Junior fellows

The Junior Fellowship Program

Fostering the brightest young minds in Canada to lead change around the world.

*Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Long-Term Fellowship is on pause. Please visit the Canada-Africa Innovation Fellowship page to learn more about a new Fellowship opportunity available exclusively to university students this year.

The Junior Fellowship Program exposes aspiring Canadian leaders across Canada’s most sought after universities to the cultural and economic realities of the world’s most promising economies and emerging innovations. Junior Fellows have an opportunity to test their skills and contribute to the development of smarter more resilient solutions for social change.

Each Fellow plays an important role to deliver EWB’s Theory of Change. They bring their experiences and lessons learned to shape the course of their future and that of their peers; as entrepreneurs, policy-makers, engineers, and business leaders.

EWB’s student-run chapters across university campuses in Canada run and recruit students for the Fellowship each year.

Contact your chapter to learn more


Junior Fellows are leaders who play an essential role in linking on-the-ground initiatives with our ongoing chapter activities and are chosen based on a proven commitment to building a more equal and sustainable world.

They are students eager to lead by example and share their experiences upon their return. They strive for humility and have an interest to critically examine their environments and problem-solve to meet the development needs of our world.

The Fellowship allows each student to operate at the intersection of poverty, transformation, innovation and education, to spark systemic change in Canada and Africa. You will gain a detailed understanding of the realities of these environments and learn how to positively affect each one. Your work will be tied to our larger organizational strategy, and your experience, input and effort will influence the strategy’s development.

“Working in Malawi as a Junior Fellow after my first year in university turned my world upside down. My naive idea of what development meant changed to something more complex, more difficult, more confusing… I can’t think of any experience that has had a bigger impact on my life’s direction in the past decade.”
– Emily Stewart, 2008 Junior Fellow in Malawi.


With practical skills, invaluable insights and access to unrivalled experiences, your preparation as a Junior Fellow will extend well beyond the conventions of a traditional leadership program.

As a Junior Fellow with EWB, you will operate outside of the classroom; explore far beyond the confines of an office building.

You will broaden horizons and expand your mind across campuses, fields, cities, villages, businesses, streets, markets and bus stations.

You will build your understanding, knowledge, and a direct, personal connection to our work. These building blocks will come to life as concrete, real-world change.

The program can include:

  • 4 months of a Foundation Learning Program online and a week of intensive training at our National Office in Toronto.
  • 4 months engaged in work directly with our ventures and partners in Canada, Ghana, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire or Kenya.
  • A full year of leadership and mentorship in an EWB chapter.

You will come out of the program equipped to create an impact on three key capacities:

  1. To create change in sub-Saharan Africa. By partnering directly with our ventures on-the-ground to create impact.
  2. To create change in Canada. By recounting your experience to educate and inspire fellow Canadians to change the way we think, feel and act towards Africa. You will be equipped to tackle complex domestic issues with a global focus.
  3. To create change and learning for yourself. The Junior Fellowship Program will equip you with the skills, support and network to generate ongoing impact as a leader.

Whatever your experience and wherever your life takes you beyond the Fellowship, you will be empowered to enact change.


  • Meet some of our Junior Fellowship alumni

    Sprouting innovations in Ugandan agriculture.

    • Participated as a third-year Water Resources Engineering student at the University of Guelph.
    • Partnered with the Agriculture Value Chains venture in the town of Iganga, Uganda.
    • Developed insights on business influence and ownership that scaled to create change in maize, coffee and agricultural inputs value chains.

    Working directly with a small agricultural-inputs business, Emily was able to grow in-depth understanding of field level realities in relation to access and use of agro-inputs by small-scale farmers. In close collaboration with the business owner, Emily co-evaluated the potential of a new operating model to help the business enhance its market share and bring quality-certified seed closer to the farm-gate.

  • Meet some of our Junior Fellowship alumni

    Mobilizing insight for Ghanaian farmers.

    • Participated as a second-year Arts & Science student at McMaster University.
    • Worked with the Business Development Services Venture in Northern Ghana, and later in the more southern city of Kumasi.
    • Played a key role in pre-pilot market analysis to ensure a service was launched to the most receptive and appropriate audience base.

    Alexandra conducted research into Farmerline, a service that delivers vital agricultural information directly to farmers’ mobile phones. Alexandra analyzed the way smallholder crop farmers in Northern Ghana use extension services and mobile phones. After determining this would not be a good initial market for the service, Alexandra moved south to Kumasi to help pivot the service for a new market – fish farmers. There, she developed a partnership with Ghana’s fisheries commission and held workshops to engage and educate potential clients.

  • Meet some of our Junior Fellowship alumni

    Partnering with district councils for more accountable accounting.

    • Participated as a second-year Electrical Engineering student at the University of Alberta.
    • Worked with the Governance and Rural Infrastructure Venture at the West Gonja District Assembly in Damongo, Ghana, on revenue mobilization.
    • Played a key role in developing a system for accurate revenue projections and measures to improve accountability for revenue collectors.

    Through partnering with the District Assembly as well as Area Councils, Ryan investigated a range of the district’s entrenched challenges. After initial investigation, Ryan’s team implemented a Revenue Projection Database and data collection processes to ensure that all financing projections were made based on legitimate figures from the ground. His team also ensured that contracts were updated to improve the accountability and responsibilities of revenue collectors on commission.

  • Meet some of our Junior Fellowship alumni

    Breaking new ground for more responsible global mining.

    • Two-time winner at the first-ever Canadian Sustainable Development Goals Awards, 2016.
    • Co-drafted an international standard for reporting on local procurement for global mining companies.
    • Participated in Toronto through the Mining Shared Value Venture, part of our Governance and Sustainable Services portfolio.

    Through his Junior Fellowship placement with Mining Shared Value, Aditya worked on several integral projects to play a key role in taking the venture to new heights. Over the course of his placement, Aditya was involved in co-drafting an early iteration of an international standard for reporting on local procurement as a part of corporate social responsibility for mining companies around the world.

    In collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, Aditya mapped out a network of organizations that focus on responsible mining, made recommendations to Global Affairs Canada by participating in Canada’s International Assistance Review, and more.

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