XPRIZE Canada Hub Fellowship & Internship Program

Mobilizing Canadian Talent for Global Innovation and Impact

Who can apply

Current UCalgary postdoctoral scholars and graduate students based in Calgary. Travel within Canada and US may be required. An active student status must be held throughout the duration of this program to be eligible for internships.

Funding

Positions are flexible part-time commitments offered in 3 to 6-month increments with scholarships ranging from $5,000 - $10,000 CAD for fellowships and $5,000 - $6,000 CAD for internships.

Timelines

Applications are accepted on a rolling intake as available positions are filled.

Global Impact

Work on projects at the frontier of global innovation with XPRIZE.

The XPRIZE Canada Hub at the University of Calgary, is mobilizing Canadian research and innovation ecosystems to tackle humanity’s greatest challenges through global incentive competitions. The Fellowship and Internship Program is a strategic initiative designed to embed emerging postdoctoral leaders (fellows) and graduate students (interns) directly into high-impact, project-based work at the frontier of global innovation, offering a unique bridge between academic research and real-world systems change.

Anticipated Value for Participants

XPRIZE Canada Hub Fellowships and Internships are purpose-built to be a high-value, synergistic opportunity that can be held concurrently with a postdoctoral appointment or graduate student schedule. The program offers a critical bridge for scholars seeking to translate fundamental research into applied, scalable impact.

Synergistic R&D for Impact: Augments core research with global exposure to applied innovation and R&D for impact, ensuring project placements align with the fellow’s disciplinary background and career trajectory.
Broadened Global Network: Provides immediate access to mentorship from XPRIZE Canada Hub and global XPRIZE teams, Braintrust members, and an international network of innovators, broadening professional connections and impact.
Innovation Methodology Exposure: Direct engagement with the global XPRIZE prize design methodology—a powerful tool for accelerating breakthrough solutions—at the intersection of science, technology, policy, and innovation strategy.
Flexible & High-Impact: Part-time, project-based role manageable alongside academic commitments, offering hands-on experience that contributes directly to real XPRIZE initiatives and global innovation systems.

Key Responsibilities

Fellows and interns in the program are responsible for delivering high-value research outputs, including:

Conducting domain-specific landscape scans and research synthesis.
Analyzing technologies, systems, policies, and market dynamics.
Supporting early-stage prize concept development.
Preparing research memos, analysis, and presentations for senior leadership.

How it works

Fellowships and internships are structured for seamless integration with a postdoctoral or graduate student schedule and is supported by a financial scholarship that is milestone-based, ranging from $5,000 - $10,000 CAD for fellowships and $5,000 - $6,000 CAD for internships. Fellowships and internships are flexible part-time commitments offered in 3 to 6-month increments (placement dependent) as a project-based, consultant-style role. Fellows and interns are Canadian-based and operate in a remote/hybrid capacity.

Fellows are separate and distinct from employment contracts as a postdoctoral fellow, where awardees will be issued a T4A, support and alignment with a postdoctoral supervisor will be required. Interns are operated under work-integrated learning placements and receive a non-taxable graduate award. Travel for XPRIZE in-person events in Canada and the United States as part of the fellowship may be required and supported within the program experience.

Available XPRIZE Canada Hub Fellowship and Internship positions will be posted below under current opportunities.

To apply, submit a current resume/CV and include a short personal statement (200 words) or video (60 seconds) on what interests you in the opportunity and why you want to help shape global innovation.

Applications can be submitted to xprizehub@ucalgary.ca. Please state the position you are applying to in the e-mail subject line.

Only candidates for consideration will be contacted.

XPRIZE Food, Water & Waste Fellow

Dr. Anirban Kundu, PhD, serves as the first-ever fellow for the XPRIZE Canada Hub under the Food, Water, Waste domain. He is a geomicrobiologist at the University of Calgary characterizing how anaerobic microbes consume hydrogen and the implications for subsurface natural hydrogen storage, emissions, and infrastructure damage. He is also an Adjunct Professor in carbon storage at Carleton University. Anirban has over 3 years of post-PhD experience on climate mitigation, energy policy, sustainability strategy, and social impact as a consultant and program manager. He has received over $1 million in research awards and scholarships across Canada and India, and has mentored over 30 students.

Operations, AI Enablement & Innovation Specialist Intern

Sabah Ud Din Ahmad is a UCalgary graduate physics student with deep interests and experience in stochastic modeling, quantum computing, quantum algorithms, quantum optimization, quantum software programming, data analysis, AI, and machine learning, with strong Python programming expertise. He handles technical and organizational problem-solving with complementary skills in business analysis, website development, prototyping, and UI/UX design. He has a proven track record managing physics and quantum clubs, organizing events, and collaborating in competitive hackathons.

Ecosystem & Engagement Analyst Intern

Michelle Ng’ong’a works to map innovation ecosystems and open doors for startups, researchers, and organizations working on tomorrow's biggest challenges. She is an MBA Candidate at the Haskayne School of Business at UCalgary specializing in Global Energy Management and Sustainable Development. Operating at the intersection of finance and social good, she brings a robust background spanning impact investing, financial analysis, and business development. She has a proven track record of managing multi-million-dollar investments across emerging markets with a core focus on financial inclusion, agriculture, renewable energy, and local infrastructure.

XPRIZE Data Analytics Intern

Mohammad Sakib Hossain supports XPRIZE's Partner Engagement and Program Impact team. He is a Master’s candidate in Computer Science at the University of Calgary and a Graduate Research Assistant at the VISAGG Lab, contributing to research at the intersection of AI and data visualization. He serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for multiple software engineering and computer science courses. His work includes building deep learning models for sentiment analysis, handwritten digit recognition, and medical image classification with multiple peer-reviewed publications. He holds leadership roles as VP Finance for both the Computer Science Graduate Society and the Bangladesh Students Association.

XPRIZE Global Visioneering Intern

Mishal Saifullah supports the XPRIZE Global Visioneering team. Born in Pakistan and raised between Saudi Arabia and Canada, she holds a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy, an international certification to teach English, and an MBA. Her diverse career path spans being a mental health administrator, an educator, an energy land management professional, and a co-founder of a government-regulated daycare. She is currently in an exploratory phase focused on sustainability and the role businesses play in creating long-term value for communities.