Grant: Collaborative Research and Training Experience

The goal of the CREATE in Milk Quality program is to create novel, outstanding, and sustainable training for graduate students conducting research on mastitis and milk quality. In addition to traditional academic training, this training will equip the professionals of tomorrow with critical professional skills that will enable them to have leadership roles within industry, government, and academia in Canada and internationally. This will be enhanced by: 1) encouraging multidisciplinary, multi-institution, and international training; 2) promoting excellence in knowledge transfer and communication; and 3) improving employment readiness. Key components of the program include cross-disciplinary exchanges for graduate students, an on-line credited mastitis and milk quality course, workshops on knowledge transfer and on principles of scientific writing and communication, externships with industry and government, and a yearly professional development and networking event promoting interaction between trainees and non-academic organizations. Training is designed so that theory and hands-on experience are combined to optimize acquisition of the targeted skills and professional competency. The program will be implemented through an established and internationally recognized network of Canadian scientists from nine universities, the Canadian Bovine Mastitis and Milk Quality Research Network, further enhancing a strong collaborative structure already in place. Academic training ranges from basic laboratory-based research (e.g. molecular microbiology, immunology, biotechnology) to applied on-farm research (e.g. clinical veterinary medicine, epidemiology, and animal welfare) and is readily transferable to other agricultural sectors. Important collaborations from industry, government, and academic partners will maximize the training impact and ensure leveraging of funds and expertise. _x000d_L'objectif du programme FONCER en qualité du lait est de créer un programme de formation novateur, remarquable et pérenne pour les étudiants aux cycles supérieurs menant des recherches sur la mammite et la qualité du lait. En complément au programme acadé