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
Enhancing Skills and Knowledge in Policy Engagement, Research Uptake, and Evidence Formed Decision-Making with Karatina University, Kenya
Academics Without Borders (AWB) is a Canadian nonprofit organization. Its mission is to help low and middle income countries improve their universities and colleges so that they can train their own experts and conduct research to promote their countries’ development.
Partner Organization: Karatina University
Number of Volunteers: 1
Location: Karatina University, Karatina, Kenya. This project will be conducted both online and onsite.
Language: English
Volunteer Role Description:
Karatina University acknowledges the gap between academic research production and evidence-informed public policy at Karatina University and its surrounding counties. While Karatina University produces rigorous research, a disconnect persists in the translation, communication, and strategic positioning of this research to influence decision-making. Researchers lack the structured skills to convert their findings into accessible policy products, to engage proactively with county and national government stakeholders, and to time their research dissemination to align with policy cycles. This project seeks to address this gap, equipping researchers with practical tools to ensure that local research is recognized in the policy space.
Requirements: We are looking for a faculty member (working or retired) with extensive experience in policy informed research design, stakeholder engagement, and public policy analysis. Applicants should have excellent interpersonal, communication, and facilitation skills and be excited about the role of higher education in global development. Those with experience working in academic settings in low and middle-income countries are especially encouraged to apply.
Start Date and Duration: Remote collaboration with the KarU faculty team will begin as soon as a volunteer is appointed. Online workshop sessions will be scheduled once remote collaboration begins, and an onsite working visit will be planned for the first or second quarter of 2027.
Deadline to apply: September 18, 2026