The University Administrator Toolkit
Everything you need to champion the Millennium Fellowship on your campus.
Program Overview
The Millennium Fellowship, presented by MCN and UNAI, is a semester-long leadership development program for undergraduates that advances the Sustainable Development Goals on campuses worldwide.
What the Fellowship Is
A structured semester designed for undergraduate students where they receive access to world-class training, connections and credentials to support their social impact work as they advance the SDGs in their community.
Program Timeline
Applications open between September and March every year.
The Fellowship runs for one semester (August to November) and ends with a global graduation ceremony and credentialing.
Why It Matters?
Campus selection signals a university’s investment in developing student leaders who can translate learning into action, while building structures that support sustained civic engagement and real-world impact.
Completely Free
No fees - not for students, not for the institution. There are no application fee, participation costs, or service fees at any stage of the program.
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Program Timeline
Class of 2025 Overview
4,869
Millennium Fellows
297
Campuses
47
Countries
2,550
Unique Projects
advancing the 17 SDGs
Communications Toolkit- During Application Cycle
Universities and higher education insitutions from around the world are welcome to use the draft content to amplify the opportunity to undergraduates.
Bring The Millennium Fellowship
On Your Campus!
Campus selection is based on the number and quality of student applications. For a Campus to be eligible for participation, it must have at least 8 selected Millennium Fellows to form a cohort.
📣 Promote Widely
Share with undergraduates via campus-wide emails, class groups, university platforms, relevant department heads and social media. Promotional content here.
🤝 Engage Students
Connect 1:1 or in groups to understand project ideas and offer quick, constructive feedback.
🌐 Host Info Sessions
Request a virtual info session for your students; or encourage interested undergraduates to register for the upcoming info sessions here.
📩 Follow Up (Round 2)
Personally reach out to students who passed Round 1 but haven’t completed Round 2.
✍️ Provide References
Submit timely, strong references to support student applications.
🎓 Activate Faculty
Encourage professors to nominate high-potential students or announce in class.
👥 Encourage Collaboration on projects
Where appropriate, encourage students to collaborate on projects to form a group project. This can strengthen project quality and deepen peer learning.
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📢 Tap Student Leaders
Engage club leaders, ambassadors, and past applicants to share within their networks.
Ask current applicants to refer 2–3 peers who would be a strong fit.
Communications Toolkit- On Campus Selection
Universities and higher education insitutions hosting the Millennium Fellowship this year are welcome to use the draft content to recognize, acknowledge and celebrate their Millennium Fellows. Check out the draft content below:
Best Practices on Supporting Millennium Fellows
Important Note: While the Millennium Fellowship is primarily a fellow-led program, we view universities as valued thought partners in supporting students throughout their Fellowship journey and beyond. Listed below are a few ways institutions may choose to support and engage with their fellows. These are entirely optional and intended as opportunities to further strengthen the student experience and impact of the program on campus.
👤
Designate a Faculty Liaison
Appoint a faculty or staff member to serve as the Campus Point of Contact - someone Fellows can approach for advice, references, and support throughout the semester.
🎓
Celebrate Publicly
Feature Fellows in your campus newsletter, social media, or annual reports. Public recognition elevates the program and encourages future cohorts to apply.
(Check out how the Vice Chancellor of the Co-operative University of Kenya organized an award ceremony to recognize and celebrate their Millennium Fellows here)
➕
Academic Credit
Many campuses consider allocating credit to Fellows as an independent study. Millennium Fellows convene at least six times during the academic semester.
📰
Press
Ensure your communications department and/or student media cover the news that Millennium Fellows were selected on your campus and the work the will be/are leading on. (Check examples here.)
📌
Overseeing cohort activities
The Point of Contact may also choose to attend some of the training sessions or suggest local guest speakers and experts, both on and off-campus, in the areas of social impact and sustainability to join the sessions.
🎥
Storytelling
The University communications and media team can spotlight and cover fellow journey and projects via articles or videos.
🌱
Seed Funding
Some campuses provided seed funding to their Millennium Fellows' Projects. This is a great way to bolster their efforts.
🌍
Connect With Alumni
Connect with fellowship alumni from your campus to learn and acknowledge their work.
Get in touch with team MCN.
🏛️
Facilitate access
Grant necessary permissions for the use of campus facilities, such as classrooms, projectors, and Wi-Fi for the training sessions and cohort activities.
🗒️
Supporting project implementation:
Providing mentorship and support to students in their project implementation.
(University faculty at Pace University is offering guidance and advice to the fellows on project ‘Right to know H2O’.)
🔰
Presidential Engagement
Heads of institution are invited to share a quote or video message (check examples here) in support of their Fellows, join select community events as guest speakers, or meet with Fellows to recognize their leadership and impact on campus.
Learn from campuses that have successfully hosted the Fellowship. These examples highlight different institutional sizes, regions, and approaches to supporting Fellows during the application period, throughout the program, and beyond.
🇰🇪
University of Nairobi
Dean-Led Endorsement + Office of Student Affairs Integration
Dean of Student Affairs personally shares the Fellowship with the entire student body, offer references to applicants, and the university continues to produce the highest number of applications each year. Fellows receive formal recognition and coordinated support through the Office of Students Affairs- a model of top-down institutional commitment that created belonging and sustained growth.
Application stage + During Program
🇺🇸
Lynn University
Interdepartmental Campaign Model
Lynn University partners with Marketing, Advising, and faculty across Academic Council to run a concentrated recruitment campaign in February and March, deliberately avoiding year-round outreach to prevent desensitization. Their approach shows that consistent cross-departmental relationship-building, not mass emails alone, is what reaches students across every college and field of study.
Application Stage
🇧🇩
BRAC University
Institutional Scaling + Leadership Engagement
BRAC grew from 14 Fellows in 2021 to 50 in 2025 -their largest cohort ever to 500+ students who applied to join the Class of 2026. The fellows are supported by a dedicated Social Impact Lab that mentors Fellows and helps scale their projects into sustainable community models. Their Vice-Chancellor presented at the UN High-Level Political Forum alongside Fellow alumnus.
During Program + After Program
🇾🇪
Al-Razi University
Language Accessibility
Faculty member- Prof. Sharaf Shana, proactively gave guidance to interested undergraduates on the application process in Arabic-language, directly dismantling English as a barrier to entry for students in a context where it remains a significant obstacle. Despite these constraints, Al-Razi Fellows have advanced the SDGs through community-rooted projects.
Application Stage
🇺🇸
Pace University
Project Institutionalisation Model
Over five consecutive years, Pace grew from 7 to 34 Fellows, with alumni projects, including a campus food pantry, free menstrual product access, and a carbon footprint initiative, becoming permanent institutionalised resources. This is the strongest verified example of Fellow projects creating lasting structural change on campus, driven by sustained administrative championing from the Assistant Provost level.
During Program + After Program
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Always-On Web Listing
Universities create a standing, always-on listing on their own website so students find the Fellowship organically through their normal browsing (scholarships page, student opportunities portal, leadership programs directory, etc.) rather than only through active email pushes.
Check examples:
🇵🇰 IBA Karachi
Application Stage
Resource Bank
Use this data to build the internal case for championing the Fellowship — with deans, provosts, and student affairs leadership.
Contact
Universities are our thought partners. Connect with our University Relations Manager to explore deeper collaboration, institutional engagement, and the MCN Civic Learning Council.