Rishi Bansal of McMaster University awarded 2023 Rhodes Scholarship

RISHI Bansal,  a final year medical student at Ontario’s McMaster University, is one of six awardees in Canada of the internationally prestigious Rhodes Scholarship for 2023.

Six Canadian Rhodes scholarships were awarded in Canada this weekend. Five more will be awarded next weekend. Together, the 11 will join a class of 100 from over 60 countries worldwide to receive this distinguished scholarship to study at the University of Oxford next year.

Since the Scholarship was established in 1903, nearly 8,000 Rhodes Scholars, including over 1,000 Canadians, have gone on to serve at the forefront of government, the professions, commerce, the arts, education, research and other domains.

Bansal, who received a B.ArtsSc. from the Arts and Science program at McMaster University, is passionate about bringing research and health systems advocacy together to improve patient outcomes. His published work covers a diverse range of topics, from evaluating financial conflict of interest policy among clinical guidelines to examining the impact of clinician-focused interventions on hospital outcomes.

Bansal received the Albert Lager Prize from McMaster University to recognize his community initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic, which included advocacy for a provincial sick leave program and creating a storytelling project with healthy debate to feature stories of healthcare workers throughout the pandemic. He aspires to a career focused on improving care integration and hopes to pursue studies in social policy and translational health science to support these endeavours.

Richard Pan, the Canadian Secretary of the Rhodes Trust and the Chair for the Rhodes Scholarships in Canada (RSC), said: “The scholarships call for and recognize a set of timeless virtues – intellectual excellence, strength of character, energy to strive, commitment to serve and instinct to lead. We are proud of the opportunities that the scholarships provide to our most talented, passionate and charismatic university graduates.”

The scholars were selected in a highly competitive process administered by regional committees composed of Rhodes scholars and eminent members of the community. The committees worked independently and made their decisions on the basis of applications, university endorsements, letters of reference and in-person interviews held across the country.

Pan added: “The scholarship winners directly reflect the diversity of our communities and the best of Canada. The selection committees were moved by the impressive intellect, exceptional experience and care with which each scholar elect is applying their remarkable talents to making the world a better place. We look forward to going on this exciting journey with them. Their actions and accomplishments will be making us proud for many years to come.”