Faculty and staff can support global higher education and academic freedom through the opportunities below. The University of Waterloo is a member of Academics Without Border and a sustaining member of the Scholars at Risk Network.
Choose an organization to learn its mandate and ways to get involved.
Academics Without Borders
Mandate: Academics Without Borders supports capacity-building in higher education by partnering with universities and colleges in low- and middle-income countries to strengthen teaching, research, and institutional operations—so partners can educate their own experts and advance locally relevant research.
How to get involved: AWB’s work is powered by volunteers. Faculty, staff, and administrators (active or retired) can contribute expertise through projects (varied scope and length), and may also propose projects in partnership with institutions in low- and middle-income countries.
Links:
- AWB homepage: Academics Without Borders / Universitaires Sans Frontières
- Volunteer info & opportunities: Volunteers (AWB)
- Network membership: The AWB Network
Scholars at Risk Network
Mandate: Scholars at Risk is a global network that protects threatened scholars and advances academic freedom by mobilizing higher education institutions to provide practical support and solidarity. [
How to get involved: Faculty members can get involved by participating in academic freedom programming and network opportunities.
Links:
- Institutional pathways: Get Involved: Institutions (SAR)
- Hosting: Host a scholar (SAR)
- Overview/resources: Getting Involved (SAR resources)
Volunteer Opportunity at Academic Without Borders
Problem-based Learning (PBL): Faculty Development and Curriculum Integration
Academics Without Borders (AWB) is a Canadian nonprofit organization. Its mission is to help low and middle-income countries improve their higher education institutions so that they can train their own experts and conduct research to assist in their countries’ development. AWB’s projects are involved in the full range of activities from expanding and improving existing institutions and programs to helping create new ones. AWB fulfills its mission through volunteers who collaborate on projects that originate in and are owned by partner institutions. AWB volunteers are reimbursed for their expenses but are not paid a salary.
Partner Organization: Madan Bhandari University of Science and Technology (MBUST)
Madan Bhandari University of Science and Technology (MBUST), founded in 2022, is a public university located in Chitlang, Thaha Municipality 9, Bagmati Province, Nepal. The university offers interdisciplinary programs in Digital Technology, Forest Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Organic Agriculture, and Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure. As a newly established institution, MBUST is focused on strengthening innovative and practice-oriented approaches to teaching and learning. This project will support MBUST to build faculty capacity to apply Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approaches and to integrate these methods into courses and curricula to enhance student engagement, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
Number of Volunteers: 1
Location: Chitlang, Thaha Municipality 9, Bagmati Province, Nepal. The project will be conducted both online and on-site. Following an initial phase of online collaboration, an on-site working visit will be planned to deliver faculty training workshops and support implementation activities.
Language: English
Volunteer Role Description:
MBUST and AWB are seeking a volunteer to collaborate with university leadership and faculty members to support the introduction and implementation of Problem-Based Learning approaches across academic programs. The volunteer will conduct a review of existing curricula and a needs analysis to assess readiness for PBL integration and identify opportunities for application. The volunteer will contribute to the development of PBL-informed teaching and learning approaches and will design and deliver faculty training workshops focused on the theoretical foundations of PBL, the application of PBL tools in classroom teaching, and the development of critical thinking through the design of relevant problems and exercises.
The project will begin with remote collaboration to support curriculum review, planning, and preparation of training materials. This will be followed by an on-site working visit during the project period to facilitate interactive workshops, support hands-on application of PBL methods, and strengthen faculty capacity to implement and sustain these approaches after the project concludes.
Requirements: We are seeking a faculty member (working or retired) with a PhD or equivalent in a relevant field and expertise in Problem-Based Learning curriculum development, teaching and learning, or related areas. The selected candidate will have experience in designing and applying PBL approaches in higher education and in delivering faculty training or capacity-building initiatives. Applicants should have strong interpersonal, communication, and facilitation skills, be collaborative and culturally responsive, and be motivated by the role of higher education in global development. Experience working with institutions in low- and middle-income countries and familiarity with interdisciplinary programs are considered assets.
Start Date and Duration: The project will begin with remote collaboration in July 2026 and continue through August 2027. An on-site working visit is anticipated during the project period to deliver faculty training workshops and support implementation planning and capacity building with MBUST.
Deadline to apply: June 15, 2026
See the Opportunity.