The provincial government, the University of Regina and the University have Saskatchewan have selected this year’s recipients of 2 scholarships awarded to graduate students conducting research, both worth $20-thousand.

The Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship is awarded to Abayomi Rasheed Akintola, who is a student at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the U of R. He is studying big data in the public sector.

The Queen Elizabeth II Centennial Aboriginal Scholarship is split between 2 recipients. Merelda Lynn Fiddler-Potter is also a grad student at Johnson Shoyama at the U of R. She is exploring how current storytelling in the media affects both the media and policy agendas. Her co-recipient is Aidan Mowat, who is working on a Doctorate of Philosophy in Geological Sciences at USask. Her research is on the hydrogeology of the Williston Basin in southern Saskatchewan, which is a significant resource for water supply, energy resources and minerals.