CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
Program overview
The Sustainable Communities Initiative is an international project funded by the Rideau Hall Foundation, Universities Canada, the International Development Research Center of Canada, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the Community Foundations of Canada. It focuses on adaptation, response, and resilience to climate change through diverse projects in areas like biodiversity, agriculture, energy, public health, and water quality.
The initiative provides students with hands-on, interdisciplinary learning opportunities to co-develop renewable energy solutions in collaboration with communities in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Canada. Activities include fieldwork in the Amazon rainforest, training in sustainable land use practices with Indigenous peoples, and partnerships with local and international organizations to implement innovative energy systems.
The program fosters academic diplomacy by uniting expertise from diverse institutions to address renewable energy challenges. It integrates Indigenous knowledge with scientific and industrial expertise to create culturally relevant, sustainable energy systems. Partners include UNAM, Universidad San Buenaventura, ICESI University, Universidad del Valle, Universidade Federal de Itajubá, Gaia Amazonas, and the International Sustainable Campus Network.
This interdisciplinary approach emphasizes diversity, inclusion, and capacity building, equipping students with the skills to become future leaders in sustainable development. The initiative also enhances academic credit recognition, leadership training, and community engagement, ensuring long-term impact and global knowledge sharing. The project strategically supports 20 scholars and numerous collaborative activities to advance sustainable energy solutions and community resilience.
Case studies
Mexico
The GLACIER initiative, founded in 2021, connects researchers from Mexico, Germany, Cuba, and Costa Rica to address infectious diseases under a One Health approach. Based at UNAM's ENES Mérida campus in Yucatán, it fosters collaborative research, training, and exchange to enhance global health preparedness by 2030. Participants develop transdisciplinary skills in research, policy-relevant science, and communication while supporting pathogen surveillance, data analysis, and regional networks. Incorporating urban and community planning, climate resilience and sustainability transformation topics are essential for addressing how human, animal, and environmental health interact in future cities and communities, strengthening the program's impact on sustainability and preparedness.
Colombia
The case study of Comuna 22 in Cali focuses on urban biodiversity, resilience, and sustainability through the Urban Sustainability, Citizen's Science and Smart Cities project. It leverages the Observatorio Ambiental Comuna 22 (OAC22) to support data collection, strategy development for land use and environmental protection, and recommendations for local actors. The students will address topics like wetland protection, sustainable land use, technology-driven environmental action, noise management, waste reduction, policy development and more, aligning with Cali's 2025-2026 POT land use plan update.
Canada
The Canadian case studies present diverse examples of community energy solutions across Canada and internationally, ranging from municipal initiatives to private sector and academic projects. These include district heating and cooling systems, net-zero energy communities, retrofits, and smart energy solutions. Tasks involve analyzing energy performance, developing digital twins for scenario modeling, optimizing energy systems, and assessing decarbonization strategies. The work focuses on integrating renewable energy, enhancing energy efficiency, and supporting sustainable urban development through data-driven methods, policy recommendations, and collaborative frameworks.
Eligibility criteria
Propose research on the Sustainable Communities Initiative that connects with relevant fields of study to support case studies in your country, acquire fresh insights, methodologies, and international experiences, or enhance activities in the host country. The exchange lasts 60 to 120 days.
Candidates must be one of the following:
- Master student
- PhD student
- Postdoctoral researcher
Please also consider the following criteria before applying;
- Outbound candidates must be Canadian citizens or residents.
- Outbound candidates must be able to travel to Colombia, Mexico or Brazil
- Inbound students must be able to apply for a visa and travel to Canada
- Outbound students are advised to take some Spanish or Portugues courses
- Inbound students must be able to work and communicate in English and/or French
Program activities
The program activities are designed to foster sustainable energy solutions and community resilience through detailed and targeted initiatives:
- Training students involves equipping them with knowledge and practical skills to explore renewable energy technologies. This includes co-creating and implementing tailored energy solutions in local communities, focusing on boosting local value creation, improving energy access, and enhancing resilience to environmental and economic challenges.
- Providing experiential learning opportunities allows students to work in interdisciplinary groups on real-world projects. For example, fieldwork in the Amazon rainforest enables them to learn directly from Indigenous peoples about sustainable land use practices. They also collaborate with local and international partners to understand and apply innovative community energy solutions, bridging traditional knowledge with modern technologies.
