The CDSN is pleased to announce a new opportunity for undergraduate students in Canada from historically excluded communities.
The CDSN provides $2,500 to two students each year to help support their third or fourth year at a Canadian university. This scholarship is aimed at supporting a key CDSN objective: fostering a more diverse and inclusive Canadian defence and security community. Our research agenda is expansive, with our Research Themes seeking to understand under what conditions Canadian efforts increase or decrease the security of Canadians at home and those Canada seeks to help abroad. The recipient will not only receive funding but will be invited to take part in CDSN events and activities that match the student’s interests.
“I would like to thank the CDSN for providing young Canadians passionate about security and defense, like myself, the opportunity to focus on, and explore further these interesting and important projects.”
Scholarship Winners
We are now accepting applications for this year’s Undergraduate Excellence Scholars!
Bianca Siem (2024)
Bianca is a fourth-year undergraduate at the University of Manitoba, completing her Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Political Studies. She is a dedicated student leader, currently serving her second term as the Director of Arts Services for the Faculty of Arts Student Body Council, and previously served as Vice President of the Undergraduate Political Studies Student Association.
Bianca is a passionate advocate for 2SLGBTQIA+ rights on campus and actively participates as a member of Queer BIPOC students at the University of Manitoba. She is also a Co-op student interning at Narratives Inc. as a planning intern, where she is involved in research, policy analysis, and community and environmental planning. Her work primarily focuses on Indigenous Reconciliation and collaborating with different Nations to uncover the truth.
Outside her academic pursuits, Bianca is a local volunteer, advocating for gender diversity and equity, organizing youth advocacy groups, and supporting her local women’s shelter. She leads the Youth Climate Corps chapter in Manitoba, campaigning for sustainable job opportunities for youth across Canada. Additionally, she is a mental health advocate, with training in psychological first aid and trauma awareness.
Bianca’s interests include international relations, law, intelligence, and climate change resilience, particularly in relation to security and defense. Inspired by her parents, Survivors of the Cambodian genocide, she is driven to create impactful societal changes. After completing her degree, she plans to further explore the field of security and defense, integrating her personal interests and expertise.
Cordelia Jamieson (2024)
Cordelia Jamieson (she/her), commencing her fourth and final year at Queen’s University, is pursuing a degree in Political Studies alongside a minor in Gender Studies. Her research interests include gendered political implications, Canadian defence and security, voter behaviour, and American electoral systems.
Cordelia has gained a robust foundation in defence and security policy through various professional experiences. During an internship with the Government of Canada, she gained firsthand insight into the complexities of policy-making processes and collaborated with different departments to support the Canadian caucus. As a communications intern with the Centre for International and Defence Policy, Cordelia leads the mentorship program, coordinates panel events, manages communication strategies, and facilitates public outreach. Currently, she is a research assistant on Dr. Michael Murphy’s project examining the intersection of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda and the ever-evolving sphere of quantum technology. This research highlights gendered implications and aligns Canada’s WPS agenda with quantum security.
Cordelia is also the Co-Editor-in-Chief at Political Digest, an undergraduate peer-reviewed journal at Queen’s University. She has authored several publications on defence and security and gender politics, reflecting her commitment to the development of an inclusive, diverse, and forward-thinking security community.
Anjana Balachandran (2023)
Anjana is a rising senior at the University of Ottawa pursuing an Honors in Political Science. This summer, Anjana was chosen for the Sumita Dixit Internship for International Security at Global Affairs Canada, where she will be working in the Division for Non-Proliferation and Disarmament.
Anjana represented Canada at the NATO Youth Summit in Washington, DC. Her experience also extended to international policy research through internships with the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania and the NATO Association of Canada and recently completed an internship at Public Safety Canada. She contributed to Canada's peacekeeping initiatives as a Research Intern at the Rideau Institute. Selected for the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, her research focused on topics related to gun violence and gun control in the Canadian context.
On campus, she actively contributed as a student mentor at the Faculty of Social Science. Anjana also ran a social enterprise addressing food insecurity in Ottawa's food deserts to address social and economic challenges in communities locally.
Siddharth Tailor (2023)
Siddharth currently serves as an Infantry Officer with The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (L EDMN REGT) in the Canadian Armed Forces - Army Primary Reserves. He has worked as a Platoon Commander for the past 3 years and Second-In-Charge (2IC) to Adjutant since Spring 2023. He is currently the Bravo Company Commander 2IC (Interim), as he is transitioning over as an Intelligence Officer in the Naval Reserves in the upcoming months.
