A student from l’X among the finalists for the McCall MacBain scholarship

Ines El-Bouzaidi Tiali (X22), a third-year student of École Polytechnique’s Ingénieur Polytechnicien program is one of the 36 international finalists, which have been selected from several thousand applications for the McCall MacBain scholarship. Funded thanks to a donation, the McCall MacBain scholarships are the largest scholarships in Canada. The candidates for this scholarship are nominated by their home university and then put forward to the jury.

In addition to her outstanding academic record, Ines El-Bouzaidi Tiali's extracurricular volunteer work stood out when the finalists were selected. A unique feature of the McCall MacBain Scholarship is that it provides recipients with a leadership development program in parallel with their master's studies at McGill University. The selection committee hence pays close attention to other criteria such as the candidates' dedication to the community, their leadership potential, and their aspirations to play a role for the common good as a leader.

Ines El-Bouzaidi Tiali's volunteer work as a maths tutor is testament to her commitment to the community, and has led her to co-found a tutoring program for Moroccan students preparing for the entrance exams to a Grandes École in France. “I volunteer and try to help my community because I want to give to others what I have been given, and even more”, explains Ines El-Bouzaidi Tiali, adding that, in the long term, she would like to contribute to transforming Morocco's education system. “I have the feeling that I am where I am today thanks to the people who have helped me, and I would like to help others to reach their full potential in return”, she says.

Passionate about mathematics, Ines has won medals in four different mathematics Olympiads. On the strength of her experience, Ines El-Bouzaidi Tiali has also been asked to mark papers for the Pan-African Mathematics Olympiad as a volunteer. Very involved in student life at École Polytechnique, Ines El-Bouzaidi Tiali also organizes events for two of the student associations - X-Maroc and X-Finance.

“We need more leaders who demonstrate integrity, caring, curiosity, and courage”, says Marcy McCall MacBain, Chair of the McCall MacBain Fellowships at McGill University, and continues: “We congratulate the students who have already distinguished themselves as national and international finalists, and we thank the universities that nominated them.”

McGill University, a renowned partner

McGill University is one of Canada's top higher education institutions, ranked 29th in the World Universities Ranking published by QS in June 2024. École Polytechnique and McGill University have signed an academic exchange agreement to enable their students to undertake international mobility at the respective partner institution as part of their studies.  
The program for which Ines El-Bouzaidi Tiali has applied at McGill University for her fourth year of studies in the Ingénieur Polytechnicien program is the Master of Applied Mathematics.

Ines El-Bouzaidi Tiali is the only finalist currently studying in France. Together with the other finalists she will take part in the final interviews with leaders in academia, business, government, and the social sector. At the end of the selection process for the McCall MacBain Scholarship, Ines will receive either a full scholarship or a grant of 20,000 Canadian dollars.