Karen Chan, a fourth-year urban planning student at the University of Waterloo, was the recipient of the inaugural Mark Bain P3 Scholarship, selected in July 2024 based on her essay, Balancing Contractual Freedom and Good Faith in Public-Private Partnerships. The scholarship selection committee praised her essay for its innovative approach to a unique topic and relevance to Canada's P3 model.
Following P3 2024, CCPPP sat down with Chan to discuss her experience as a Mark Bain P3 Scholarship winner. This interview has been edited for length.
Why did you apply to the Mark Bain P3 Scholarship... and why do you think other students should apply?
I wanted to showcase my critical thinking and contribute to the scholarship around P3s. Other students should consider applying for the opportunity to be recognized for their academic contributions and to gain greater visibility in Canada's infrastructure industry as they develop their careers. The infrastructure sector is a tight-knit industry so to be seen is to be known. Moreover, the scholarship allows you to attend the foremost P3 conference in Canada. The connections I have established at Canada's Infrastructure Conference have been invaluable in developing my career so far.
How did winning the scholarship impact your academic life?
The process of writing the scholarship paper enriched my academic life by allowing me to brainstorm topics with my professors and opened my eyes to perspectives in Canada's infrastructure sector I hadn't considered. Winning the scholarship also helped present me as a passionate and well-rounded applicant to law schools and enriched key topics in my personal statement.
A key benefit of the Mark Bain P3 Scholarship is a complementary ticket to P3 2025, happening in Toronto on Nov. 28 & 29, 2025. How has attending Canada's Infrastructure Conference shaped your career?
Before attending CCPPP’s conference, I didn't realize how many different career paths there are within the infrastructure sector. I made connections that have shaped my career in a very tangible way. In terms of networking, chatting with so many people from different industries also opened my eyes to areas within the industry I didn't even know existed. For example, I didn't realize there are so many different subsets within infrastructure law. I'm applying to law school this fall, and understanding the various types of legal advisory within the infrastructure industry has been very helpful in shaping what I want out of my career.
What advice do you have for future Mark Bain P3 scholarship recipients on how to make the most of their time at Canada's Infrastructure Conference?
This conference is all about the people you meet. My biggest piece of advice is to talk to anyone. A big part of the experience was leaning on the other student delegates. It can be daunting for a student to attend a conference where everyone has such an impressive skill set and is so well-known in their fields. Being able to stick together with the other student delegates and introduce ourselves as a collective was really helpful.
