RBC Borealis Let's SOLVE It AI Mentorship
- Organization: RBC Borealis
- Type: Workshop
- Location: Canada
- Deadline: September 13, 2026
- Funding: No Funding
RBC Borealis, the AI research centre founded by Royal Bank of Canada, pairs teams of three to five undergraduates at Canadian universities with its own machine learning researchers and engineers for a free two-month mentorship, to turn an idea for using AI on a community problem into a working proof of concept. The fall 2026 cohort runs from October 5 to December 10, adds a new stream where selected teams tackle real needs from RBC Borealis's nonprofit partners, and ends with a Presentation Day at its offices. You do not need to study computer science or know machine learning already: one teammate with an introductory programming course is enough. **What you get:** - An RBC Borealis team member as your team's mentor, meeting you for 30 minutes every week and helping you shape your machine learning proposal and your career plans - Access to RBC Borealis machine learning researchers and engineers, and the chance to build contacts in the AI industry - Technical guidance from your mentor, plus training through a curated selection of public resources for learning machine learning and programming, and workshops scheduled during the programme - A Presentation Day at the RBC Borealis offices in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, where your team presents its project to the RBC Borealis team - Work you can show: a public code repository, a presentation and a one-page report, with an optional white paper and a blog post with RBC Borealis if your project is selected - It is free to take part **What you'll do:** - Form a team of 3 to 5 undergraduates and write a 500 to 1,000 word proposal for using machine learning on a problem in your community, naming two or three datasets you could use - Apply to the Student-Driven Projects stream (your own idea, the default) or ask to be considered for Community Partner Projects too, where a limited number of teams work on needs identified by RBC Borealis's nonprofit partners - If shortlisted, have an informal chat with an RBC Borealis team member about your project and your team's technical experience - Put in about 10 hours a week each from October 5 to December 10, 2026, including a 1-hour team meeting and a 30-minute meeting with your mentor every week - Build a proof of concept and finish with a 15-minute presentation to the RBC Borealis team, a one-page report and a public code repository - Attend the virtual Welcome Day in October and Presentation Day in December; students in Toronto, Vancouver, Waterloo or Montreal also attend at least one in-person meeting at their city's RBC Borealis office **Key dates:** - Applications closed September 13, 2026, the date RBC Borealis gave on its own LinkedIn; its website never published one - All teams that apply are notified by October 4, 2026 - Welcome Day, a 2-hour virtual kickoff: early to mid October 2026 - Programme runs October 5 to December 10, 2026 - Presentation Day: early to mid December 2026, at the RBC Borealis offices in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal **More information:** - Programme page and FAQ: https://rbcborealis.com/lets-solve-it/ - Fall 2026 application, which cannot be saved once started: https://rbcborealis.com/program-applications/lets-solve-it-fall-2026/ - Sample project proposal (PDF): https://rbcborealis.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/LSI_Project_Proposal_Example.pdf - Questions: info@rbcborealis.com with the subject line "Let's Solve it"
