Funding Opportunities

Student Mobility Funding

Funding is offered across multiple learner categories, including Undergraduate and Professional Programs (UGME, TMM, PharmD), Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME), and Faculty of Medicine Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (MSc, PhD, MPH). These funds aim to promote equitable access to international opportunities and foster global citizenship, academic excellence, and cross-cultural collaboration.

Learners must submit a Request for Approval of an International Elective and Funding by the deadlines below to be considered for mobility funding. Students will receive confirmation of their funding at the start of the term in which their mobility activity takes place. Funds are typically disbursed before the tuition-payment deadline for that term.

All mobility funding deadlines are outlined in the table below and must be met for learners to remain eligible. The only exception is the Graduate Global Health Research Bursary, which has a separate deadline of January 1.

Mobility Funding Deadlines by Term

TERM	TRAVEL PERIOD	MOBILITY APPLICATION DEADLINE*
Fall	September-December	April 1
Winter	January-April	December 1
Summer	May-August	March 1

*NOTE: Requests for independently sourced international electives, graduate research and public health practicums submitted after these dates may still be reviewed for approval but will not be eligible for funding consideration.

Available International Mobility Funding Opportunities:

International Mobility Bursary

Funding to support electives in the following categories:

Independently sourced international electives
Electives with preferred partnerships in France, China and UAE, Tanzania, Benin
Medicine and Humanities International Program (MHIP)
low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) Global Health Electives

Eligible Learners: UGME (Year 1, year 2, and year 4), TMM, PharmD

Value of Awards: $1000

Number of Awards annually: 64

Application form: Submit your Request for Approval of an International Elective and Funding within the above deadlines to be considered for funding.

Request for Approval of an International Elective and Funding - UGME/PharmD (PDF, 732.8 KB)

Equity and Access Travel Reimbursement

The Equity and Access Travel Reimbursement provides targeted financial support to promote equitable participation in international learning experiences. The fund supports two distinct funding streams of eligibility, and learners may apply under either stream, depending on their circumstances.

Fund Stream 1: Global Health/ low- and middle-income countries (LMIC)

Provides additional financial support to learners completing approved global health electives in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) that meet specific eligibility criteria.

Eligibility: The learner must:

Have an approved international elective in an LMIC setting.
Demonstrate that the elective is being completed under the supervision of a uOttawa faculty member who has an existing academic, clinical, or research relationship with the host organization or institution. This may include:
- Prior collaboration or exchange between the supervisor and the host institution.
- Ongoing research, education, or training partnerships.
- Continued engagement beyond the student’s elective (e.g., supervision of multiple learners, joint projects).

Rationale: This criterion ensures that funding supports electives embedded in sustainable and reciprocal collaborations, rather than “one-off” placements. It enhances learner oversight, host-site continuity, and the overall contribution to the Faculty’s global health objectives.

Exception: The group electives in Benin and Tanzania are not eligible for this stream of funding, considering that many program costs are covered directly by the IGHO.

Fund Stream 2: Financial Need

Assists learners with a financial need to reduce financial barriers to participation in international mobility programs.

A learner is considered to have financial need if they would experience significant financial hardship in undertaking an international elective without financial support. This may include, but is not limited to:

Limited or no financial support from parents or family;
Personal or family circumstances that restrict available funds (e.g., dependents, caregiving responsibilities);
High existing financial obligations (e.g., tuition, debt, cost of living);
Other circumstances that make covering elective-related costs difficult.

Learners are asked to self-identify financial need honestly. No additional documentation is required.

Value of Awards: $1000

Number of Awards annually: 10

Application: Submit your Request for Approval of an International Elective and Funding within the above deadlines to be considered for funding.

Request for Approval of an International Elective and Funding - UGME/PharmD (PDF, 732.8 KB)

Within the form, please ensure you:

Complete the Equity and Access Travel Reimbursement section, and
Indicate which stream you are applying under (Global Health/LMIC or Financial Need) and other required information.

Other Learner Funding Opportunities:

Overview

Overview
Eligible programs of study	UGME
Value of award	Up to $500 to cover conference-related expenses
Application deadline	February 28, 2025

The Global Health Conference Participation Program provides funding for MD students with a proven interest in global health to attend or present at a conference with a global health focus.

Funds will be provided once the student has returned from the conference and has provided all post-conference requirements, including copies of expenses up to $500, within two weeks of their return.

