Build the future of healthcare quality with us.
Co-op placements, Mitacs research, capstone projects, and Advisory Board roles with the Ruavira Collective — across healthcare quality, digital health, and workforce development. Remote-first, paid, and supervised by senior practitioners.
Three doors into the Collective
Students in WIL / co-op programs
Undergraduate and master's students whose programs include a structured work-integrated-learning placement, capstone, or practicum component.
Graduate researchers
MSc, PhD, and post-doctoral researchers in healthcare quality, public health, health policy, digital health, climate-and-health, or related fields — including via Mitacs Accelerate.
Senior professionals
Established practitioners and academics interested in joining the Ruavira Community Advisory Board on an honorarium basis.
Where you can join us
Four tracks across the Collective's practice areas. Three for students and graduate researchers; one for established senior practitioners.
Digital Health & Technology
Paid4–8 month co-op · 4–16 month Mitacs research placement
Build, evaluate, and scale digital health platforms with a senior product engineer and a healthcare-quality architect. From accreditation systems and surveyor mobile apps to learning platforms and patient-facing tools.
Ideal backgrounds: CS / software engineering · health informatics · data science · UX research
Workforce Development & Training
Paid4–8 month co-op · capstone semester · 200–400 hour practicum
Design and deliver continuing-professional-development content, surveyor certification programmes, and learning experiences that change practice in busy clinical environments.
Ideal backgrounds: education / learning sciences · public health · healthcare administration · instructional design
Strategic Consulting & Research
Paid4–8 month co-op · 4–16 month Mitacs research placement
Partner with Senior Architects on accreditation readiness reviews, quality-and-patient-safety strategy, policy briefs, and donor-funded programme evaluation.
Ideal backgrounds: MPH · MBA · public policy · health economics · global health
Community Advisory Board
HonorariumOngoing · ~4 hours per quarter · by invitation
Senior practitioners advising the Collective on healthcare-quality strategy, equity, and the political-economy of the systems Ruavira's clients work in. Quarterly meetings, focused remit, honorarium-based.
Ideal backgrounds: established healthcare leaders · academics · regulators · policy specialists
What you'll actually do
Real outputs on live engagements. Confidentiality and client-approval gates apply, but the work is the work.
- Anonymised case studies and engagement write-ups
- Literature reviews and policy briefs for client work
- Training modules, surveyor scenarios, and CPD content
- Quality-improvement dashboards and indicator frameworks
- Stakeholder maps and engagement strategies for B2G work
- Capstone presentations to client steering committees
- Internal tooling for the Collective's accreditation ecosystem
- Original FemTech, climate-and-health, or workforce-development research
The placement experience
Paid placement
Compensated above Alberta minimum wage wherever the program structure allows. Mitacs, Canada Summer Jobs, and SWPP supplements applied where eligible.
Dual supervision
A Primary Supervisor accountable for project delivery and a Mentor focused on your career arc. Two perspectives, one placement.
Real client-facing work
You'll see and contribute to real engagements — not make-work projects. Confidentiality and client-approval gates apply, but the work is the work.
Remote-first
The Collective is distributed by design — Calgary, Lagos, Abuja, Mansfield, Margate. You join us from wherever you are. Occasional in-person sprints when the project warrants.
Portfolio outputs
Every placement produces shareable outputs — research reports, design artefacts, code repositories, conference posters — that go into your portfolio with your name on them.
Professional network
You graduate from Ruavira with relationships across the Collective — Senior Architects in healthcare quality, climate, inclusion; Practice Architects in digital, pharmacy, and US clinical leadership.
How placements are structured
Co-op placement
4–8 months · 35–40 hours per week · paid
Practicum
200–400 total hours · flexible weekly · typically paid
Mitacs research placement
4–16 months · graduate-level · part-funded by Mitacs Accelerate
Capstone semester
Single academic term · undergraduate or master's · honorarium model
How placements are funded
We work with established Canadian and university funding programs to keep placements paid and accessible.
Mitacs Accelerate
Co-funded research placements for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Ruavira partners with university supervisors on Mitacs project proposals.
Canada Summer Jobs
Federally subsidised summer placements for eligible students aged 15–30. Ruavira applies annually for approved positions.
Student Work Placement Program (SWPP)
Federal wage-subsidy programme for employers offering work-integrated learning to post-secondary students.
Target University Partners
Applications from other accredited Canadian and international institutions are welcome.
How we hold ourselves accountable
Diversity, equity, and inclusion
We actively build a Collective that reflects the communities our clients serve. We track applicant and placement demographics annually, and we publish what we learn alongside what we change.
Mental health and wellbeing
Workloads are scoped to your hours, not stretched to fill them. Supervisors are trained to spot strain. We expect you to take your earned breaks; we will not let you burn out on our watch.
Accessibility
Remote-first removes most physical-access barriers. We meet documented accommodation needs for tooling, hours, and communication style. If something we use isn't accessible to you, we change it.
Indigenous inclusion
Ruavira is based on Treaty 7 territory in Calgary. We are committing to specific actions on Indigenous inclusion as we grow — including paid placements ringfenced for Indigenous students through our university partnerships.
How to apply
Four steps. We aim to give every applicant a substantive answer within two weeks.
Apply
Submit the application form. We acknowledge within 2 business days.
30-minute screening call
A short conversation with the Lead Architect or a Senior Architect to align on fit, timing, and expectations.
45-minute competency interview
A scenario-based discussion with two members of the Collective in your track area.
Offer + Learning Agreement
If matched, we issue a written offer and a Learning Agreement covering scope, supervision, deliverables, and review cadence.
Common questions
Where will I work from?
Are placements paid?
Do you accept international applicants?
How does Mitacs Accelerate work with Ruavira?
Which schools do you partner with?
Can I get academic credit?
When do you hire?
What happens after the placement?
Ready to turn your bold idea into a working solution?
Whether you need a quick strategy session or a full enterprise partnership, we're ready.
Book a 30-min Strategy Call
Free, no obligation. We'll explore fit together and identify where Ruavira can add the most value for your organisation.
Book a Strategy CallSubmit a Project Brief
Formal RFP-style enquiry for large-scale partnerships. Our team will review and respond within 3 business days with an initial assessment.
Submit a Project Brief