XPRIZE Canada Hub Fellowship & Internship Program

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.