Scholarly Viewpoint Challenge

To complement our Research Exploration Opportunity, which provides high school student mentees the chance to conduct novel research in University labs, we started the Scholarly Viewpoint Challenge (SVC) in 2019 to provide our mentees an opportunity to hone their scholarly writing skills. Through the SVC, mentees have the opportunity to publish their scientific viewpoints in the STEM Fellowship Journal (SFJ), an open-access peer-reviewed academic journal published by Canadian Science Publishing.

Registration opens annually in May and the challenge is held during August. Enrolment is open to high school students in grades 10–12 and first-year undergraduate students. There is a $10 registration fee.

Overall, mentees will be offered guidance throughout the process by their assigned undergraduate- and graduate-level mentors, the SFJ editors upon submitting their scientific viewpoints, and doctorate-holding peer-reviewers in a respective field. Additionally, we empower students with the tools to succeed through interactive scholarly writing webinars. For instance, our “Blueprint to a Viewpoint” webinar overview can be seen below (subject to updates):

For more information please contact:
viewpoint.challenge@stemfellowship.org

Publication and Awards

All interested mentees will have the opportunity to submit their scientific viewpoints for publication. Each year, the author of the top scientific viewpoints will be awarded with free or discounted publications (sponsored by the SFJ). In 2021, $1400 of discounted publication fees were offered as awards (subject to change). For more information on the STEM Fellowship Journal, please visit: https://journal.stemfellowship.org/journal/sfj

Please see below for the past winners.

2023 Winners

Disclaimer: 2023 papers are currently unpublished and may be subject to change as they are undergoing a standardized academic peer review process by doctorate-holding experts in respective fields.

2022 Winners

Disclaimer: 2022 papers are currently unpublished and may be subject to change as they are undergoing a standardized academic peer review process by doctorate-holding experts in respective fields.

Second Overall – Simone Lilavois

2021 Winners

Disclaimer: 2021 papers are currently unpublished and may be subject to change as they are undergoing a standardized academic peer review process by doctorate-holding experts in respective fields.

2020 Winners

Disclaimer: 2020 papers are currently unpublished and may be subject to change as they are undergoing a standardized academic peer review process by doctorate-holding experts in respective fields.

Other papers from the 2020 challenge can be found” with a hyperlink to the link below.

Other papers from the 2020 challenge can be found here.

2019 Winners

For me, SVC was a great opportunity to explore a topic of interest while developing important scholarly writing skills. I was extremely impressed by the level of support and insight from the writing workshops and my mentor. I truly recommend this program to anyone looking to improve their scientific literacy skills!

Claire Li, Grade 11 Student at Webber Academy

This experience as a whole was both challenging and exhilarating. It provided me with a unique experience where I was given the creative freedom to learn more about a topic that interested me in a manner that challenged my prior beliefs. I am thankful to the team that organized this competition for providing me with this opportunity.

Harsimranjit Nafriaan, Grade 12 Student at Turner Fenton Secondary School

SVC furthered my knowledge and ability in research through teaching me what sorts of things to look out for in order to obtain high quality sources. My mentor also helped me word my sentences better and improve my academic writing. SVC was a great educational experience!!

Iffah Sami, Grade 10 Student at Stephen Lewis Secondary School

Overall, I found my SVC experience excellent! The mentors were extremely knowledgeable and I learned a lot about science and scientific writing, allowing me to continue through my academic journey with a stronger understanding of logic, writing, and the scientific environment!

Ignacio Gimon Lopez, Grade 10 Student at Westmount Charter School

The Scholarly Viewpoint Challenge was a great experience to learn about the process of building an academic research paper!

Heraa Muqri, First Year Undergraduate Student at the University of Toronto