right to left; Kaitlyn Duthie-Kannikkatt, Mamneet Manghera + Quinn Webber
The University of Winnipeg has established the Manitoba Graduate Scholarship (MGS) awards, each valued at $15,000 through an agreement between The University of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba. This scholarship supports students pursuing research-based graduate studies and allows the University to attract and retain excellent students from within and outside of the Province. Awards are made on the basis of academic excellence, and are open to students registered as full-time graduate students in any of the Master’s programs at The University of Winnipeg.
“The Faculty of Graduate Studies congratulates all of its scholarship students,” notes Dr. Mavis Reimer, Dean of Graduate Studies. “These students are asking interesting questions about complex problems and issues, and we look forward to watching them take their places as leaders in their fields over the next years. Thank you to the Province of Manitoba for recognizing and supporting the development of these talented young people.”
The current recipients in alphabetical order are:
Kaitlyn Duthie-Kannikkatt – Program of Study: Master’s in Development Practice (MDP)
Duthie-Kannikkatt graduated from Carleton University (Ottawa, ON) with a Bachelor of Arts in Global Politics and Spanish. Her research interests involve small-scale agriculture, agrobiodiversity conservation, and indigenous seed saving/recovery. She has also been involved in research on implementing free, prior and informed consent mechanisms. This included an undergraduate thesis on the consulta movement in Guatemala as a means of resisting unwanted mining and hydroelectric projects and encouraging community renewal through democratic participation. She is a current holder of a Social Science and Humanities Research Council Master’s Award, as well as a past recipient of the Carleton University Chancellors’ Scholarship and Senate Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement.
“The MDP program has helped me to think about development differently,” explains Duthie-Kannikkatt. “A skill that will help me regardless of the career path in which I find myself in.”
Mahsa Hooshmandi
Mahsa Hooshmandi – Program of Study: BioScience, Technology & Public Policy (MSc)
Hooshmandi was born in Iran and grew up in the city of Shiraz where she received her BSc in Agriculture in 2007 and an MSc in Entomology in 2012 (with a focus on integrated pest management and toxicological studies) from Shiraz University. In 2013 she received a scholarship from University of Winnipeg and moved to Canada to do her second MS. in Entomology (this time by focusing on insect ecology and conservation biology). She received a Manitoba Graduate Scholarship in 2014.
Dev Kashyap – Program of Study: Master’s in Development Practice (MDP)
Kashyap is a first generation Canadian of East Indian descent with a passion for International Development but particular improving the conditions for many Indigenous individuals around the world. A background in Engineering, and eight years of experience in the federal government with First Nations organizations and the Canadian International Development Agency has provided Dev with knowledge and experience to approach development issues. He firmly believes the future of indigenous development involves sustainable and autonomous solutions with a strong focus on maintaining traditional knowledge and language.
Mamneet (Sheena) Manghera – Program of Study: BioScience, Technology & Public Policy (MSc)
Manghera was the University of Winnipeg’s first recipient of a Master’s Scholarship from CIHR (Canadian Institute of Health Research) in 2013-2014, a one-year award, and has now been awarded the Manitoba Graduate Scholarship for her second year in the BioScience program. She presented a paper at the 2014 UWinnipeg Graduate Students Research Colloquium as well as the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition entitled Re-activation of human endogenous retrovirus-K during neuroinflamma-tion: A consequence of augmented NF-κB signaling.
“UWinnipeg has been excellent,” said Manghera. “I have learned essential research skills, which has helped lay down a strong foundation for me and will aid me in pursuing a PhD.”
Vanessa Nunes
Vanessa Nunes – Program of Study: Cultural Studies (MA)
Vanessa Nunes is a M.A. student in Cultural Studies at the University of Winnipeg, where she has completed a B.A. in English. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Communication – Journalism from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, in her home country, Brazil. Vanessa’s research interests include science fiction, fairy tales, internet culture, politics of representation, and post-colonialism.
Quinn Webber – Program of Study: BioScience, Technology & Public Policy (MSc)
Weber is in his second year in the Bioscience program at The University of Winnipeg working with biologist Dr. Craig Willis. He designed an experiment to examine how variation in social behavior and social network dynamics affect pathogen transmission in bats. His data will help to understand how sociality mediates pathogen transmission and how destruction or fragmentation of bat roosting habitat, which could alter social behaviour, might influence pathogen transmission in wildlife diseases with conservation or public health implications.
“I’ve had an excellent experience in the bioscience program,” said Webber. “The high quality of research in our department has allowed me to achieve the goals that I set out for myself prior to beginning the program.”
Graduate studies at The University of Winnipeg is a student-centered research program. The Faculty of Graduate Studies supports and promotes graduate education and research and fosters excellence in graduate programs. UWinnipeg attracts top national and international graduate students creating a diverse student body. UWinnipeg is highly ranked among small Canadian universities. We aim to help students excel and to ensure that they have a superior student experience.
