Grant: Collaborative Research and Training Experience

The Food-Water Nexus Education and Training (FWNET) CREATE program will provide an interdisciplinary foundation for the next generation of specialists and enablers to address global food-water security issues. The program will focus on the interrelation and interdependency of food and water through three research themes: (i) the development of precision technologies to observe plant-soil-water interactions at the root-zone level; (ii) nutrient and agrochemical stewardship and climate change; and (iii) the socioeconomics of production decisions and food-water policy. FWNET trainees will be immersed in a learning journey which includes a 10-day multidisciplinary introductory course on food-water taught by co-applicants and collaborators, two elective/core courses, an integrative capstone project based on a practical problem described by an FWNET stakeholder/industry partner and in a group environment, and an optional internship program with a stakeholder/industry partner. These core elements will be augmented with substantial equity, diversity, and inclusion training in every step of the program, professional and communication skills development training, and interaction with external stakeholders including indigenous communities, in diverse modes. There is an urgent need trainees with expertise and understanding of different aspects of the food-water nexus. FWNET trainees, who will earn a certificate as part of the program, will be path-breakers in filling that need.