- Hosting 10 international scholars at Concordia University for up to 120 days and involving them in ongoing interdisciplinary research projects and training activities together with different communities. This will enable scholars to engage in hands-on projects and contribute to the program’s goals.
- Facilitating 10 Canadian scholars to spend up to six months working with partner universities abroad. This exchange allows Canadian students to gain practical experience in diverse international settings, working on community-based energy projects and learning from experts in different cultural and environmental contexts.
- The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Award project funding underpins these activities, ensuring sufficient resources to support the outlined initiatives and maintain the program’s high-impact objectives.
The initiative places strong emphasis on hands-on learning, where students actively participate in real-world community projects, interdisciplinary collaboration, which integrates perspectives from various fields to address complex challenges, and cross-cultural exchange, fostering mutual understanding and global awareness among participants. These elements are designed to equip students with the practical skills, theoretical knowledge, and cross-cultural understanding necessary to become effective leaders in sustainable development.
When and where does it take place?
Candidates are expected to commit to the program and the selected case study. They must be willing and able to participate in all activities for the duration of the program.
- The travel period is planned in 2026 and 2027 in a period of up to 120 days in the months between May and September. During this period they will have the opportunity to participate in case study research and training opportunities.
- During this period there will be a interim presentation and a final presentation of the planned and agreed research activities. Over the time students will be provided with different training modules, organized by the different schools and for the whole student cohort. The goal is to initiate and nurture a international and interdisciplinary cohort that learns to collaborate exchange and experience the value of bringing different perspectives and fields of expertise together and exchange knowledge and lessons learned from different regions in the world to solve challenging tasks.
Amount of award
QES scholars will be eligible to receive funding to cover QES justified eligible expenses for their stay up to a maximum of $10,000 CAD, this includes the following costs:
Travel expenses
- International airfare (the most direct and economical route)
- Airport taxes
- Visas, medical insurance
- Immunization
- Ground transportation
Living allowance
- Accommodation
- Local transportation
- Food and communications and all other personal expenses
Research expenses
- Resources for the research (e.g., journals, data) as well as computer and laboratory services.
- Costs associated with conference participation
In addition, students will receive an activity support of up to $2,000 CAD to support institution-led leadership development, networking, and community engagement activities and/or other project administration requirements.
Selection criteria
Candidates will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Research must engage with either a case study from their home country or a case study of the country they intend to travel to.
- Quality of suggested research content and interdisciplinary components
- Interest in participating in an interdisciplinary research setting that is focusing on community solutions and local value creation and also taking the sustainable development goals of the United Nations as a guiding principle for one's own research
- Interest in growing an international career in this field of activities.
To apply
1. There will be an evaluation stage where candidates will be selected based on the following:
- A CV
- A cover letter describing your motivation and linking your planned activities to the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship, to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and/or the New Urban Agenda of UN-HABITAT.
- A statement of planned activities in one of the case studies. Therefore, we recommend also contacting one of the mentioned project members to discuss possible contributions. We also recommend matching your ideas to the case study frame setting.
- After review and shortlisting the candidates' profiles will be discussed within the project consortium.
2. Selected applicants will then be contacted to participate in a short virtual interview to discuss details and exchange information about next steps.
- Applicants should send the above items in a single PDF file to Dr. Ursula Eicker or Michael Bossert using the following email address: nextgencities@concordia.ca.
Deadline: All applications must be received by Sunday March 1st, 2026, at midnight.
About the Queen Elizabeth Scholars program
The Queen Elizabeth Scholars Program represents a unique opportunity to be part of a community of dynamic global leaders. With more than 2,000 scholarships awarded to date and partnerships with 650 organizations in 72 countries, QES provides an incredible platform for the exchange of knowledge, ideas and experiences across the globe. Once selected, you will join the prestigious network of ‘Queen Elizabeth Scholars,’ and get access to innovative and transformative research, professional training and advancement, cross-cultural civic experience, and top scholars making a difference in their field around the world.
For more information about QES and testimonials from QES scholars, visit queenelizabethscholars.ca
