HSBDC Scholar Internship Program

2026–2027 HSBDC Scholar Internship

Scholar Internship Pathway

HSBDC Scholar Internship is a four-month blended experiential-learning program for high school and CEGEP students. Participants attend weekly in-person university sessions and take online Cisco Networking Academy and Google classroom lessons.

They cover Data Science Essentials with Python course with industry-level certification, receive scholarly research mentorship and hands-on experience conducting an original open-data and AI research project in an agile team that leads to an academic conference and publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Build a university-ready research portfolio through data science, AI inquiry, scientific writing and academic presentation.

How the Scholar
Internship Pathway Works

1. Register

2. Certification

Complete Cisco Networking Academy Data Science Essentials with Python training and certification.

3. Research

Join mentor facilitated research teams and learn the fundamentals of agile research team work: defining the research topic connected to the annual HSBDC theme and developing the topic-related literature review.

4. Investigate

Conduct an original open-data and AI investigation, interpret patterns and develop evidence-based recommendations.

5. Present

Submit team project manuscript, digital poster, and 5-min YouTube research explanation, then prepare a physical poster and three-minute one-slide thesis presentation for an HSBDC conference.

United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger

Registration & Fee

It includes:

Cisco Academy Data Science Essentials with Python training and certification.

Weekly university‑level academic instruction in data science, AI inquiry, and scientific communication.

Mentored research ideation, literature review, open‑data search, analysis, and data visualization.

Scientific writing instruction with hands‑on manuscript development.

Experience working in an agile, interdisciplinary research team.

Access to open datasets and industry‑level tools used in the challenge.

Conference participation, including poster presentation and one-slide, three-minute thesis presentation for conference participation.

Scholarly abstract publication in conference proceedings

$980

per participant

*All prices are in Canadian dollars

Important dates

Sep 1, 2026

(at 11:59 PM ET)

Registration opens

TBD

Program Q&A Session

Oct 18, 2026

(at 11:59 PM ET)

Registration Deadline

Oct 18, 2026 - Jan 10, 2027

(at 11:59 PM ET)

Program and Research Period

Jan 10, 2027

(at 11:59 PM ET)

Manuscript Deadline

Jan 17, 2027

(at 11:59 PM ET)

Poster and Slide Deadline

Feb 5, 2027

(at 11:59 PM ET)

Canada West Conference
Hunter Hub, University of Calgary

Feb 12, 2027

Canada East Conference
Hart House, University of Toronto

Feb 20, 2027

Francophone/Bilingual Conference
West Island College, Montreal

STEM Fellowship owl mascot teaching with pointer symbolizing guidance and education

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the National High School Big Data & AI Challenge?

Each team submits a research abstract, manuscript, 5-minute YouTube research pitch, and digital poster. Teams also prepare a physical research poster and three-minute/one slide thesis presentation for conference participation.

2. Will student work be published?

Team abstracts are published in the peer-reviewed academic STEM Fellowship Journal as part of the conference proceedings. The full manuscript of the winning team of the scholarly publication award gets published as a separate paper. Those interested in scholarly publication of their full project report are welcomed to submit through the Journal’s standard editorial process.

3. Are awards available?

Yes. Participants are eligible for research-poster, three-minute thesis presentation and manuscript awards. Final prize amounts and award conditions will be published when confirmed.

4. May participants choose their regional conference?

Yes. Participants may choose the national conference they would like to participate in. Unfortunately, multiple conference participation is not budgeted in the participation fees.

5. Is conference attendance required?

Conference attendance is optional. It is required to compete for prizes. Abstract publication in the conference proceedings does not depend on attending the conference event.

6. What are the registration, payment, and cancellation deadlines?

Registration and payment are due by October 18, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET. Participants may cancel their registration until October 17, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET.

7. Where can I find pathway-specific fees and learning details?

Pathway-specific fees, learning models, support and registration information are provided on the Scholar Internship Pathway and Independent Research Pathway pages.

8. What is the expected weekly time commitment?

Scholar Internship participants should expect to spend around 6 hours per week + 2 hours for the weekly academic session. Independent Research participants plan experiential learning and research on their own.

9. Do I need a high-performance computer to participate?

Yes. Participants are eligible for research-poster, three-minute thesis presentation and manuscript awards. Final prize amounts and award conditions will be published when confirmed.