Claudette-MacKay-Lassonde Excellence Scholarship 2026: Canyu Wu is awarded $25,000 by Polytechnique Montréal

MONTREAL, Aug. 18, 2026 /CNW/ -- In a ceremony held earlier today, Polytechnique Montréal awarded the second Claudette-MacKay-Lassonde Excellence Scholarship to Canyu Wu, an undergraduate student in bioengineering at McGill University. The $25,000 award, presented annually since 2025 to a second- or third-year engineering undergraduate in Canada, supports the next generation of women engineers.

Each year, the scholarship recognizes one truly exceptional student--a young woman whose engagement and aspirations extend well beyond the classroom. In 2025, the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation (CEMF) entrusted Polytechnique Montréal with carrying forward its mission by creating this new annual scholarship. It fosters the values of leadership, academic excellence and community engagement championed by CEMF founder and distinguished Polytechnique graduate Claudette MacKay-Lassonde in the next generation of women engineers across the country. Ms. MacKay-Lassonde's commitment and values were at the heart of her philanthropic work and live on through initiatives such as the scholarship that bears her name.

"We are very pleased to award this national scholarship to Canyu Wu," Maud Cohen, president of Polytechnique Montréal, said this morning. "Her passion, engagement and excellence make her an ideal recipient. The Claudette-MacKay-Lassonde Excellence Scholarship reflects Polytechnique Montréal's commitment to advancing young women in engineering across Canada and honouring Claudette MacKay-Lassonde's legacy. Canyu's journey is already extraordinary and an inspiration to the next generation of female engineers to pursue their ambitions and tackle the pressing challenges facing our society."

Canyu Wu's commitment to building a better world takes many forms. She has launched a citizen science platform to restore a polluted lake and founded a health incubator that connects young innovators with clinicians at major hospitals. Every day, Canyu Wu demonstrates through her actions what it means to be an engineer with convictions. "Receiving this scholarship is more than an honour," Canyu Wu said at the ceremony. "I feel entrusted with a mission to continue on the path Claudette MacKay-Lassonde charted. I will use this scholarship to continue working on building the structures, organizations and communities that empower women to shape engineering, innovation and entrepreneurship--particularly in the field of women's health, an area that sorely needs more innovative solutions. This scholarship is a responsibility: to build a fairer, healthier world. I undertake to help turn Claudette's vision of a future where women are at the forefront of new systems and technologies into reality."

Julie Lassonde, Claudette MacKay-Lassonde's daughter, added: "It is by supporting exceptional students like Canyu Wu that the scholarship created in my mother's honor truly comes to life. It inspires the next generation of female engineers in Canada by empowering them to shape the society of tomorrow. This is exactly what my mother, Claudette MacKay-Lassonde, was committed to fostering through her philanthropic work, and it is the mission that this scholarship accomplishes each year."

The full media kit, including bios and photos, is available here.

SOURCE Polytechnique Montréal

MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Christian Merciari, Polytechnique Montréal, Cell: 1-514-742-8586, [email protected]