The Cansbridge Fellowship accepts a cohort of highly ambitious Canadian students to accelerate their leadership development each year. The Toronto-based organization, which is supported by Queen’s, offers these students a week-long conference in an entrepreneurial hub, a summer internship in Asia, and networking opportunities, along with a generous stipend.
Ruby Sinclair, a second-year Mechanical Engineering student, is one of its newest fellows, and she is looking forward to a 12-week internship this summer.
“Right now, South Korea and Japan are at the top of my list,” she says. “As someone who loves both art and science, I’m drawn to the ways these countries merge creativity and technology. I’m seeking an engineering role, ideally in aerospace, energy, or materials, but I’m also leaving room for exploration. If any Queen’s alumni in Asia resonate with this, I’d love to connect!”
Though Sinclair is the sole Smith Engineering student in this year’s Cansbridge cohort — the other, Adelle Barsky-Moore, is a student in the Department of Psychology — the organization received over 620 applications this year, with just 15 people chosen.
A Kingston native, Sinclair acknowledges a degree of anxiety at the idea of spending a summer in Asia but is nonetheless enthusiastic about the opportunity. “The excitement of diving into a new culture and the chance to grow in a place so different from what I’ve known far outweighed my fear,” she says.
Fellows have worked in Tokyo, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangalore, Jakarta, and more and each fellow is awarded a $10,000 scholarship for their internship. Fellows are expected to find these internships on their own but are supported by previous fellows and mentors.
Learning of the fellowship midway through the academic year presented an unforeseen challenge for the student who’d already made summer plans.
“I gave up a safe and promising finance internship and instead started reaching out to startups and companies in Asia, looking for engineering opportunities,” she says. “I was really scared at first. Many people told me that, by deviating from my ‘perfect’ plan, I was taking a huge risk that might not pay off. But that sense of fear is exactly why the fellowship is such a great opportunity. Facing these fearful moments head-on is what allows for maximum growth, something that's essential for my personal development.”
“I’ll begin the journey in May with a conference and bootcamp in Montreal, where I’ll meet fellows from the current and past cohorts. This isn’t just about professional networking. It’s about reflecting on who we are, what kind of impact we want to have, and the legacy we want to leave behind. All of this is achieved with in-depth sessions about self-reflection, rejection therapy, and coaching from previous fellows. After that, I’ll head to Asia for my internship!”