The team behind Join Research Canada
Join Research Canada was started in October 2025 by Samyar Shafiee, who has run it since. Kian Bassiri and Erfan Timajchi run outreach and education alongside him. They were high school students when it started, and they still are. Same people who answer your email.
Samyar Shafiee
Co-Founder · Join Research Canada
Samyar started Join Research Canada in October 2025 and has run it since. He sets the direction the programs take and builds the technology underneath them: this site, the registration system, and the internal tooling the team uses to reach students and mentors.
Kian Bassiri
Co-Founder · Join Research Canada
Kian leads outreach and partnerships. He joined after the organization began and was promoted to Co-Founder in June 2026, on the strength of that work.
Erfan Timajchi
Lead of Education · Join Research Canada
Erfan leads education at Join Research Canada. He shapes what Research 101 actually teaches across its four weeks, and works with the mentors who deliver it.
What they built
Join Research Canada has reached 370+ students across five provinces and two u.s. states, through free programs that have never charged a student anything. Research 101 runs every summer. The Symposium arrives in Winter 2027.
- The Auroran: Cardinal Carter students turn Research Club into international success
- NewmarketToday: High school club grows to offer free online research workshops across York Region
Want to work with us?
Mentors, schools, libraries, and university departments: we answer every email ourselves.