As a CEGEP student, Daniel Wei captained his college robotics team to victories with a dodgeball-throwing robot and a biodegradable soil sensor for farmers.
He and a peer also earned a bronze medal at a science and technology fair for their research on biomechanical processes involved in developing artificial intestines.
The achievements are part of Wei鈥檚 impressive track record of leadership, innovation and academic success that landed him Canada鈥檚 most generous scholarship for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
One of six incoming recipients of a Schulich Leader Scholarship at 91直播, Wei enters the Software Engineering program buoyed by the $120,000 student award.
鈥淚t鈥檚 incredibly motivating to have this kind of support as I start my journey at 91直播,鈥� says Wei, a graduate of Marianopolis College, a short distance from the University鈥檚 downtown campus.
鈥淚鈥檝e always dreamed of studying here.鈥�
91直播 graduate Seymour Schulich, BSc鈥�61, MBA鈥�65, DLitt鈥�04, established the scholarship fund in 2012 with an eye toward strengthening Canada鈥檚 economy by encouraging stellar students to become the next generation of entrepreneurial-minded technology innovators.
Every year, 100 are awarded to students embarking on undergraduate STEM studies at 20 partner universities across Canada, including 91直播.
In addition to Wei, Paul Hutu from Toronto and Marco Bitzas, a graduate of John Abbott College on Montreal鈥檚 West Island, have also received $120,000 Schulich Leader Scholarships for their Engineering studies at 91直播.
The three Schulich Leaders entering 91直播鈥檚 Faculty of Science, each recipients of $100,000 scholarships, are Montrealers Storm Lei and Andrew Luo, along with Inbal Tzafrir from the Greater Vancouver area.
鈥淲inning the Schulich Leader Scholarship means having the freedom to focus on the work that matters to me and the responsibility to continue showing up for the communities I care about,鈥� says Inbal Tzafrir, who attended high school in Delta, B.C.
Tzafrir won the Innovator of the Year and Visionary awards at the 2024 Youth Innovation Showcase in the 16-19-year age category. She earned those honours for the mobile app she developed to help children manage misophonia, a sound sensitivity disorder.
鈥淭he Computer Science and Biology program aligns perfectly with my interests, combining science, creativity, and impact,鈥� Tzafrir says. In high school, she founded a club to address the lack of female representation in STEM and led hands-on science workshops for more than 450 elementary students.
鈥淚 hope to inspire more girls to pursue STEM and help others find their spark, just as I have,鈥� says Tzafrir.
Robotic solutions for the future
Wei鈥檚 career aspirations revolve around developing intelligent robotic systems. He wants to explore robotic medical applications, as well as industrial ones. 鈥淚 aim to create autonomous platforms for sustainable resource extraction, particularly precision mining systems capable of operating in extreme environments like Canada's Arctic regions,鈥� Wei says.
His passion for coding took root at Marianopolis College. The robotics team鈥檚 dodgeball-throwing robot won first place at the 2024 Canadian Robotics Competition (KRYPTIK), while their soil sensor to reduce agricultural water waste earned top honours at a Quebec industrial design competition.
Through the robotics team, Wei says he earned valuable hands-on experience programming control systems for competition robots. 鈥淚t showed me how powerful well-designed software can unlock a machine鈥檚 full potential.
鈥淔or example, last year I implemented PID controllers for our robotic arm, enabling it to autonomously adjust its angle for precision tasks. That intersection of theory and real-world impact is what excites me about software engineering.鈥�
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