Humanitarian Technology Summer Research (Canada)

Co-organised by the UNU HIT Hub at LU and the Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN) of The University of Toronto, the Humanitarian Technology Summer Research (HTSR) Programme invites aspiring young researchers from any academic major to engage in an interdisciplinary research programme at the University of Toronto. Participants will gain practical experience in conducting impactful research that bridges the gap between social sciences and engineering to address the challenges faced by communities at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP).

Projects:

Community-managed maternal-newborn health technologies in off-grid settings: knowledge mobilisation from the Philippines to Southern Chile;
Technology adoption and human-centered design in rainwater harvesting: lessons from community-based systems in Mexico;
Neighbourhood retrofitting and community-led sustainability in Toronto: case curation and research support for urban climate action;
Community-based hurricane early alert systems in the Caribbean: a scoping database for disaster risk reduction research.

Programme Format

The programme is structured similarly to capstone projects or final-year projects, where students work under the supervision of their project supervisors. While students will receive support where relevant, they should anticipate minimal supervision during their daily tasks. Students are expected to work independently and provide weekly updates on their progress to their supervisors.

Expected Deliverables:

Weekly updates to Supervisors (LU and UoT)
Final presentation
Final research report

Who should join the programme?

Full-time undergraduate students from any discipline with genuine interest in research and sustainable development in the Global South. Students interest to pursue graduate studies will also benefit from the research experience.

Important Details

Research period	01 Jun to 31 Jul 2026
Location	University of Toronto, St George, Toronto, Canada
Eligibility	Full-time undergraduate students at Lingnan University; Have at least one full academic year left in their study period; CGPA minimum 3.0; Demonstrated skillsets in research as well as interest in the selected project; and Good command of English.
Fee	No programme fee. A refundable deposit of HKD5,000 is required and will be returned upon satisfactory completion of the programme.
Visa	Selected students are required to make their own arrangement to obtain a travel visa for Canada, if necessary
Flight	Return flight to Canada (HKG-Toronto-HKG) will be paid by Lingnan University.
Accommodation	Accommodation costs throughout the programme period will be covered by Lingnan University.
Other costs	Students are expected to bear the costs of daily living expenses themselves.

Application

Processing	Please submit the completed form (found here), together with an up-to-date Curriculum Vitae (CV), to [email protected].
Deadline	10 Mar 2026, before 17:00 GMT+8
Selection interview and result announcement	Rolling interview and announcement
Deposit deadline	Two weeks after result announcement

For application and enquiries, please contact Ms Belinda Lau (26168079, [email protected] )

Lab visit at the University of Toronto

Field work at Nipissing First Nation

Rainwater harvesting system installation