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.
Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST): JST is a Japanese national research and development agency that has many research collaborations with various countries including Canada. As one of the largest research funding agencies in Japan, JST works with leading universities, companies and other influential research institutions in Japan and overseas to promote science, technology and innovation by implementing multidisciplinary projects in natural sciences, humanities and social sciences. In June 2024, the JST Office for Canada was established at the University of Ottawa.
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.
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.
International Research and Experiential Learning
International Research and Experiential Learning (IREX) helps University of Ottawa researchers address challenges facing the world, in collaboration with international partners. The office serves the research community by i) securing external research funds and ensuring compliance, ii) offering seed funding programs to build international collaborations, iii) supporting students conducting research at uOttawa and abroad, and iv) strengthening and growing existing research collaborations.
International impact
5th
QS World University ranked uOttawa's international research network as among the Top 5 in Canada (2025)
310
International students conducting research activities as Visiting Research Students (2022-2023)
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 submit all documentation (including the RE form) to the attention of: recherche.contrats_research.contracts@uottawa.ca.
Useful links:
Procedure for Visiting Research Students
Visiting research students are enrolled in a degree program at a university in Canada or abroad and are coming to the University of Ottawa to conduct research under the supervision of a full-time faculty member. Visiting research students are not entitled to the conferring of a degree from the University of Ottawa, nor do they pay tuition fees.
Find out more about the Procedure for Visiting Research Students
Funding opportunities
Visiting Researchers Program
This program provides funding for short visits by international researchers to the University of Ottawa to foster scholarly exchanges, enrich the student experience, and increase the visibility of uOttawa within the international research community.
Doctoral Mobility Program
This program provides scholarships to University of Ottawa PhD students to enrich the student experience and enhance exchanges and activities with research-intensive institutions.
Big Idea Grant Program
The Big Idea Grant (BIG) program supports novel, blue sky research ideas in their early stages. The program is looking for ideas that are forward-thinking and high risk / high reward and falling outside of currently funded collaborations and existing extramural research funding programs in Canada or abroad.
Horizon Europe
Horizon Europe is the world’s largest research and innovation program with a total budget of €95.5 billion (CAD 140 billion). It aims to tackle global challenges and facilitate international collaboration in all research areas.
Fulbright Canada Research Chairs
Through this program, American researchers spend four months on campus conducting collaborative research, providing public lectures, and instructing and mentoring students.
France Canada Research Fund
This fund supports new collaborations between Canada and France. Open to all research fields, these two-year projects promote early-career researchers’ and graduate students’ research mobility. The 2025 call is open, deadline is November 18th, 2024.
Academia Sinica-University of Ottawa Fund
This fund supports a bilateral scientific exchange program launched in 2020 that facilitates two-year multidisciplinary projects and encourages the next generation of researchers to forge relations between the two institutions.
Undergraduate Student Research Awards Program (USRA) – NSERC
Undergraduate Student Research Awards are meant to stimulate students’ interest in research in the natural sciences and engineering and encourage students to do graduate studies and pursue a research career in these fields.
Globalink Research Award (GRA) – Mitacs
Through this program, senior undergraduate students, graduate students, as well as postdoctoral fellows receive a $6,000 research award to conduct a 12- to 24-week research project in Canada or abroad.
Globalink Research Internship (GRI) – Mitacs
The program provides funding for international undergraduate students in Mitacs partner countries to participate in a 12-week research internship in Canada under the supervision of Canadian academic-institution faculty members in a variety of academic disciplines.
Explore other opportunities
Should you be interested in other types of international activities, please consult the Guide to International Services offered by the University of Ottawa.
Guide to International Services