Borealis AI launches fellowship program to support and grow emerging AI talent in Canada

TORONTO, Feb. 20, 2018 /CNW/ - Continuing its commitment to academic excellence in fundamental research in artificial intelligence (AI), Borealis AI today announced the launch of the Borealis AI Graduate Fellowship Program, which will offer financial support to domestic and international students wishing to pursue graduate-level work in the fields of machine learning or artificial intelligence at a Canadian university.

"We truly believe there's no better place in the world right now than Canada to be studying AI-related fields," says Foteini Agrafioti, Chief Science Officer of RBC and Head of Borealis AI. "Between our top-tier universities, booming AI ecosystem, inclusivity and overall quality of life, Canada is a highly valued destination for students and RBC is continuing its commitment to create these opportunities."

The 10 fellowships will be awarded to outstanding students in Master's and PhD-level areas of study who have already been admitted to a Canadian school. Requirements for participation include a demonstration of strong research capabilities and a sound research proposal for graduate studies. Borealis AI will commit $100,000 annually to the fellowships, which will be administered directly to the school where the winners are registered.

There will also be opportunities for fellowship winners to apply for a number of Borealis AI co-op and internship positions around our network of labs in Toronto, Edmonton, Waterloo and Montreal. Selected candidates will be able to pursue their independent research under the academic guidance of top AI researchers such as Professor Matthew Taylor, Professor Pascal Poupart, Professor Jackie Cheung and Professor Marcus Brubaker.

Submissions for the Borealis AI Fellowship Program open today, February 20, 2018, and close on September 28, 2018 at 12 a.m. EST. For more information about the fellowship program, full eligibility criteria and to submit an application, visit: www.borealisai.com/fellowships.

About Borealis AI
Borealis AI, an RBC Institute for Research, is a curiosity-driven research centre dedicated to achieving state-of-the-art in machine learning. Established in 2016, with labs in Toronto and Edmonton, Borealis AI supports open academic collaborations and teams up with world-class research centres in artificial intelligence. With a focus on ethical AI that will help communities thrive, the machine learning scientists perform fundamental and applied research in areas such as reinforcement learning, natural language processing, deep learning and unsupervised learning to solve ground-breaking problems in diverse fields. For more information please see: www.borealisai.com.

About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 80,000+ employees who bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank, and one of the largest in the world based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our 16 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 35 other countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.

We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-sustainability/.

SOURCE RBC Royal Bank