What is the GeoRA Program?
Elevate your research with the Geo-Engineering and Geoscience Research Accelerator (GeoRA) Program, a unique initiative designed to foster innovation and collaboration among geoscience and geoengineering researchers. The GeoRA Program will serve as a dynamic hub for graduate students and researchers from various institutions. It’s an opportunity to share interdisciplinary expertise and resources in a supportive setting.
Why apply to GeoRA?
You will have the unique opportunity to work on your research and collaborate with peers from other universities and gain insight from industry professionals. The GeoRA program will expose you to a wide array of research being conducted by top institutions across Canada and internationally, fostering a broader perspective and development of alternate solution strategies. By leveraging the expertise of the numerous highly specialised fields that each university and their leading research teams are individually known for, this collaborative environment allows students to advance their research using concepts that they may have otherwise not been exposed to.
What will I get from being in the program?
By being part of the GeoRA Program, you get the following benefits:
- Gain exposure to methods being used by other students and adopting or adapting them for your own research – thus elevating it or allowing for an alternative perspective.
- Have the opportunity to extend your research into new areas through collaboration with other students, including opportunities to co-author papers or to solve problems that would otherwise have been mutually exclusive to working on your own.
- Attend in-house technical seminars from visiting University Professors describing their research and their students.
- Be part of a prestigious group where you will develop your network of colleagues and contacts in academia and industry.
- Include the GeoRA Program on your resume or CV.
The Program
Applying for the program
The 2026 GeoRA Program will run for 11 weeks, between June 1 and August 14, and be accepting a maximum of 10 graduate students from Canadian and International research institutions. The program will be hosted within the Vancouver office of BGC Engineering Inc., a world-class geoscience and geological engineering consultancy with extensive experience in research and development projects.
Students accepted into the program will be expected to:
- Commit to the full 11-week duration of the program.
- Be open and willing to share techniques and skills among their fellow students.
- Participate in weekly roundtable updates on their research topic (internal to the GeoRA Program).
- Provide at least one lunchtime technical seminar on their research during their time in the program. This seminar may be attended by the host BGC technical staff, local universities or other industry guests.
Regular check-ins with your supervising professor will be encouraged to ensure that you maintain momentum in your registered program. In addition, a member of the BGC staff will facilitate the weekly internal roundtable meetings and broader technical seminars. BGC’s senior and principal staff will also engage with the GeoRA Program students in a casual manner by visiting with the students, and attending some of the technical seminars, allowing you to discuss your research and to hear from real-world practitioners.
University professors with students enrolled in the program will be extended invitations and encouraged to visit during the program to provide additional expertise to the group.
The visiting professors will each provide a technical training seminar and be available to provide mentoring to all students enrolled in the GeoRA program for portions of their visit.
Applications
Application for the 2026 GeoRA Program is due by midnight PDT, February 6, 2026.
Accepted candidates will be notified by February 11, 2026 and confirmation of attendance will be required by March 1, 2026.
The application form can be found by using the button below.
Please download the form and e-mail a completed copy to GeoRA@bgcengineering.ca by midnight PDT, February 6, 2026.
Costs and grants
There is no cost for attending the GeoRA Program. Accepted students are required to cover their own costs for accommodation, meals and transportation, however, BGC is generously providing each attendee a grant of $5500 CAD per student to assist with such costs over the 11 weeks of the program.
Contact the program director
Dr. Alex Baumgard, P.Eng. P.Geo.
abaumgard@bgcengineering.ca
Ph. +1 (604)-684-5900
The fine print
Research from GeoRA students must be compatible with working in an office environment. For research where laboratory or field investigation is a component, this component must be completed outside of the GeoRA Program.
Students will be provided workstations with computer monitors, access to internet, printers, photocopiers and IT support. However, students are required to bring their own computers (laptops or desktops).
Conference rooms are available for use by GeoRA students and equipped with videoconferencing capabilities.