Guidelines for Involving Students in Sponsored Research Projects
Overview
This is guidance for Principal Investigators (PIs) at UCalgary on the appropriate inclusion and management of students in sponsored research projects. It outlines key provisions and responsibilities to ensure compliance with university policies and any sponsor requirements.
Identifying Student Involvement in Sponsored Research
When you are discussing a possible project with the sponsor, you should disclose if students will be involved in the research. This is important for a few reasons:
- Sponsor should be aware of who is working on the research project.
- Sponsor should be aware that under the University of Calgary’s IP Policy, students may be deemed ‘Creators’ and gain ownership rights in any intellectual property which arises.
- Sponsor should be aware that if a student-thesis is anticipated, the right of publication without delay must be guaranteed.
Agreement Submission to Research Legal
When making your submission to Research Legal, it is vital you disclose the involvement of any students in your proposed research project. Research Legal does not have the ability to identify students’ involvement if it is not disclosed. The Research Legal team member working on your file may need to make modifications to a sponsored research agreement if any students will be working on the project depending on the terms proposed by the sponsor.
Responsibilities of PI
The PI is responsible for ensuring that any students working on a sponsored research project are bound by the terms of the applicable sponsored research contract. This is done using the Research Participant Agreement. Once your sponsored research contract has been executed, but before your students have commenced work on the project, you will need to provide each student with a copy of the sponsored research contract and a Research Participant Agreement. Students should provide you with a copy of their executed Research Participant Agreement and it is the PI’s responsibility to ensure a record is kept of each document in the event a dispute arises on the project.
As the supervisor of a sponsored research project, the PI is responsible for ensuring (1) compliance by UCalgary students who are involved in the project and (2) that any student involved in the project is eligible to participate in the project. The Research Participant Agreement is not meant to replace active monitoring by the PI. It is recommended that all PIs familiarize themselves with the terms and conditions of their sponsored research project to ensure that they can act as the main point of contact for any student’s inquiries.
Specific considerations which PIs must address:
- PI must inform students of any Intellectual Property (IP) provisions in the sponsored research agreement.
- PI must ensure students understand and respect any confidentiality obligations outlined in the agreement.
- PI must ensure students understand their role on a research project.
- PIs should clarify any sponsor-imposed restrictions on publication of results and ensure students are aware of these limitations.
- PIs must ensure that a sponsored research contract does not impose restrictions which conflict with a student’s involvement.
PIs must ensure that their students are eligible to participate in the research project. For example, does the student have the required training/certifications, is the student restricted from accessing certain export-controlled goods, does the student have a conflict of interest with the sponsor, will you be able to monitor and supervise the student as the research is conducted?