## Breadcrumb 1. [Home](/index%2Ephp/) 2. [News and Stories](/index%2Ephp/news) 3. [OCAD U receives more than $1 million to support research](/index%2Ephp/markdownify/node/3843) October 22, 2025 # OCAD U receives more than $1 million to support research ![Image of OCAD University, looking up to the tabletop design](/sites/default/files/styles/1_5_1_large/public/2025-10/front%20building%20angled_0.webp?itok=-puTJUxG) rgb(255,255,255) OCAD University has received $668,695 from the Research Support Fund, announced on October 22 by the Government of Canada as part of its commitment to supporting Canadian research excellence and a diverse research ecosystem. In making the announcement, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, said the [federal government is investing more than $690 million in science and research funding](https://www.canada.ca/en/research-chairs/news/2025/10/government-of-canada-invests-to-support-research-excellence.html). This includes over $198 million to support 259 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs and more than $482 million to be distributed through the Research Support Fund. “Canada’s research community continues to push boundaries and deliver discoveries that strengthen our economy and improve lives across the country,” said Minister Joly. “By investing in outstanding talent and the infrastructure that fuels their work, our government is helping ensure that Canadian innovation remains a force on the world stage – now and for generations to come.” Earlier this year, the federal government announced that OCAD U was awarded the Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Diasporic Digital Humanities, Tier 2, held by Associate Professor Dr. Immony Mèn. The University received $500,000 over the next five years for this CRC. Dr. Mèn’s research program is addressing the underrepresentation of Asian diasporic narratives within the digital humanities in Canada while exploring innovative media approaches to diasporic digital storytelling through cross-disciplinary connections between media arts, interaction design and social art practices. Through the establishment of the Diasporic Media Research Centre for Asian Diaspora, Dr. Mèn’s research will advance our understanding of the diverse relations, aesthetics, discourse, and practices that exist within Canadian media art and arts education. This will contribute to more inclusive, representative cultural frameworks. Working collectively with artists, scholars, researchers and community members who identify as Indigenous, Black or People of Colour, at the emerging intersection between diaspora studies and digital humanities, Dr. Mèn is developing new ethical models for research-creation and humanities-related research scholarship around diasporic narratives, cultural expression, network formation, and knowledge-sharing. His work in diasporic digital humanities offers innovative models for mentorship, knowledge production, multi-generational dialogue, dissemination and pedagogical strategies to ethically position diasporic cultural production and peer network formation for racialized and Indigenous scholars within art, culture and education. Dr. Mèn joins Dr. Andrea Fatona, CRC in Canadian Black Diasporic Cultural Production, Tier 2, both funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. There are also two ongoing CRC nominee searches underway: a Tier 1 in Indigenous Creative Practice and a Tier 2 in the Future of Design. **About the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) Program** The CRC program is a tri-agency initiative of the [Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council](http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/ "SSHRC Web Page"), the [Natural Science and Engineering Research Council](http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ "NSERC Web Page"), and the [Canadian Institutes of Health Research](http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/ "CIHR Web Page") aimed at enhancing research excellence in Canada in the humanities, social sciences, health sciences, natural sciences and engineering. Tier 1 Chairs are recognized as world leaders in their fields and receive $1.4 million over seven years, while Tier 2 Chairs are emerging leaders who receive $500,000 over five years. **About the Research Support Fund** As part of the October 22 announcement, more than $482 million will be distributed through the [Research Support Fund](https://www.rsf-fsr.gc.ca/home-accueil-eng.aspx), administered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council on behalf of the three federal research granting agencies, to ensure researchers and institutions across Canada are equipped to address new demands in the current research environment and to compete on a global scale. ## Other Recent News [### 2027 Critical Distance Centre for Curators Projections Program Call for Artists OCAD University’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) and Critical Distance Centre for Curators (CDCC) have partnered to co-create CDCC Projections Program Career Launcher. Four (4) to five (5) selected emerging artists will receive $690 to exhibit work in a single channel, projection-based screening program that will be displayed at the CDCC in March 2027. October 30, 2026 ](/news/2027-critical-distance-centre-curators-projections-program-call-artists) [### Call for Vendors: BAM! Holiday Art Market 2026 OCAD University's RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) is excited to partner again with Wychwood Barns to offer a curated group of OCAD U students and recent alumni the opportunity to share a vendor table at the BAM! Holiday Art Market. October 26, 2026 ](/news/call-vendors-bam-holiday-art-market-2026) [### OCAD U’s Global Centre for Climate Action and EU bring large-scale art to Toronto’s Canada Malting Silos "The Light" and "Melting Temporalities" transformed the waterfront into a canvas for climate reflection. October 6, 2026 ](/news/ocad-us-global-centre-climate-action-and-eu-bring-large-scale-art-torontos-canada-malting) Related Stories ## Related Stories [### Erased from the playbill: how AI is helping to map Nazi censorship of German music theatre A four-year project led by OCAD U Associate Professor Dr. Helmut Reichenbächer examines how music-theatre programming in Germany was reshaped from the Weimar Republic to the Nazi era. September 16, 2026 ](/news/erased-playbill-how-ai-helping-map-nazi-censorship-german-music-theatre) [### Research investigates how sustained material practices can help people process memory, grief and loss Dr. Nithikul Nimkulrat’s research project is developing a theoretical account of how memory, grief, and loss are experienced not only cognitively or verbally, but through the body, materials, objects, relationships and time. September 4, 2026 ](/index%2Ephp/news/research-investigates-how-sustained-material-practices-can-help-people-process-memory-grief) [### SSHRC funds studies of cultural censorship, and grief and nostalgia through craft One project maps patterns of cultural censorship during the Nazi era while a second is developing a theory of grief and nostalgia through embodied material practices. July 21, 2026 ](/news/sshrc-funds-studies-cultural-censorship-and-grief-and-nostalgia-through-craft)