Intertribal Life Newspaper -

WATERLOO, Ont.-The University of Waterloo has announced a new fellowship designed to support the university's The Indigenous and Black Engineering Technology (IBET) program.

The Indigenous and Black Engineering Technology (IBET) PhD Project will provide financial support of $30,000 per year for 4 years for University of Waterloo recipients. This funding support will allow recipients to pursue advanced degrees and undertake both traditional and/or non-traditional areas of research without incurring financial hardship.

The IBET Momentum Fellowship is intended to support Indigenous people (First Nations, Inuit and Metis) and Black researchers in achieving their rightful place and respected inclusion in academia at the University of Waterloo.

This Fellowship is intended to help build and support an equitable environment that is reflective of Canada's population and reconcile the under-representation of Indigenous and Black scholars at the University of Waterloo. An integral component of the IBET Momentum Fellowship will be access to mentorship and community-wide support.

"Currently, we have a huge under-representation of Indigenous and Black scholars in academia," Tiz Mekonnen, who is the inaugural director of the PhD project, told CBC News, revealing that there are currently fewer than 15.

Five other Ontario universities have signed on to the project: McMaster University, the University of Ottawa, the University of Toronto, Queen's University and Western University. Each school's engineering faculty plans to accept two students. The University of Waterloo will accept four altogether: two in engineering and two in math.