McCall MacBain Leadership Development Program at EPFL

Located in Switzerland, EPFL (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne), is a highly-ranked public research institute and university specializing in natural sciences and engineering. 

In 2022, EPFL launched the Bachelor Excellence Fellowships, a scholarship awarded to students in recognition not only of academic excellence but also based on community engagement, leadership potential, and extracurricular participation.

The McCall MacBain Foundation provided seed funding to develop and launch a leadership development program for Bachelor Excellence Fellows to complement the financial award. The McCall MacBain Leadership Development Program offers fellows a unique opportunity to develop leadership skills and engage in experiential learning throughout their three-year bachelor’s degree, in any subject area, at EPFL. Through the program, students participate in intensive summer retreats, attend year-round workshops on leadership skills development, engage in peer-to-peer learning, and lead and support community-based initiatives. 

This partnership has enabled the Bachelors Excellence Fellowships to become a first-of-its-kind comprehensive, leadership-focused scholarship in Switzerland with the vision to inspire and guide future generations of responsible leaders to develop tangible solutions to shape a better world.

“The McCall MacBain Leadership Development Program provides a wonderful opportunity for students to form a community of responsible, highly motivated future leaders, equipped with skills that will enable them to contribute substantially to facing up to societal challenges.”


– Kathryn Hess Bellwald, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Outreach

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