Catalyst Fellowship Program​

Advancing the Catalyst’s mission through original research and industry engagement.

Overview

The Catalyst Fellowship Program is a major initiative dedicated to advancing the Catalyst’s mission — to empower Canadians and Canadian businesses to seize the opportunities and tackle the challenges of cybersecurity — through original research and industry engagement.

Selected from academics at Toronto Metropolitan University and professionals working in a wide variety of organizations and sectors, Catalyst Fellows will undertake original research and other projects related to the Catalyst’s work; engage closely with Catalyst program participants and staff; and share their expertise in an environment dedicated to innovation and collaboration in cybersecurity.

There are two streams in the Catalyst Fellowship Program: the Industry Stream and the Academic Stream.

Next Cohort Intake

September 2024

Location

Virtual & In-Person

Program Duration

One Year

Time Commitment

Part-time

Applications

Closed

Contact

Next Cohort Intake

September 2024

Location

Virtual & In-Person

Program Duration

One Year

Time Commitment

Part-time

Applications Open

February 2

Contact

Overview

The Catalyst Fellowship Program is a major initiative dedicated to advancing the Catalyst’s mission — to empower Canadians and Canadian businesses to seize the opportunities and tackle the challenges of cybersecurity — through original research and industry engagement.

Selected from academics at Toronto Metropolitan University and professionals working in a wide variety of organizations and sectors, Catalyst Fellows will undertake original research and other projects related to the Catalyst’s work; engage closely with Catalyst program participants and staff; and share their expertise in an environment dedicated to innovation and collaboration in cybersecurity.

There are two streams in the Catalyst Fellowship Program: the Industry Stream and the Research Stream.

Catalyst Fellowship Program (Industry Stream)

This stream is open to professionals from all industry sectors and across all career stages, including private industry, government and government agencies, and not-for-profit organizations. Catalyst Fellows in this stream will advance projects of their own design in cybersecurity or related topics while engaging with the Catalyst’s work, program participants and staff.

About the Industry Stream

The Catalyst Fellowship Program (Industry Stream) will accept up to three fellows per year. Catalyst Fellows in this stream will advance projects of their own design in cybersecurity (or related subjects) that align with the Catalyst’s work while engaging closely with Catalyst program participants and staff in a spirit of innovation and collaboration.

Catalyst Fellows in this stream will have access to the academic resources, facilities and community at Toronto Metropolitan University, and generally take advantage of all the benefits of undertaking and publishing research in an environment of academic excellence.

Catalyst Fellows in this stream are required to submit a research project proposal outlining the work they intend to pursue over the course of their fellowship.

Eligible Applicants:
All persons engaged in cybersecurity or related fields, within private industry, government or government agencies (including law enforcement), or not-for-profit organizations.
Fellowship Period:
12 months (September 2024 – August 2025)
Application deadline:
April 30, 2024 – 23:59 (EDT/UTC-4)
Stipend:
$5,000CAD (inclusive of HST)

The Catalyst will hire and sponsor a student intern to support the Fellow’s research project during the Fall (October-December), Winter (January-April) and Summer (May-August) academic semesters.

Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst is committed to advancing diversity and inclusion in cybersecurity, across all of its programs. The Catalyst Fellowship Program encourages applications from members of groups that have been historically underrepresented in the technology and cybersecurity sectors, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples, racialized people, persons with disabilities, people who identify as women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.

Expectations

The specific expectations for individual participants in the program will be unique to each fellow, with broad expectations outlined below.

1. Producing a project that contributes to public scholarship

Fellows will conduct original research in cybersecurity or a related field, and produce at least one public output that impacts and informs the scholarly and public debates in the arenas in which they work. These outputs could take many forms, including:

  • technical or design prototype(s);
  • public writing, such as long form pieces, op-eds, blog posts, or interviews;
  • convenings organized and led by the fellow;
  • reports or white papers;
  • a website or other online resource;
  • academic writing, such as a research paper.

In addition to each fellow’s research agenda, fellows will together actively design and participate in bi-weekly all-fellows sessions in which research and ideas are presented and discussed. They will also participate in other cohort activities, such as skill-building sessions and workshops. While engaging in both substance and process is a baseline expectation, the fellows themselves create much of what makes the fellowship program rewarding each year to address their own interests and priorities. These entrepreneurial, collaborative ventures, which are at times goal-oriented and other times experimental, ensure the dynamism of the fellowship experience and program.

Fellows will potentially collaborate with other members of the Catalyst community, including learners in the Catalyst’s training and workforce development programs, TMU students who work with the Catalyst in different research capacities, and industry partners and collaborators at peer organizations. Fellows can engage with this far-reaching network through events, listserv dialogues, joint projects, and more.

Fellows will provide their student interns with opportunities to develop learning outcomes needed in today’s employment market and to build their professional portfolios. Fellows will meet regularly with their student interns throughout the fellowship period. 

Catalyst Fellows will co-create and lead two webinars that will be open to the Catalyst community (to take place in January 2024 and June 2025), and prepare subsequent reports on key cybersecurity issues/policy topics. The objective of each hour-long webinar will be to examine a challenge facing the cybersecurity community and offer insight, knowledge and perspective from researchers, business leaders and government officials.

Application Requirements

  • A current resume or C.V. 
  • A proposal that responds to the following questions (should not exceed 1500 words) 
    • What is the research you propose to conduct during the fellowship year? Please detail:
      • The rationale and goals for the proposed fellowship project in cybersecurity or a related field; how the public output of the project will advance cybersecurity in a way that can be leveraged by multiple stakeholders, an entire sector or the public at large; and the research methodology you will use to reach those goals; and
      • The plan for dissemination of at least one research output to the public. These outputs could take many forms, including:
        • technical or design prototype(s);
        • public writing, such as long form pieces, op-eds, blog posts, or interviews;
        • convenings organized and led by the fellow;
        • reports or white papers;
        • a website or other online resource;
        • academic writing, such as a research paper.
    • What particular contributions do you hope to make to Catalyst participants and staff, and the Catalyst community generally?
  • How will your particular skills position you to make the contributions you describe?
  • A job description for your student intern. The intern job description form can be downloaded here.