Let’s SOLVE it by RBC Borealis – Call for Mentors

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Let’s SOLVE it by RBC Borealis – Call for Mentors

Call-for-Mentors for the Fall 2024 LSi Cycle (Oct. – Nov.)

Do you want to help create the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) talent? We are looking for RBC Borealis employees to serve as mentors or co-mentors of project-teams during the Fall 2024 cycle of Let’s SOLVE it: an undergraduate mentorship program.

About Let’s SOLVE it

Through the Let’s SOLVE it program, RBC Borealis is inviting teams of undergraduate students to work on ML and Data projects aimed to help their community. Student teams will submit their own project proposals and work with mentors from RBC Borealis to make them a reality.

The student candidates admitted to the program will have access to RBC’s leading Data and AI talent to tackle the challenges of their community, while building connections and learning about career opportunities in the thriving AI industry. During an eight-week mentorship program, the student teams will have the opportunity to collaborate with ML Researchers, Engineers and Data Experts. The project teams together with their mentors may also choose to expand the initial proposal into a formal white paper, complete with a proof-of-concept implementation.

Work Model Policy

The program is open to university students across Canada, regardless of whether they are based at a location where there is an RBC Borealis office or not. To accommodate a broad range of geographies, Let’s SOLVE it follows our hybrid work model, with a mix of in-person and remote meetings and events throughout the program. Presentation Day, the program’s final event, will be in-person in at least one of the RBC Borealis’ locations. Weekly meetings can occur either remotely or in-person, depending on the location of the teams and the mentors.

For instance, if a student-team and their mentor(s) are located in the city where the final event is taking place in-person, the teams and the mentors are expected to attend in-person as well. Some of the weekly meetings should also occur in-person. For the rest of the teams from other cities, the final event, as well as all weekly meetings will take place virtually. More information will be provided to mentors during the prep session at the beginning of the program.

For more info on the Let’s SOLVE it, please look here:

LSi Call-for-Mentors from RBC Borealis Teams

RBC Borealis members, If you are interested in mentoring a student team for eight-weeks (Oct. – Nov., 2024), as a Tech (co-)mentor or Business/Product (co-)mentor, please discuss the opportunity with your manager and then complete and submit the Expression of Interest form below by September 20 at 5.00pm ET / 2.00pm PT.

Returning LSi Mentors: If you are a returning LSi mentor, please fill out the required questions in the form below and skip the remainder. 

For questions about the mentorship opportunity please feel free to email us at  mi.research@rbc.com  Use subject line: LSi Call-for-Mentors.

Mentors’ Skills and Qualifications Checklist

RBC Borealis will be looking for people to serve as mentors or co-mentors of project-teams during each Let’s SOLVE it cycle (Fall-Spring).

Required qualifications:

  • Must be an RBC Borealis employee to participate as a mentor or co-mentor. 
  • Have fundamental ML or Data knowledge. 
  • Experience with one or more ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, MxNet, JAX, Keras etc.)
  • Hands-on experience selecting, training, and debugging ML or Data models. 
  • Working knowledge about data pre-processing.
  • Experience with Python. 
  • Experience with working on collaborative software tools (GitHub, SVN, Bitbucket, etc.)

 

Nice to have qualifications:

  • Expertise of certain ML or Data areas. 
  • Strong software design principles and algorithms. 
  • Ability of solving open problems, using data and algorithms.
  • Experience with ML libraries in Python (numpy, scipy, etc.). 
  • Experience with running ML experiments, debugging code and presenting the results. 
  • Experience in mentorship. 
  • Knowledge of education path for an AI/ML/Data expert. 

Mentorship Model: Roles, Duties, Timelines, Details

Mentorship Roles: Overview

Each undergraduate team will be paired with one or two Tech Co-mentor(s). Mentors are typically expected to have a research, engineering, data or other technical background. PM and BD team members can also apply to be Tech Co-Mentors, depending on their background and skills.

