SLXCA is a cross-country series of Schulich Leader Network events aiming to connect, educate and inspire our community of science and technology innovators! This was the third year that these provincial events took place – simultaneous events at seven university locations connected to one another through Facebook Live.

A huge thank you goes out to The Schulich Foundation for funding this platform that enabled our Schulich Leaders to team up to facilitate each event and set-off on group travel missions to convene at university hubs far and wide.

To get a sense of SLXCA, watch this teaser video created by our very own Schulich Leader at U of T, Sabrina Cruz of Nerdy & Quirky, Co-produced by squad Captain Julia Won in U of T’s Life Sciences program.

SLXCA events brought out some of the finest Faculty and University leadership to educate and engage with our Schulich Leaders.

On the west-coast at SLXBC, hosted by the University of Victoria at the Engineering Science Building, Dr. Ian Manners – Canada 150 Research Chair in Material Science, served as the event’s featured guest speaker. UVic’s President & Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Jamie Cassels; Dean of Engineering, Dr. Peter Wild; and Associate Dean of Engineering, Dr. Robin Hicks also joined the Leaders for a unique day-long event on BC’s island. Schulich Leaders based in BC participated with Leaders from SFU, UBC and UVic, along with several Schulich Leader alumni who have moved back to their home province and were able to join in at UVic.

   

At the province next door, the University of Alberta played host to SLXAB, with Schulich Leaders from the University of Calgary, University of Saskatchewan and UAlberta participating. The event took place at Fred Pheasy Engineering Commons with the Dean of Science, Dr. Jonathan Shaeffer welcoming the Leaders. The featured Faculty was Dr. Jack Jhamandas with a keynote titled “Chasing the Holy Grail: Quest for Novel Therapy in Alzheimer’s Disease”. The University of Manitoba had an intimate SLXCA event attended by the university’s top-brass – President & Vice-Chancellor, Dr. David Barnard; Associate Dean of Engineering, Dr. Marcia Friesen; and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Krystyna Koczanski.

   

In Ontario, six universities convened at MaRS Discovery District with a post-event hosted by U of T in the brand new Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Toronto’s event opened with a Job Fair featuring some of Canada’s top employers of STEM interns and graduates.

   

The program’s founder, Mr. Seymour Schulich, opened the formal portion of the shared itinerary across the seven SLXCA events with an extended Q&A period. 

   

The Toronto event served as the main hub to broadcast out content and lead the first national competition, SLXspark. The problem set out was to find the most innovative initiative to promote STEM within the K-12 education system in Canada. The winners were a group of Schulich Leaders from the SLXBC event that conceived and pitched the idea of using an augmented reality application to incorporate STEM concepts into our everyday lives. 

    

The Faculty Keynote was University of Toronto’s Tissue Engineering & Senior Advisor to President on Science & Engineering Engagement, Dr. Molly S Shoichet, PhD, O.C., O. Ont., framing her presentation on her career pursuits in Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, titled: “Finding Your Inner Geek”.

Dr. Shoichet is a Founding Partner of a new national program to bring awareness to the pursuit of STEM research and innovation through Research2Reality.

 

A staple at SLXCA events is Leader Talks, where Schulich Leaders take the stage for lightning talks to give others a glimpse into their world of innovation and leadership experiences.

 

See the Leader Talk by Schulich Leader Graduate in Software Engineering at Western University ’18 and current MD Candidate, Blake vanBerlo here.

 

UWaterloo’s 2014 Schulich Leader completing Hons. BSc in Astrophysics, Emily Pass’ Leader Talk here.

2017 Schulich Leader at McMaster University Nicole Wong, pursuing a BSc in Life Sciences, gave a stunning Leader Talk presentation on leadership here.

Other events hosted on the east-coast were held at the University of Ottawa’s state-of-the-art Desmarais Building with Schulich Leader squads from UOttawa, McGill, Laval and UMontréal. The featured Faculty Keynote was Dr. Andrew Pelling, Professor, Physics & Biology, Pelling Lab of Augmented Biology. Dalhousie University played host to Schulich Leaders from the University of New Brunswick and Dalhousie, with the Provost & VP, Academic, Dr. Chris Moore in attendance. On Canada’s far-east coast, Memorial University featured the Dean of Engineering, Dr. Greg Naterer, hosting the Schulich Leaders based in Newfoundland.

Thank you to all of our Schulich Leaders who travelled far and wide to participate in our marquee network event of the year, SLXCA! 

THANK YOU TO OUR ALL-STAR CAST OF VOLUNTEERS IN THE SCHULICH LEADER NETWORK WHO BROUGHT SLXCA EVENTS TO LIFE!! (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER):

 

SLXBC: AUSTIN SAWYER, WYLEE FITZ-GERALD, LASYA VAKAYALA, AISHWI ROSHAN, JASMINE RAI, JENNIFER YI, GURMAN KHERA, RAAJ CHATTERJEE, ARTHUR CHEN | SLXAB: NATASHA DHANA, ANDREW TE LINDE, KINGA NOLAN, HANNAH RAHIM, JOYCELYN HO, LANCE PITKA, REGAN WILSON, MANPREET DEOL, BEN HALLWORTH, VAIDEHEE LANKE | SLXMB: SHAYNA TIMMERMAN | SLXON:  SABRINA CRUZ, JULIA WON, EMILY PASS, SANDRA SMELTZER, ANDRES LOMBO, DANNY McINNIS, JOSHUA GUINNESS, SHERRY WONG, ANNIE YAO, KAYLIE LAU, CINDY WEI, JESSIE PAYNE, MACKENZIE COLLINS, JAMIE-LEE FREESTON | SLXQC: CHARLES NELLIS,  MARIA PARK, IVA DEMIROVA, ALEX DEANS, MICHELLE JANUSZ, GABRIELLE MARTINEAU, FELIX DEROCHERS | SLXNS: WES FINCK, CASSIE HALL, NATHAN McNALLY, GAIA NOSEWORTHY, SOPHIA MIAO, AMANDA MacLEAN, ALYSHA ROSE | SLXNL: JULIE YOUNG