Conferences and workshops

A University of Alberta student group running science workshops for high school students in Edmonton and at Augustana in Camrose, plus a free summer camp. The Interdisciplinary Science Competition is its oldest event, alongside health sciences, engineering and computer science workshops, and the six-week STEM Potential Enrichment Camp runs over the summer. Dates are posted per event rather than on a fixed calendar, so the homepage often reads "no events at the moment" between cycles; check the events page instead.

A student-run group in U of A engineering that brings free STEM project kits and mentoring to grades 5-12, building things like robotic arms and wind turbines.

Fully-funded regional summits covering themes like Energy, Water, and Agriculture. High school teams attend expert workshops, conduct environmental field research, and develop action plans to implement back in their local communities.

A day on a medical campus: hands-on health-science workshops and career panels with clinicians. Your school registers about six weeks ahead.

Exposure to Olympic-level sports science, biometric tracking, and physiological recovery research at state-of-the-art testing facilities used by Canada's national athletes. Students learn how elite performance data is collected and analyzed.

High-level, day-long symposiums run by UAlberta and UCalgary LTS chapters on niche topics like stem cell research, space exploration, and AI ethics. Distinct from the Space Lab/Tomatosphere citizen science programs; these are lecture and lab-based days for high schoolers.

Applications for Forum 2027 open soon, for sessions running February 7-12, February 28 - March 5, and April 18-23, 2027. Three hundred students aged 15-18 spend a week in Ottawa meeting MPs and Senators; travel, meals and accommodation are covered, with bursaries against the $995 fee.

A funded reciprocal exchange that twins a group of Alberta youth with a group from another province or territory, each hosting the other for at least five days. Groups plan their own travel, budget, itinerary and community project. Applications are made by a group leader, so you need a teacher or community organizer to run it.

The longest standing Model UN conference for high school students in Alberta, run by the UCalgary political science department. Delegates represent countries across UN and NATO committees for two days, researching a national position, negotiating with blocs and drafting resolutions under formal debate rules. Good preparation for political science, law and international relations programs. The registration link goes live once the department announces the next conference date, so check the page in the fall.

The Alberta Youth Parliament website is currently down. abyp.ca shows only an "under construction" placeholder, with no session dates or application details posted. TUXIS Parliament has historically run a winter sitting for youth delegates.

Apply through your local Rotary club. Selection is run by clubs, not centrally, so ask yours about timing. Since 1951 the program has brought 150+ students aged 16-18 to Ottawa for four days of meetings with parliamentarians, plus access to three $1,000 scholarships.

A fully funded, bilingual parliamentary simulation on Parliament Hill run by CIVIX, the civic education charity behind Student Vote. Delegates take part in legislative debate, committee work and question period. The inaugural session ran November 6 to 10, 2025 with 75 delegates, the first youth parliament on the Hill in more than four decades. CIVIX had not announced a second session as of August 2026, so email youthparliament@civix.ca before counting on it. This is a new program and is unrelated to the 1980s parliament of the same name, which no longer runs.

The provincial student leadership conference, run since 1988 by a volunteer association of student council advisors and hosted by a different Alberta school every year. Three days of keynote speakers, around 14 breakout sessions, a service project and a dance, built around meeting student leaders from across the province. Useful for building a community leadership record rather than a competitive one. ASLC 2026 ran May 1 to 3 at École Olds High School; the 2027 host had not been announced as of August 2026. Ask your student council advisor to enter a delegation.

A fully funded week in Belgium and France studying Canada's role in the First World War on the ground, visiting battlefields, cemeteries and museums with a national cohort of students. It rewards community service and historical interest rather than marks, and it carries real weight on a scholarship application later. The 2026 journey ran April 3 to 11 and its application window was October 21 to November 25, 2025. The next cycle had not been posted as of August 2026, so watch the page from mid-October.