In the near future, he aspires to contribute in areas such as Operational planning and security (OpSec), Domestic operations' emergency management (DomOps EM), and Civil-Military cooperation (CIMIC) at CF Intelligence Command (CFINTCOM). Likewise, he is equally enthusiastic at getting involved in one or more research topics at CDSN in the above-mentioned areas of interest.
He is currently a 4th year BA Criminology student at the University of Alberta with multiple embedded certificates such as Community Service Learning, Civil-Military Leadership, and Military Leadership and Management. Alongside his studies, he has earned PD certifications in Canadian National Security, Strategic Foresight in International Relations, and OpenSource Intelligence through NPSIA, Carleton University.
He is also a student committee advisor for the Military Veteran Family Campus (MVFC) Initiative Program since 2021 and a team lead at the Edmonton chapter for Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) organization since 2019.
He is highly interested in pursuing subject-matter expertness in Security, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism (SICT) and wishes to pursue graduate studies in Masters of Public Safety in near future.
Chimdinma Chijioke (2022)
Chimdinma Chijioke(She/Her) is a final-year student at the University of Manitoba studying Political Studies with a minor in Asian studies. She is interested in international relations, defence and security, and the impacts of climate change on foreign policies. She hopes to continue her education with a Master's in defence and security studies, focusing on the relationship between Canada and the Asian continent. She hopes to contribute to Canada's defence research and knowledge of the Asian continent by helping Canada understand relationships that can be fostered with several countries in the Asian continent. In the future, she hopes to work in the United Nations Security Council.
Ahmad B. Nuri (2022)
Ahmad Baktash Nuri is a serving member in the Canadian Armed Forces - Army. His occupation in the military is in Finance and Financial Services Administration. He is an Economics student at Royal Military College of Canada and a Political Science student at Simon Fraser University. He runs his own Investment/Insurance business as a Financial Advisor. He is a Board Member/Volunteer with Partnership Afghanistan Canada and a Volunteer with Aman Lara which focuses on assisting Afghans in Afghanistan and assisting incoming Refugees to Canada. He has volunteered in the Vancouver Afghan Community helping organize sports events in order to promote athletics and foster community togetherness. He wants to continue to learn more about and contribute more to Canada’s National Defence and Security
Alexander Rizkallah
(2021)
Alexander Rizkallah is currently in his final year studying security and policing at the Université de Montréal. “I am grateful to be one of the recipients of the CDSN Excellence scholarship;” with the Arctic being one of his two major security interests, Alexander is particularly excited to be learning more about this subject from some of the foremost Canadian experts on this subject. As a young kid in cadets, Alexander dreamed of contributing to Canada's security landscape and receiving this scholarship brings him one step closer to achieving his dreams.
Safia Hafid
(2021)
Safia Hafid (she/her/hers) is a third year Honours student in International Studies at Bishop's University, while also pursuing a minor in Creative Writing and Journalism. She had the privilege of taking part in the 2020-2021 National Model United Nations Delegation from Bishop's University, where they won Outstanding Delegation. Currently, Safia is also employed as the Opinions Section Editor for The Campus, Bishop's student-run newspaper. Her interests in the field of International Relations are specifically how history affects policies and politics today, women's issues and perspectives, security studies, and the relationship between media and politics. Safia hopes to pursue graduate studies in International Relations.
Check out Safia’s Young MINDS event, “The New Bipolarity: Where Does Canada Fit in the US-China Rivalry” here
Ozan Ayata (2020)
Ozan is a fourth-year Global Politics student at Carleton University. He has worked at the Forum of Federations and Sustainable Development Technology Canada. He now works as a research and policy analyst at the Department of National Defence. Ozan's research has also contributed to publishing the Handbook of Federal Countries 2020. His interest in defence and security stems from Canada's role in the Middle East, specifically Canada's interventions and its support for European and Five Eyes allies. Ozan intends to pursue his interests in defence and security by attending graduate school next year.
Stella-Luna Ha (2020)
Stella is currently finishing her last year of study at the University of Toronto majoring in Media, Journalism and Digital Cultures, double minoring in Biology and International Development. Stella aspires to become the first person in her family to hold a postsecondary degree and perhaps the first Juris Doctor degree in the near future. Stella’s interest in media security evolves in conjunction with the fascinating growth of social media in the recent years and she believes that the unprecedented challenge for the coming decade in terms of national security and democracy is going to land on the rising unchecked power that social media have on our lives.
