The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) is accepting applications for a competitive emerging scholars program attached to The Quantum Nexus: A Framework for Canadian Strategic Advantage in a Contested Domain, a research project supported by the Department of National Defence's MINDS program and led by CIGI Senior Fellow Mauritz Kop. The deadline is July 15, 2026.
A mentorship cohort with a mission
Four to six emerging scholars from across Canada—undergraduates through post-docs, from any discipline—join a virtual program from September to December 2026. The format is deliberately personal: a one-on-one mentorship session with the Principal Investigator, an online international expert workshop in October, and a group masterclass on emerging-technology governance and publication development in November. No prior quantum expertise is required, and applications from equity-deserving groups are strongly encouraged; the program is built on the conviction that good governance of emerging technologies needs many kinds of minds. It is the same conviction that brought a Canadian quantum governance delegation to Stanford to prepare Canada's G7 presidency.
From analytical note to CIGI report
This is a publication program, not a lecture series. Every participant develops a 1,200–1,500-word analytical note on an assigned subtopic within one of six themes—spanning intellectual property and export controls, post-quantum cryptography migration, critical materials and supply chains, quantum-AI convergence, standards and allied interoperability, and the application of the LSI test (least trade-restrictive, security-sufficient, innovation-preserving) to a real case. The notes are contributed to the project's final CIGI report as a dedicated Emerging Scholars annex—a substantive contribution at the start of a research career.
Dates and deadlines
Applying takes one PDF: a 300–500-word expression of interest naming the theme you want to work on, a CV, and one reference letter, sent to programs@cigionline.org (subject line: Emerging Scholars Application: DND MINDS Project). Applications close July 15, 2026; acceptances follow in mid-August; the program runs September through December. For emerging scholars who want to help shape how the quantum age is governed, this is the opening.
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