The Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets (IREx) offers many internships, career days and training opportunities for Quebec secondary school and cegep students. These activities allow students to learn more about astronomy, exoplanets, telescopes and a career in astronomy, and to meet professional astronomers in their research environments.
IREx typically organises a few Career Days each year for high school and cegep students who want to learn more about what astronomers do. In small groups (between 5 and 15 participants), students spend a day at the MIL campus of the Université de Montréal with IREx astronomers, including presentations, interactive activities, question and answer periods, a tour of our laboratories, informal discussions and more. These Career Days are often held in the Fall and the Spring, sometimes in collaboration with the Jeunes Explorateurs program.
In 2024-2025, a first career day will be offered on December 13, 2024. Contact Marie-Eve Naud if you’re interested!
UdeM astronomers (from left to right) Nicole St-Louis, Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo and Patrick Dufour talk about the work of an astrophysicist to young students. (Credit: M.-E. Naud)
IREx, in collaboration with several partners, organizes an annual winter event for cegep students interested in a career as an astrophysicist. At the event, they have the opportunity to meet graduate students and astrophysics researchers from the department, as well as learn more about a career as an astrophysicist. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, the event, under the name “Journée d’initiation à la recherche en astrophysique”, took place in person at UdeM for a full day. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, the event moved online, in the evening, and its name was changed to “Soirée d’initiation à la recherche en astrophysique”. In January 2024, IREx and its partners joined forces with UdeM’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences to offer an in-person full-day event, the “Séjour découverte en astrophysique”.
In 2025, the Séjour découverte en astrophysique will be held in virtual mode. Stay tuned for more information!
The Marie Curie Scholarship is awarded each year to a student graduating from CEGEP admitted to the physics program at the Université de Montréal. It allows them to participate in a paid internship of 3 or 4 months in one of the department’s research groups, including with IREx professors, during the summer preceding the beginning of their physics program. This scholarship is sponsored by renowned astrophysicist, Hubert Reeves. The deadline to apply is March 1st each year (check website to confirm).
InitiaSciences is a unique program in Quebec that offers secondary school and CEGEP students the opportunity to participate in cutting-edge scientific research projects with the personalised support of university students and young researchers. This initiative was founded in 2021 by several Ph.D. students from Quebec institutions including IREx. In 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, two of the mentors were IREx student-researchers: André Beaudoin and Caroline Piaulet (2022-2023), Leslie Moranta and Alexandrine L’Heureux (2023-2024). In 2024-2025, Pierrot Lamontagne, an IREx master’s student, will be a mentor. Details of how to apply for the 2024-2025 cohort are available on the InitiaSciences website and on our social networks.
Given the large number of requests we receive for training and mentoring of youth at the primary, secondary and CEGEP levels, we strongly encourage youth to get involved in our existing initiatives. That said, you can contact Marie-Eve Naud, our Education and Public Outreach Coordinator, if you have a special request. Some of our researchers and student researchers are sometimes available for mentoring projects, science fairs or occasional discussions or meetings with students.
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