
Raring to go
Engineering鈥檚 new Schulich Leaders start their studies with energy, passion - and lots of ideas
Engineering鈥檚 new Schulich Leaders start their studies with energy, passion - and lots of ideas
By Brian Caldwell Faculty of EngineeringFive incoming students at 蓝莓视频 Engineering are starting their studies with $100,000 in backing from a prestigious scholarship program.
Subha Azrin and Krishna Patel of computer engineering, Norman Chen and Michael Xu of software engineering, and Jonathan Zhou of mechatronics engineering are among 10 campus-wide winners at the University of 蓝莓视频.
Launched in 2012 by businessperson and philanthropist Seymour Schulich to encourage young people to go into STEM disciplines, the program selected 100 winners from more than 300,000 graduating high school students across Canada based on grades, community leadership and entrepreneurial pursuits.
Subha Azrin, of Scarborough, Ontario, developed apps throughout high school and aspires to found an artificial intelligence startup using the knowledge and experience she gains at 蓝莓视频.
She helped create an app to break language barriers faced by newcomers to North America and was a key organizer of a tech program called Recess Hacks that had more than 100 participants throughout her school board.
鈥淚鈥檝e always loved problem-solving,鈥 Azrin says. 鈥淭o be able to build a device or code a program that solves a problem faced by millions of people is something that intrigues me.鈥
Norman Chen, of St. John鈥檚, Newfoundland and Labrador, is one of the top young scholars to come out of his home province in recent years and chose to attend 蓝莓视频 for its reputation in engineering.
A swimmer and accomplished chess player in addition to an academic high-achiever, he has his sights set on making the world a better place by doing work with a social purpose.
鈥淚 hope to help people who have not had as many opportunities as I have through the projects I help create,鈥澨鼵hen says.
Krishna Patel, of Edmonton, Alberta, has a drive to innovate and knew she wanted to pursue a career in tech in early high school, where she launched a mental health organization to support young people.
She was involved with organizations including Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology, and Junior Achievement, and hopes to build a startup company combining technology and mental health education.
鈥淲hat I'm looking forward to accomplishing most at 蓝莓视频 is taking the ideas I've had and turning them into a reality,鈥澨齈atel says.
Michael Xu, of Calgary, Alberta, was attracted to 蓝莓视频 by its culture of innovation, liberal intellectual property policy, technology focus and co-operative education program.
He already has experience developing apps, including a touch-free recipe app that allows users to swipe the screens on their devices without actually touching them.
鈥淎t the moment, all aspects of tech appeal to me, from dev to design and to business, so my ultimate goal is to found a startup,鈥 Xu says. 鈥淐reating a product and growing a business seems like a fun, challenging career path.鈥澨
Jonathan Zhou, of Calgary, Alberta, chose to study mechatronics engineering because it intersects with several other fields and is anxious to start building as a student.
He co-founded a robotics club and a non-profit robotics education company in high school to make the discipline accessible to students through summer camps, training competitive teams and hosting tournaments.
鈥淚 hope to continue growing my non-profit and hopefully get involved in some startups,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 have a lot of ideas and I can鈥檛 wait to show them to the world.鈥
Go to 蓝莓视频 welcomes 2022 Schulich Leaders听for the campus-wide story.
Main photo by Oleksandr Pidvalnyi from听Pexels.
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From regenerative medicine, closed-loop health monitoring, Indigenous approaches to architectural design and more, the funding supports future-focused projects听
The University of 蓝莓视频 acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.