When Cassandra Ferworn entered the 2025 Schuman Challenge, they never imagined winning. But their policy proposal impressed judges enough to earn them a trip to Brussels and meetings with top EU officials.
Cassandra Ferworn is a PhD Computer Science candidate and was one of the winning teams for the 2025 Schuman Challenge.
Ferworn, a computer science PhD student, competed in the EU's flagship academic competition for university students in Canada. The challenge required student teams to submit policy proposals on this year's topic: Artificial intelligence as a key technology: Opportunities for EU-Canada cooperation.
The winning proposal: PAIGE
Ferworn and their partner, Riley Martens, a health care AI researcher from the University of Calgary, created the policy framework Getting to the Same PAIGE. PAIGE is an acronym for an AI literacy plan with sectoral focus: public, academia, industry and government for education.
Their proposal aims for transparency, equity and trust in AI education.
Each sector gets three goals:
- Hub - Hybrid spaces to build engagement
- Toolkit - Tangible resources to empower learning
- Measure - Evaluation to support ethical practice
"It's vital... AI is here, increasingly so. We've all heard of people falling in love with AI chat bots." says Ferworn. Policymakers, civil servants, middle managers, they are all making decisions on AI usage. We want them to have all the information, to have a working understanding of the technology and associated risk."
Building a strong partnership
The challenge required two-person teams. Ferworn hesitated at first, but Martens reached out after they met through TMU's NSERC Responsible AI program.
"The other students competing majored in economics, in law and international relations," says Ferworn. "Both of us have a STEM background with no [formal] background in policy."
But their technical expertise set them apart. Martens brought expertise in health care, while Ferworn brought expertise in computer science.
Presenting before the jury in Ottawa
Five finalist teams presented to a jury at the EU Delegation headquarters in Ottawa. The panel included Ambassador Geneviève Tuts and other high-level officials.
"I didn't realize it would be locked doors and security you're entering diplomatic territory," says Ferworn. "I was very nervous, but the jury members were all very kind and asked thoughtful, interesting questions."
The top three teams won fully funded trips to Brussels.
A week with EU officials
After winning the 2025 Schuman Challenge, Ferworn (far right) was invited to spend a week in Brussels to meet with EU officials alongside the other winners.
In Brussels, Ferworn met policymakers and toured EU institutions. They presented their proposal to officials from the Directorate-General Research and Innovation's Carole Mancel-Blanchard and Mary Kavanagh. "You put your ideas out into the world, and someone comes back and says, I never thought about it this way, this is going to change how I view things moving forward.' It's rewarding," says Ferworn.
The week concluded with a visit to the Mission of Canada, the EU equivalent to an embassy.
What's next
"A highlight of the trip was spending time with the other Schuman Challenge winners who came from universities from across Canada with varying backgrounds and experiences," said Ferworn. "They were likeminded, passionate individuals and we formed lifelong bonds."
Together, the students discovered shared concerns about the current AI boom and the need for informed decision making on all societal levels.
With their new connections and shared passion for AI literacy, the group is now looking to form a youth-led think tank to produce needed research and policy movements.
About the Schuman Challenge: The annual competition is organized by the Delegation of the European Union to Canada. Teams submit essays with policy proposals, recommendations and case studies on topics related to EU-Canada cooperation.
Cassandra Ferworn is supervised by Qinmin Vivian Hu from the department of computer science and Richard Lachman from the RTA School of Media.
