Dec 11

Meet the Grand Prize winner of the Fourth Annual National Student Paper Competition

Meet the Grand Prize winner of the Fourth Annual National Student Paper Competition

The annual National Student Paper Competition seeks students’ ideas for improving the federal public service and positively influencing Canada’s future. Winning this competition is a significant achievement. Students must prevail through three rounds of adjudication, create a video, participate in an online voting contest and discuss their ideas with a panel of senior public service executives.

Announced in February 2017, the winner of the Fourth Annual National Student Paper Competition is Hope Caldi for her paper, “Offering a Warmer, Wiser Welcome: Recommendations for Reforming Canada’s Immigration Loan Program.”

Part of her prize included a trip to Ottawa to attend the prestigious Manion Lecture on May 10, 2017, where Ms. Caldi accepted her award from the Clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick. Ms. Caldi also received a paid placement at Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, during which she was able to work on issues relevant to her paper and her professional interests. 

From left to right: Michael Wernick, Clerk of the Privy Council, and Hope Caldi, Grand Prize winner of the Fourth Annual National Student Paper Competition.

"The competition was a fantastic and rewarding experience, with highlights including the presentation of my work to deputy ministers and meeting the Clerk of the Privy Council at the Manion Lecture. My work term at Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, which was afforded to me through this competition, was very fulfilling, and I appreciated having the opportunity to witness settlement and integration policy for newcomers at the federal level. I feel fortunate to have had this experience, and I thank my coach Dr. Nancy Olewiler and Simon Fraser University's School of Public Policy for supporting me in this endeavour." – Hope Caldi