Fellowships

Fostering a curiosity and solutions-driven mindset

Holcim Foundation Fellowship

Empowering students to bridge education and the practice of sustainable construction

The Holcim Foundation sought to grow and support its global community of change accelerators of all ages by creating educational opportunities that fostered a systemic enquiry approach for built environment students, educators, and practitioners alike. Find out more about our Fellowships below:

Emerging ChangeMakers (ECM)

ECM Retreat | Zurich

Held November 30/December 6, 2025 — Created space for reflection on leadership, interdependence, and strategic foresight. The retreat brought emerging changemakers together to step back from day-to-day pressures and explore how collective action can drive long-term systems change.

Fellowships

  • We explored how collective action and resourcefulness—that goes beyond the dialog of limitation—can drive real environmental change.

    Andrés Restrepo | LATAM Fellow, 2025

  • The fellowship reinforced that context matters in shaping effective sustainability strategies.

    Marney Coleman | NAM Fellow, 2024

  • The journey ahead is uncertain, but learning from those who’ve faced similar challenges strengthened my creative and adaptive mindset.

    David José Soto | LATAM Fellow, 2025

  • A key takeaway was seeing how experts integrate their social, personal, and business perspectives to redefine how architecture can be practised.

    Francis Pérez Marín | LATAM Fellow, 2025

  • This experience showed me that asking ‘dumb questions’ can be one of the most valuable tools for learning.

    Matt Arnott | NAM Fellow, 2024

Fellowship Objectives

  • Expose current and recently graduated master’s students 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 as a way 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.

News on Fellowships