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The Bursary Partnerships Program encourages employers to invest in the future of northern Alberta by sponsoring a return service bursary for post-secondary students. The NADC provides matching funds of up to $3,000 per student per year– and we also help match employers with students.

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As a Bursary Partner, you can:

  • Select an eligible student you wish to sponsor
  • Specify the type of training you need a student to have to meet your own or local needs
  • Contract with the student to work in northern Alberta for a specified time after graduation

If you are interested in being a sponsor, download a Sponsor Application form, or contact us for more information.

Starting with bursaries received for the 2009/10 academic year, the NADC will match between $500 and $3,000 per student (maximum of $1,500 for a half-year program) – to a total of $6,000 per student. Higher matching funds are available for pharmacy students ($6,000 per year), nurse practitioner students ($9,000) and students enrolled in medical school ($12,000 per year).

Note: Sponsors may provide a bursary amount that is higher than our matching fund limits.

Bursary recipients commit to working in northern Alberta after graduation – and can be asked to commit to working for you!

Student Selection

Businesses and organizations usually use one of the following methods to select students:

  • Advertising in local newspapers
  • Advertising through high schools, colleges, universities and technical schools

You can also ask the NADC to recommend a student based on the sponsor's eligibility criteria. When possible, you will be connected with an eligible student who has applied to the NADC Bursary program.

Student Eligibility

In addition to the criteria outlined for all of the NADC bursaries, student candidates must meet the following criteria:

  • Have an arm’s length relationship to the sponsor. This means that the student must not be related to the sponsor, and that the selection of the student is completed through impartial means.
  • Commit to live and work in northern Alberta for a specified amount of time upon graduation and sign a return service contract
  • Have reasonably good prospects for employment in northern Alberta after graduation

Please note the following:

  • Students cannot receive both the NADC Bursary and the Partnerships Bursary during the same academic year

Sponsors can provide bursaries to a student for a number of years or can sponsor a number of bursaries in one year to different students. Selected students must complete a Bursary Partnerships Program Student Application. Sponsors will mail completed student applications with the completed Sponsor Request for Matching Funds form to the Northern Alberta Development Council office.

Return Service Commitment

Every student selected to receive a Partnerships Bursary must sign a return service contract. The contract commits the student to live and work in Northern Alberta for a specified amount of time upon graduation, based upon the total value of the bursary. Starting for the 2009/10 academic year, one month of return service is required for each $500 of total bursary support. For example: A combined $3,000 bursary has a return service commitment of 6 months.

The Northern Alberta Development Council will follow up with students to monitor completion of return service. If students do not fulfill their return service, Alberta Advanced Education and Technology will require repayment of the Bursary Partnerships Program portion.

Please note that Alberta Advanced Education and Technology cannot recover funds on behalf of a sponsor if a student does not fulfill their return service obligation.