During the eight-weeks of the program, all Co-mentors will have access to the Org Committee of Let’s SOLVE it and a group of technical team members from RBC Borealis, who will answer their questions (procedural, technical, etc.) and will be happy to brainstorm with them about their LSi project, if needed. Potential topics to request extra help on: ML research, software engineering and data science in relation to a particular project, general advice on project management, presentations, etc.

Duties and time commitment for Tech Mentors:

A Tech (Co-)Mentor is expected to spend approximately 1-2 hours each week for eight-weeks on the following responsibilities:

  • Primary contact point between LSi Org Committee and undergraduate teams.
  • Provide overall project guidance and individual mentorship to team members on a weekly basis.
  • Help formulate and develop original ideas as complete, well scoped project.
  • Monitor and guide project development, including some technical support, as necessary.
  • If a mentor receives a question that is outside of the scope of mentor’s experience, they are expected to reach out to an appropriate RBC Borealis team member to either consult with or invite them to sit in a subsequent meeting.

 

Suggested breakdown of weekly hours and responsibilities:

  • 1 hr weekly team meeting (mandatory).
  • Run a quick stand up, check on last week’s progress, define next steps for current week (during the weekly meeting).
  • Make sure all team members are engaged in progressing the project in some way (during the weekly meeting).
  • Up to 30 mins weekly meetings with individual team members or a part of the team (optional, if required).
  • Check in on project progress, giving direct guidelines on their individual tasks, offer tutorial support, required tools, knowledge, help overcome blockers, etc.
  • Provide mentorship i.e. career advice (during the weekly meeting or over slack).
  • Up to 30 mins weekly slack communication (slack can replace meetings with individual team members, as the mentor(s) see fit).
  • Check in with the team members: Provide advice on technical areas they need to study further for their project. Offer tutorial support, and tips for relevant resources.
  • Answer questions, provide feedback (during the weekly meeting, over slack etc.).

Plus:

  • 1 hr prep meeting for the mentorship role before each cycle of Let’s SOLVE it starts (Fall – Spring).
  • 1 hr debrief meeting with the mentors and organizers at the end of the program: all mentors to share experiences and feedback.
  • 3 hrs attendance for presentations day at the end of the program.

 

Duties and time commitment for PM/BD Mentors:

Teams may also optionally have a PM/BD Co-mentor in addition to their Tech Mentor(s). Expected time commitment will be up to 1-2 hrs per week.

Suggested breakdown of weekly hours and responsibilities:

  • 1 hr weekly team meeting (mandatory).
  • Run a quick stand up, check on last week’s progress, define next steps for current week (during the weekly team meeting).
  • Make sure all team members are engaged in progressing the project in some way (during the weekly team meeting)
  • Other examples of duties include:
    • Provide advice over slack.
    • Support the Tech Mentors in managing the project and providing mentorship for the students (during the weekly meeting).
    • Guide the undergraduate team, as they develop a final presentation of their work, (during the weekly meeting, slack, etc.).
    • Specific help on the presentation, which is the key artifact of the program (during the weekly meeting, slack, etc.).
    • Mentorship on how to give presentations (during the weekly meeting, slack, etc.).

 

Plus:

  • 1 hr prep meeting for the mentorship role before each cycle of Let’s SOLVE it starts (Fall – Spring).
  • 1 hr debrief meeting with the mentors and organizers at the end of the program: all mentors to share experiences and feedback.
  • 3 hrs attendance for presentations day at the end of the program.

 

For examples of projects from previous LSi cohorts, please see here:

Acknowledging LSi Mentorship Experience and Community Impact

The LSI Org Committee will conduct a training session for all the mentors during each cycle (Fall – Spring) to provide guidelines on the mentorship duties and hands on examples on how to scope a LSi project. Employees, who take the training session, will be provided with a LinkedIn certificate, if they wish to add this to their list of qualifications. Helping young talent work to improve their communities is a great honour. If you mentor for LSi, feel free to talk about it publicly on your LinkedIn.

 

Ready to Apply?