Initiative one
Paid Summer of Vibes placements
- Host institutions employ and supervise the student
- Hosts own the project, supervision and salary
- Summer of Vibes supplies the pipeline and matching
- Mentorship, education, technology and conference
SHNRI’s Summer of Vibes2027 · For patrons
Turn exceptional student demand into healthcare opportunity.
Fund paid placements, community healthcare capacity and Canada’s future AI × healthcare workforce.
Summer of Vibes connects talented students with real healthcare projects. Your support helps more students take part and more community institutions host them, with recruitment, learning and mentorship shared across the program.
900+
Applicants in 2026
≈ 18× growth
Up from 50 applicants in 2025.
What is Summer of Vibes?
An established Canadian student talent program for AI × healthcare.
Summer of Vibes is a fast-growing Canadian student talent program focused on AI × healthcare research, innovation and technology. It connects multidisciplinary students — spanning AI, software and data; healthcare and life sciences; research and statistics; design and user experience; engineering; and communications and policy — with real healthcare projects, supported by clinician and technical mentorship, shared education and a broader cohort.
It is already a flagship: the summer ends with a Grand Demo Day showcase, and student projects have moved into published and peer-reviewed outputs. 2026 ran as SHN’s single-institution home cohort — one host, one clinical site, a flagship showcase and a tiered sponsorship program.
The proven base, not the 2027 ask 2026 demonstrated the model inside one institution. The 2027 multi-institution expansion distributes that proven model across community healthcare institutions. That expansion — its placements, shared program and access supports — is what funder support enables.
From the 2026 Grand Demo Day
A virtual patient, followed by a study of how students learn
Shania Tubana-Dean and Yousif Yousef presented SHARPEN virtual patients alongside the GI-Consent study. Eleven students practised with AI virtual patients and eleven practised with peers. The deck reported no statistically significant differences in consent performance, communication or confidence. Further quality-assessment research was underway.
Explore SHARPEN or read the GI-Consent study summary.
Research on access to primary care
Laura Gates and Madeleine Isaac-Gooden, working with Dr. Kevin Kuo, outlined an evaluation of Interprofessional Primary Care Teams: defining patient complexity, comparing healthcare use and modelling long-term economic value.
The opportunity
2025
50
2026
900
Applicants per year. Figures are verified. Growth is approximately 18× year over year.
≈ 18×
Year-over-year applicant growth
There are far more qualified students than there are placements to put them in. At the same time, community healthcare institutions hold meaningful projects but often lack the funding and program infrastructure to host a student.
Funding is the bridge between available talent and available opportunity. It moves students off a waitlist and into community institutions that could not otherwise afford to host them.
What your funding unlocks
Support is directed to the shared infrastructure around each placement — the parts a single institution cannot easily build alone.
Funding categories
- Student wage and employment support
- Centralized recruitment and matching
- Academic and technical mentorship
- Shared education and responsible-AI programming
- Technology, APIs and compute
- Cross-site coordination
- Community-institution participation
- Vibes Academy bursaries
- Accessibility supports
- Conference and showcase
- Evaluation and a sustainable expansion model
Categories describe intended uses. Specific allocations, amounts and program terms are under development and subject to SHN/SHNRI and funding-agreement requirements.
Two distinct ways to expand access
These are separate initiatives and must not be conflated.
Initiative two
Vibes Academy of Technology
- A separate SHNRI-hosted initiative
- An eight-week applied learning program
- For high-school students and bridge learners
- Not part of the paid placement offer
Please note: Academy participation does not guarantee employment, admission, academic credit or a future Summer of Vibes placement.
Why community institutions first
Community healthcare institutions serve diverse populations and hold locally important problems, but they often lack standalone recruitment and program infrastructure. The 2027 expansion begins with community institutions in Toronto, the GTA and Hamilton before broader academic and research outreach follows. Funding can make participation possible for institutions that could not otherwise afford it.
TorontoInitial geography
GTAInitial geography
HamiltonInitial geography
Academic & research outreachFollows community-first phase
Sequencing reflects a working plan, not an approved commitment.
Ways to participate
Funding packages are inspired by the existing sponsor prospectus and can be shaped around your priorities. No funding amounts are approved or confirmed — all package scopes and terms remain illustrative and under development.
Complete 2027 expansion portfolio
Whole-of-program support, with reserved title or lead funder recognition and reserved showcase access.
Regional group of community placements
Fund a cluster of paid positions for community institutions across a region.
A defined number of paid student positions
Underwrite specific placements, including wage and employment support.
Shared mentorship & education
Support the mentorship, education and responsible-AI programming layer.
Technology & AI infrastructure
Fund tools, APIs, subscriptions and compute used across the cohort.
Vibes Academy bursaries
Expand access for high-school and bridge learners through bursaries.
Conference & showcase
Support the culminating showcase and conference experience.
Multi-year expansion & evaluation
Fund expansion and the evaluation that builds a sustainable model.
What you receive as a funding partner
- Visibility and recognition through program communications and materials
- Grand Demo Day and conference presence with the cohort
- Recruitment touchpoints: formal recruitment, info sessions and individual introductions
- Research and publication acknowledgement consistent with ICMJE disclosure and SHN Research Services independence requirements
- Institutional connection to the Summer of Vibes network
All benefits are subject to SHN/SHNRI policy, consent, confidentiality and the terms of a funding agreement.
What we would measure
- Paid placements created
- Community institutions participating
- Students and Academy learners supported
- Bursaries and subsidized opportunities provided
- Disciplines and communities represented
- Projects completed or advanced
- Mentorship and education delivered
- Participant and host satisfaction
- Showcase participation
- Skills, confidence and pathway indicators
- Partner interest in continuing or expanding participation
Measures are finalized together with funding partners and respect privacy, confidentiality and institutional restrictions.
A student’s access to healthcare research and technology should not depend solely on whether one lab has a grant, or whether a family can afford an enrichment program.
With full or substantial support, Summer of Vibes can give community institutions access to emerging talent while creating more equitable pathways for students.Fund the 2027 expansion
Talk to us about the funding package that fits your priorities.
Discuss supporting the program
Dr. Samir Grover, MD
Co-Lead, Summer of Vibes; EVP Academics, SHN
Dr. Joshua Landy, MD
Co-Lead, Summer of Vibes; Scientist, SHNRI
Please note: detailed budgets, funding packages, recognition terms and measurable outcomes are being developed and are subject to SHN/SHNRI and funding-agreement requirements. Nothing here constitutes an approved funding amount, placement commitment, credential or clinical access. The 2025 and 2026 applicant figures shown are verified. Vibes Academy of Technology is a separate SHNRI-hosted applied-learning initiative and does not guarantee employment, admission, academic credit or a future Summer of Vibes placement.