Dec. 19, 2025
Maternal and Child Health Experiential Learning program launched
A new program at the University of Calgary is providing graduate students with extensive professional-development opportunities and paid work-integrated learning placements. The Child Health Experiential Learning Opportunities (CHELO) program offers graduate students working in maternal and child health the chance to earn six course credits while building career readiness.
The program will feature a two-course structure designed to help university students build professional skills and gain workplace experience. The first component, a professional-development course set for winter 2026, will deliver online seminars, mentoring sessions and networking opportunities aimed at strengthening career readiness, interviewing skills, communication, and leadership.
In spring and summer 2026, students will move into the program’s second phase — an experiential-learning course that places them in supervised, paid internships. This hands-on component will allow participants to apply the knowledge gained in the classroom to real-world professional environments.
“By embracing the idea that practical engagement strengthens the use of theoretical knowledge, we’re offering this course to help bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world challenges,” says Dr. Elizabeth Oddone Paolucci, BA'93, MSc'95, PhD'98, professor in the Cumming School of Medicine and instructor of both CHELO courses. Oddone-Paolucci is also co-lead of the One Child Every Child Transdisciplinary Training Accelerator with Dr. Jay Riva-Cambrin, MD.
Community-based internships
The program is open to graduate students across all faculties who have a focus in maternal or child health and wellness. Five community partners have already signed up for paid student internships including the Children’s Cottage Society, Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, Palix Foundation, Calgary Adapted Hub and Primary Care Alberta. Students can also arrange for their own internship placement.
“This is a wonderful transdisciplinary opportunity. Students will work alongside experts from diverse fields to tackle complex maternal and child health challenges,” says Oddone Paolucci
In addition to earning two course credits and a paid internship, students who finish the CHELO program will receive a $5,000 award.
To learn more about eligibility criteria for the CHELO program, visit the website. Applications for the program are due Jan. 9, 2026.
The CHELO program is funded by the One Child Every Child research initiative and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute.
The Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI) is a partnership between the University of Calgary, Alberta Health Services and the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation. ACHRI advances child and maternal health research, benefiting from more than 40 years of philanthropic support from the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Led by UCalgary, the One Child Every Child research initiative works to dramatically improve the lives of children, their families, and maternal health across Canada. The initiative is funded by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund, with support from the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Azrieli Foundation.
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