Eligibility criteria

The applicant must:

Be registered as a full-time student of the MD program at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ottawa;
Have a proven interest in global health; and
Demonstrate that participation in the conference will contribute to their global health education and build on their experience.

Selected candidates must also complete the following:

A reflective summary (approx. 250 words) of their experience upon their return.

Selection process

Bursary recipients will be selected by members of the Global Health Advisory Committee based on the relevance of the proposed conference and the availability of funds.

Note: Preference will be given to students who are presenting their work at the conference and students who are enrolled in the Concentration in Global Health and Social Accountability.

Apply to Global Health Conference Participation Program.

Overview

Overview
Eligible programs of study	All Faculty of Medicine learners registered in the SPHERE Certificate Program
Value of award	$325
Application deadline	Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the available funding is allocated.

The San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Program is an Indigenous-led, policy-driven, and systems-level educational intervention to foster health equity and mitigate the effects of systemic racism experienced by Indigenous people in health and other sectors. The program offers several online, self-paced modules for individuals working in health care.

Successful applicants will be reimbursed the $325 fee of the Ontario – Core Health training.

Eligibility criteria

The applicant must:

Be registered as a full-time student or trainee in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ottawa; and
Be registered in the SPHERE Certificate Program.

Selection process

Recipients of this funding will be selected by the International and Global Health Office.

Apply to San’yas Anti-racism Indigenous Cultural Safety Training.

Faculty Mobility Funding

Overview

The International Global Health Office (IGHO) invites you to apply for funding to support faculty mobility. This opportunity is open to faculty members to support collaborations with our esteemed partners in Tanzania (KCMC University) and Benin (Université d’Abomey-Calavi (UAC), and Institut Régional de Santé Publique (IRSP)), as well as other global health collaborations at the faculty. The IGHO welcomes faculty mobility applications for seed funding to support the development of new collaborative projects and initiatives, and for applications that build on established connections. The mobility funding is available for both incoming and outgoing faculty, promoting a dynamic exchange of knowledge and expertise.

Focus Areas

The mobility funding is intended for both incoming and outgoing faculty mobility and should focus on one or more of the following preferred domains of action:

Clinical education, research and capacity strengthening
Public Health education, research and capacity strengthening
Biomedical (basic science) education, research and capacity strengthening
Global health collaboration and knowledge exchange

Who Should Apply?

We welcome applications from faculty members who have a clear vision and:

Aim to develop new collaborative projects and initiatives.
Seek to build on established connections with our partners.
Have a vision that aligns with the outcomes identified in our partnerships.
Support the strategic vision of the Faculty of Medicine.
Foster an inclusive environment for innovation and partnership within our academic community.

Overview of Partnerships:

Benin

Partner Organizations: Université d’Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Institut Régional de Santé Publique (IRSP)

Partnership Details: The Faculty of Medicine (FoM) has maintained longstanding ties with our partners in Benin for over 20 years. Our partnerships in Benin began with the Université d’Abomey-Calavi but soon expanded to include the Institut Régional de Santé Publique. The focus of these partnerships has been efforts in teaching, training, and research, and promoting la Francophonie in medicine. In the past two decades, the partnership priorities have evolved to include:

Global health experiences: we offer group global health electives in Benin with our partner organizations where learners can participate in an elective focusing on the core global health principles of community engagement and social accountability
Pedagogical and educational development for la Francophonie: the development of specific training and educational activities for Francophones, such as problem-based learning, simulated clinical sessions, online self-learning content, and more

Tanzania

Partner Organization: KCMC University

Partnership Details: The partnership between uOttawa’s Faculty of Medicine and KCMC University was formed to improve healthcare access and health equity for local populations, especially women, in the Kilimanjaro Region, Northern Tanzania, through three interrelated pathways:

Clinical Partnership Activities: to improve the ability of KCMC hospital to respond to the healthcare needs of the local population through enhanced clinical skills and leadership training and mentorship in clinical research and teaching
Public Health Partnership Activities: to strengthen the ability of KCMC University to address pressing public health challenges facing the local population through enhanced education of the future public health workforce and collaborative research on priority public health issues
Student Mobility and Coordination Activities: to enhance the ability of faculty and learners at the University of Ottawa and KCMC University to collaboratively act to reduce health inequities through bi-directional exchanges and joint coordination with a focus on shared benefits

Eligibility Criteria

The applicant must:

