Holcim Foundation Fellowship at UCL
Empowering students to bridge education and the practice of sustainable construction.
Innovating Tomorrow’s Resilience
London, UK – 21st July – 1st August 2025
This in-person intensive two-week course at University College London (UCL) seeks to foster a curiosity and solutions-driven mindset through a series of actions – open dialogue, consultation, exploration, and reflection – and to create a dynamic feedback loop that leads to transferable and scalable outcomes.
Deadline 10:00am, Wednesday 16 April 2025
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UCL will host the third cohort of the Holcim Foundation Fellowship in July 2025, open to candidates who have studied at any university in Europe or the United Kingdom. Participants will come to the campus of UCL to work with instructors and practitioners, observe, analyse, question, propose and design interdisciplinary strategies for transforming the mechanisms that afflict the socio-environmental state of European cities.
Academics and researchers from UCL's Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geomatic Engineering (CEGE) will be facilitating the program. CEGE is renowned for its forward-looking research and teaching, focusing on sustainability, infrastructure, international development, and engineering.
Fellows will visit case study projects in London, meeting practicing professionals and learning from presentations about the innovative work of their firms. Fellows work and contributions/reactions to the debate will be digitally published and will become a reference for future students and professionals worldwide.
Upon completion of the program, selected Fellows will be chosen to take part in the next step of the journey - the Holcim Foundation Emerging ChangeMakers.
Participants selected for the Fellowship will be provided with housing and travel assistance for the duration of the program and receive full tuition for the course.
Note: The primary language of instruction/discussion for the Fellowship Europe will be English.
Fellowship objectives
- Expose final year professional degree students within the built environment to realities of practice on building sites and the end-user’s experience – bridging the gaps between academia, the profession and society.
- Foster the adoption of a humble posture of learning among professionals and students to close the knowledge and execution gap.
- Empower students by equipping them with the skills required to succeed as catalysts for industry transformation in their studies and future careers.
- Support career development, continued learning, mentorship, and collaboration through future participation in Holcim Foundation international programs, events and networking opportunities.
Who is eligible?
Applications are open to those in the fields of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, Urban Planning, Historic Preservation, Structural/Civil/Construction Engineering and Real Estate Development - at any university in the UK and Europe. The candidate must be a current final year Masters student (who will finish their studies no later than 31 October, 2025) or a recent Masters graduate (who graduated no sooner than 1 January, 2023).
Two Fellowships for Europe
Upon completion of the Fellowship at UCL, the next Fellowship for Europe will take place in Brussels on September 1 - 12, 2025. The second European Fellowship, hosted by ETH Zurich, is themed: Designing Incentives for Change - focusing on advocating the importance of renovating Europe’s existing built environment. The application process for the Fellowship with ETH Zurich is similar to the Fellowship at UCL. Applicants are encouraged to apply to the Fellowship that is most relevant to their respective field of interest and expertise. Successful applicants will be allowed to take part in one Fellowship only.
Partnering Firms
Site visits of real projects will provide an immersive experience, exploring user needs, planning requirements and innovative construction methodologies, in collaboration with AL_A, BDP, Eckersley O’Callaghan (EOC), Expedition, and Buro Happold.
