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UVic Libraries

Kula Library Futures Fellowship

The Kula Library Futures Fellowship is a six-month, cohort-based program for undergraduate students engaged in research supervised by a UVic professor.

Fellows will build their understanding of an important issue that affects all modern researchers. The fellowship program will help them prepare for successful, well-rounded research careers.

Deadline
How to apply
Award & benefits
Who can apply
Fellowship details

Theme

Each year, the fellowship program focuses on a specific issue in contemporary research. The theme issue for 2026-2027 is "the fate of future knowledge.”

This theme addresses challenges and opportunities around fragile, threatened, or disappearing knowledge. It asks how we can build stable, sustainable, and inclusive knowledge networks that preserve knowledge and research into the future.

“The fate of future knowledge” asks us to consider how technological, environmental, and social changes will affect how knowledge is created, shared, and preserved for the public good. Together, we will explore how researchers can protect fragile, threatened, or disappearing knowledge. This work relies on both individual understanding and collective action across disciplines.

Here are some topics and questions we might consider as part of this year’s theme:

  • Government websites may remove or alter information when leadership changes. How do we protect public information from being lost? 
  • Climate change and natural disasters threaten our knowledge traditions and the places where we store knowledge. How can we keep them safe in an increasingly unpredictable world? 
  • Research scientists are sharing their data and findings more openly. How do we balance transparency, reproducibility, and the need to keep sensitive data private? 
  • AI-generated text, images, and video are increasingly mixed into the historical record: news archives, social media, even scientific preprints. How do we ensure future researchers can tell what's authentic from what's fabricated?

Timeline

The fellowship runs from October 2026 to April 2027.

Student applications are due on October 1. We will notify successful applicants by late October. 

Key dates:

  • October 1: Application deadline
  • October 28, 4–7 p.m.: Kickoff event in Mearns – McPherson Library* 
  • January 20, 4–7 p.m.: Mid-year gathering in Mearns – McPherson Library*
  • April 8, 4–7 p.m.: Research in Context Showcase in Mearns – McPherson Library*

*Fellows are required to attend all three in-person events. Read more about opportunities and expectations for successful fellows.

Eligibility

To apply, you must be:

  • A current UVic undergraduate student in Social Sciences, Humanities, or Science
  • Enrolled at UVic throughout the fellowship (October 2026 to April 2027)
  • Working on a faculty-supervised research project that continues through the full period of the fellowship. In sciences, the project may be work on a supervisor's long-term lab-based research project
  • Available to attend 3 in-person cohort events (see Timeline for key dates)
  • Able to participate fully in fellowship programming (see Expectations below)

Eligibility FAQs

Yes, you can apply to and hold other fellowships at the same time as the KLFF, as long as you can fully meet the KLFF’s requirements. Please review the expectations of KLFF fellows, and check other fellowships’ eligibility guidelines to be sure that you can hold the KLFF at the same time as them. 

No, but you should have an accepted supervised research or lab project that meets the requirements of the fellowship, and you will need to have started the project by the time the fellowship begins. If you are accepted, your supervisor will be notified.

Any independent research project that is supervised by a UVic faculty member, and that continues throughout the whole fellowship period, is eligible. This includes Honours thesis projects as well as USRA and JCURA projects. In the sciences, supervised work on a faculty-led lab-based projects is eligible. If you have a question about whether your project is eligible, email libadminel@uvic.ca 

No, your supervised research can be on any topic. The KLFF program is designed to complement your supervised project by introducing you to a major research issue faced in all disciplines. This year the issue is “the fate of future knowledge,” meaning ways in which knowledge is fragile, threatened, or disappearing. You will be asked to reflect on how this issue relates to your research area, and to share your learning and insights in your final presentation.

Any undergraduate student doing an eligible supervised lab or research project can apply.

Award and benefits

 Successful fellows receive:

  • A $1,000 award
  • Access to dedicated space, research support, and community from Kula Library Futures Academy and UVic Libraries
  • A library-based mentorship with an expert working on the year’s selected research issue
  • Customized support for your own supervised research project
  • The opportunity to share your research with your cohort of fellows, mentors, and experts and gain insights from cross-disciplinary discussions
  • Practical experience presenting what you've learned and adding your final project to the library's digital collections

The fellowship program will complement your supervised research project with skills, knowledge, and professional connections to help you understand a major issue in modern research and launch and pursue a research career. 

Benefits FAQs

You will be paired with a library mentor whose work connects with the year’s selected issue and your own research project. Normally, mentors will be librarians or staff who work in UVic Libraries. 

Your mentor will work with you to explore the work that librarians, archivists, curators, and staff are doing around the year's selected issue. They'll offer you an insider's look at the issue that will help you to understand the year's issue both conceptually and concretely, as professionals and experts do.

Your mentorship will offer you the opportunity to:

  • build relationships with friendly research and knowledge experts
  • pursue deeper questions at your own pace
  • build a knowledge base that will serve you throughout your research career

A key part of the fellowship program is the connections you will make, both with your peers and within the broader UVic research community. 

Fellows will have regular access to dedicated work and study space in Mearns – McPherson Library to encourage cross-disciplinary connection and understanding. You'll also be encouraged to attend relevant programs, workshops, and events offered by UVic Libraries and the Kula Library Futures Academy.

Through the fellowship program, you will gain a deep understanding of the year's research issue and how it relates to your own current research project. You can expect to develop skills, perspectives, and professional connections that will support your future research career. 

Through your final presentation and contribution to the Libraries’ digital collection, you will build your research record, which will support your success in future degree and award applications.

How to apply

Apply by completing our application form. The form link will be live in September 2026.

Before applying, you must have a confirmed research project that continues for the whole period of the fellowship and a designated UVic faculty supervisor.

Any questions about how to apply? Contact libadminel@uvic.ca. 

Expectations for fellows

As a fellow, you will be required to attend, at a minimum:

  • two meetings with your mentor (dates you will arrange) 
  • three in-person meetings with your fellowship cohort (see Timeline for these dates)
  • three other learning opportunities (e.g. workshops, programs, events) to support your learning over the six months of the fellowship (dates you will arrange) 

You will document your learning through structured reflections throughout the course of the fellowship. Your reflections will serve as the basis for your final project.  

All fellows must add their final project to the UVic Libraries’ digital collections (support will be provided for this) and present at an in-person Research in Context Showcase held on April 8, 2027.

Expectations FAQs

It's hard to predict exactly how much time the fellowship activities will take. You'll be expected to attend about eight events over the course of the year (3 in-person events, 2 mentor meetings, and 3 other learning opportunities). You'll also complete structured reflections and a final project.

The time needed for these activities, and how that work is distributed across the academic year, will vary by individual. We'll provide check-ins and support all along the way to make sure you're meeting your goals.

You must be able to attend the 3 in-person events in person at the scheduled times. If you are unable to do so, you may be ineligible to complete the fellowship and may forfeit the stipend. You can schedule your mentor meetings and individual learning opportunities to suit your calendar.