Be a faculty member at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine, who is applying to fund outgoing mobility for themselves or incoming mobility for a counterpart
Have an identified counterpart who is a faculty member at the partner institution
Demonstrate an understanding and commitment to the ethical principles of global health, as set out in the Brocher Declaration
Demonstrate a commitment to advancing the global health goals defined by the Faculty of Medicine in the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan
Have the administrative ability to plan for the mobility in collaboration with the faculty member’s Department/School and IGHO (this includes supporting incoming faculty where the process could take between 6-12 months and being able to coordinate outgoing mobility processes where the process could take 3-6 months)
Request approval for travel dates from their department upon acceptance of mobility funding (for clinical departments).
Commit to providing a 1–2 page report on their activities in the format requested by the International and Global Health Office (IGHO)
Commit to sharing their experiences at a departmental meeting upon their return and serve as ambassadors for faculty mobility and champions within their department

The mobility activity must:

Focus on clinical or public health-related activities, including teaching, curriculum development, research (includes basic science and applied), or capacity strengthening
Address challenges or contribute to global health advancements
Have clear, realistic, and achievable objectives given the mobility timeframe and available resources
Focus on activities that respond to priority needs identified by the counterpart
Address any ethical considerations
Be built on an education and capacity-building model
For mobility related to pre-established partnerships, they should align with the aims of the partnerships and the developed logic models

Initial visits must have a:

Counterpart identified
Clear vision of objectives while in-country
Plan to continue established collaborations

Second visits must:

Build on the objectives and activities undertaken during the initial visit
Demonstrate departmental support through a letter of commitment or a financial contribution

Funding Details

Funding Amount:

For outgoing mobility: Maximum of $2800
For incoming mobility: Maximum of $4000

Note: the faculty and the IGHO invested in housing at the Doctor’s compound at KCMC (Moshi, Tanzania) for the coming 5 years where faculty members can now reside in an available house comprised of 4 bedrooms with single, double, and triple accommodation per room. The availability of the house will alleviate the costs related to accommodations in Tanzania, and a scheduling process will be shared with faculty members who will be visiting KCMC University in 2025-2026.

Funding will be reimbursed up to the set amounts indicated above. Each applicant will be responsible for managing all associated travel expenses as per the policies and procedures of the University. For uOttawa Faculty, this will involve using Workday to request reimbursements up to the stipulated amount. For incoming faculty, the uOttawa faculty applicant will be responsible for supporting their counterpart throughout the process and assuming financial responsibility for costs incurred until the mobility grant has been processed.

Costs for mobility typically range between $5.000 and $7.000. Funding provided by IGHO is not exhaustive but is intended to supplement funding. Applicants with confirmed funding support from their department at the time of their application will be prioritized.

Upon approval of funding, IGHO will provide details on mobility planning, financial processes, and reporting.

Recipients will be responsible for reading, understanding, and adhering to uOttawa travel policies and regulations.

Eligible expenses include: equivalent of economy class flight, visas, travel/health insurance while overseas, and local transportation and meals.

Details on this call for applications

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until March 6, 2026.

Application process and review:

Application form completed by the deadline corresponding to your desired travel dates
Initial review by the IGHO for alignment with objectives/framework
Content-specific assessment
Assessment by the Clinical Global Health Council for applications associated with clinical activities
Assessment by the Assistant Dean of Global Health for applications associated with public health and other non-clinical activities
Final assessment and determination by the IGHO
Response sent to applicants

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions to [email protected] regarding this call for applications and review process.

Please contact [email protected] for questions about our funding opportunities.

Student Mobility Funding

Mobility Funding Deadlines by Term

Available International Mobility Funding Opportunities:

UGME, TMM, and PharmD arrow_drop_down

International Mobility Bursary

Equity and Access Travel Reimbursement

PGME arrow_drop_down

PGME Global Health Elective Reimbursement

Graduate Studies arrow_drop_down

Graduate Global Health Research Bursary

Other Learner Funding Opportunities:

Global Health Conference Participation Program - UGME arrow_drop_down

Overview

Eligibility criteria

The applicant must:

Selected candidates must also complete the following:

Selection process

San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Program arrow_drop_down

Overview

Eligibility criteria

The applicant must:

Selection process

Faculty Mobility Funding

Faculty Mobility Funding for Collaborative Projects with Tanzania and Benin arrow_drop_down

Overview

Overview of Partnerships:

Eligibility Criteria

Funding Details

Details on this call for applications