On November 22, Montreal’s AI Community gathered at the RBC Borealis offices to honor the latest cohort of exceptional doctoral students, who won one of the prestigious RBC Borealis Fellowships for 2023-2024.
The Partnerships team at RBC Borealis first established the Fellowships in 2018. Since then, the program has been supporting graduate students enrolled in Canadian universities and studying Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Education is the cornerstone of progress, and our fellowships aim to accelerate the breakthroughs stemming from Canada’s universities by enabling young scholars to focus and delve deeply into their academic research. Their work is at the forefront of the latest technological developments and has the potential to broadly impact our communities and our everyday lives in the near future.
The PhD Fellowships Program has shown remarkable growth in the number of students interested in it and in the benefits that the fellows gain through it. This year again, the initiative stayed true to its mission to foster a community of young thinkers and innovators, who will shape the future of AI/ML.
We created the RBC Borealis fellowships to ensure that PhD students in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have the resources they need to innovate, create and lead in their fields.
Director of Research Partnerships
RBC Borealis
The 2023-2024 Fellowship Award recipients, a diverse group of 10 talented individuals, were recognized for their research and its potential to drive transformative change in our society. They came from a variety of universities, including the University of British Columbia, Laval university, University of Calgary, University of Montreal, University of Saskatchewan, McGill University, Concordia University and University of Toronto to join the awards ceremony.
The evening kicked off with a warm welcome from Dr. Seiradaki, followed by an inspiring research keynote address on “Evaluation of NLG Systems” from Dr. Jackie Cheung, Associate Professor at McGill University | Mila and Canada CIFAR AI Chair. Dr. Cheung, who has been a respected mentor to many students, including past RBC Borealis Fellowships recipients. He emphasized the role of AI in shaping a better future for all.
This collaboration with RBC Borealis has been tremendously important and meaningful for my lab. My students have had the opportunity to work with top-notch researchers at RBC Borealis and we have been doing work that has impact both in the academic sphere and in terms of real-world outcomes.
Dr. Jackie Cheung
Associate Professor at McGill | Mila
CIFAR AI Chair
During the awards ceremony, attendees had the opportunity to network, engage with fellow PhD students, discuss the latest research developments, and forge meaningful connections. The exchange of ideas and the formation of new collaborations underscored the collaborative spirit that the Canadian AI community is renowned for.
For the Fellows, their families and friends, the ceremony was not only a professional milestone, but also a personal celebration of hard work and dedication. The impact of the RBC Borealis Fellowships Program was evident in the stories and testimonials of the recipients. More specifically, Guwendolyne Legate share:
A great benefit of this fellowship is exposure for my research. People from across Canada are going to know what I am doing, and this opens the door to some exciting collaborations.
Guwendolyne Legate
2024 RBC Borealis Fellow
Concordia University | Mila
As the evening concluded, the sense of community and shared purpose was palpable. The RBC Borealis Fellowships Program has once again proven its vital role in supporting the growth and development of Canada’s AI community.
We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to the distinguished 2023-2024 Fellows! We couldn’t be prouder to support your current academic journeys and pave the way towards your future career path in AI. Your potential to make significant contributions to the field of AI in the years to come is clear, and we are looking forward to the positive impact your work will have across communities. Keep up the excellent work and know that your efforts are recognized and deeply appreciated!
For anyone who was unable to attend the awards ceremony in person, don’t worry! We’ve got you covered! You can find below a photo album with highlights from the event.
Want to learn more about our Fellowships?
Our PhD Fellowships program has been designed to help exceptional domestic and international students achieve their goals as they pursue graduate degrees at a Canadian university in ML or AI.
Explore the program