data science” (e.g., computer science, statistics). Pairs will be supervised by a professor and a staff member from the host institution.

This competition came about in 2019 as the result of a collaboration between Le Devoir daily newspaper, the Polytechnique Montréal JData laboratory, and IVADO. Its goals are to develop awardees’ skills at:

• working on issues with a direct connection to society;
• data journalism / “data storytelling” in the broader sense, on topic areas requiring practical use of innovative techniques and approaches;
• teamwork and in multidisciplinary contexts.

It will also allow awardees to familiarize themselves with the methods and sectors promoted at IVADO: data science in the broad sense, encompassing methodological research in data science (machine learning, operations research, statistics) and its applications in multiple sectors, including our priority sectors (health, transportation and logistics, energy, business, and finance) and any other sector of application (e.g., sociology, physics, linguistics, engineering).

Date of next competition:

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Previous competition calendar for information purposes:

The internship must be full time, over a period of 12 weeks, according to a calendar determined by the student and their supervisor. The internships will take place mostly within the host institution premises, while being co-supervised by a university researcher.

• Announcement of the competition: February 2020
• Closing of the competition: March 2020
• Results announcement: June 2020

The scholarships, in the amount of $5,000 per student, will be administered by the supervising university. As a student, you must therefore be registered as an intern at a university to be eligible for the scholarship, and hold a status in Canada that allows you to work (Canadian, permanent resident, or holder of a study permit allowing you to do an internship).

You must:

• Hold a status that allows you to work in Canada as an intern (Canadian, permanent resident, or holder of a study permit with authorization to complete an internship as part of your studies);
• Be enrolled in an undergraduate or master’s program in communications or data science at a Québec university;
• Have maintained a grade average of 3.3/4.3 or better (or the equivalent);
• Have completed 24 credits, if you are an undergraduate.

Internships may be completed in one of the following settings, each of which has its specific characteristics. Take this into consideration when applying!

Le Devoir

• Examples of data visualization work done with 2019 IVADO scholarship awardees:
  – Que vous promettent les partis ?
  – Plus d’élèves, moins de profs – Survol d’une pénurie
• Technical context of the internship: data visualization for plain-language communication and analysis
• Great flexibility for extracting information from a data set
• An interest in news and current affairs is essential
• Long-term projects, with possibility of involvement in short-term projects

Radio-Canada

La Presse

• Requirements
  • Ability to extract meaningful information from data
  • Interest in current-affairs issues
  • For the “data science” intern: familiarity with data collection, processing, analysis, and visualization tools and techniques ; e.g., SQL, Python (Pandas), node.js, HMTL, CSS, JavaScript, d3, SVG, Canvas.
• Examples of projects
  • 2017 – Résultats des élections municipales 2017
  • 2019 – Palmarès des urgences 2019

Synapse-C

• Technical context of the internship: Web development of data visualizations in a context of cultural data analysis and presentation.
• Target audience for planned visualizations: stakeholders in the arts & culture sector seeking, e.g., to optimize their development strategies.
• Synapse C has large data sets related to this sector (e.g., concert ticket sales, library loans, online book purchases) that can be directly utilized.

Le CIRANO

• Tell stories using Baromètre CIRANO data collected since 2011 on Quebecers’ perceptions of concerns and benefits around 47 social issues.
• Propose visualizations of real data on major social issues (health, environment, immigration, economy, emerging technologies / perception of benefits and risks of AI) and compare them with public perceptions.
• Search the various international databases available via the Mondo platform and suggest visualizations and analyses by major subject areas, drawing comparisons between countries.

Go to our dedicated online platform to apply.

/!\ Applications submitted by e-mail will be automatically rejected.

The application package must include:

• The applicant’s name, contact information and study program;
• Choice of category; communications or data science;
• CV (free format; maximum 2 pages);
• Transcripts of previous semesters;
• A cover letter (reasons for applying; maximum 1 page).

The cover letter is a critical element of the application package. Applicants are advised to include:

• Recent examples of data journalism that they find inspiring;
• A description of skills and experience in at least one of the following fields: data journalism, writing, science communication, data collection and cleaning, analysis and visualization of data; and
• Aspects justifying the applicant’s ability to work with a student in the “other field” (communications if the student is in data science; data science if the student is in communications).

The review committee will be made up of professors and practitioners working in the fields relevant to the competition (e.g., communications, journalism, data analysis, science communication). Candidates’ applications will be ranked essentially on basis of their academic and/or professional achievements (CV and cover letter), with consideration also given to factors likely to foster diversity in our IVADO community and those suggestive of ability to work within a multidisciplinary team.

The top-ranked students following the evaluation will have an opportunity for discussion with their supervisors before agreeing, on both sides, to participate in a given internship context (host institution, supervisors, pair of students).

For students

At the end of your internship, provide us with a brief report on your activities. This report may be made public as an illustration of activities that we fund.

For the supervisor

Also provide a brief report on their interns’ activities.

Our commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

To ensure all members of society draw equal benefit from the advancement of knowledge and opportunities in digital intelligence, we promote principles of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion across all of our programs, and we commit to providing a recruitment process and research setting that are inclusive, non-discriminatory, open, and transparent.

List of laureates

• I’m studying journalism, but not at the university level (e.g., CÉGEP). Am I eligible?

No; you must be enrolled in university studies.

• I’m not currently studying in a field related to communications or data science, but I’m planning on switching and I believe I have skills in the right field. Am I eligible?

You may submit an application and provide an explanation of your situation in your cover letter, but the evaluation committee members may decide that your profile does not provide the right fit with the internship needs.

• How good does my French need to be?

The bulk of the internship will be in French: interactions in the internship setting, reports, projects, etc.

• I am currently enrolled at a university outside Québec. Can I apply?

We will accept applications from candidates enrolled in Québec universities only.