The Schulich Leader Scholarships is a Canadian and Israeli undergraduate award program that provides scholarships for students enrolled in STEM areas of study. Established in 2011 following a $100 million gift from Canadian businessman and philanthropist Seymour Schulich[2] and co-administered by the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto,[3] the program was initiated with the goal of producing STEM leaders to strengthen the economic competitiveness of Canada and Israel.[4] In the inaugural year, 977 high schools and CÉGEPs across Canada put forward a nominee to compete in the annual award competition.[5] In 2015, 1,250 students were nominated, fifty of whom were selected for the scholarship by one of the twenty participating universities.[6] In 2020, the size of the program doubled in Canada, offering 100 scholarships annually totalling $11 million CAD.
Selection process
Canada
In Canada, all secondary schools may submit a single nominee for the award each year, with the exception of CÉGEPs in Québec, which may submit four. To be eligible for the scholarship, nominees must meet two criteria: (1) academic excellence, (2) leadership, charisma and creativity. Strong consideration will be given to students with financial need. Nominees must also be entrepreneurial-minded and intend to pursue a career in one or more of the following focus areas: (a) Technology; (b) Engineering; (c) Entrepreneurship and business enterprise; (d) Applied scientific research. [7]
Choosing from the pool of nominees who have applied to their institution, each of twenty participating universities select two students to become Schulich Leader Scholarship recipients - one student pursuing undergraduate studies in engineering receives a scholarship valued at $120,000 CAD, while the second scholarship, allocated to a student in one of the other three STEM disciplines, has a $100,000 CAD value.[8]
Israel
In addition to the Canadian program, Schulich Leader Scholarships is being carried out at five participating universities in Israel.[9]
In Israel, nominees are evaluated based on similar attributes: leadership, academic standing, and financial need.[10]
Each university selects ten Schulich Leaders annually: five engineer-based Leaders and five science, technology or mathematics-based Leaders.[11] In 2020, Technion - Institute for Technology launched a custom Schulich Leaders Entrepreneurship Program that awards 15 annual scholarship recipients through an independent in-person screening process. Applicants are eligible after year one of undergraduate study, receiving financial support for two to three years of their Bachelor's degrees and are immersed in a valuable entrepreneurship enrichment program. [12]
Universities and Schulich Leaders
The following university partners distribute Schulich Leader Scholarships: