[Agvisors] FW: Food Systems International PhD training program - application announcement

[Hughes, Katie Marie - (khughes)]

Dear Colleagues,



We are seeking applications for PhD students to participate in an international graduate student training program focused on Food Systems research.  The Feed, Protect, Care Global Collaborative PhD<https://www.umontpellier.fr/en/recherche/grands-programmes/initiative-cle-internationale-nutrition-systemes-alimentaires> Platform is a MOU between U. Montpellier and U. Pretoria (South Africa) + 17 Universities globally (including the UA) focusing on transdisciplinary research on Food Systems.



As a member of this Platform, the UA has the opportunity to participate in a multilateral initiative with global impact when it comes to advancing open science and open education and shaping the transformative potential of tomorrow's scientific communities. In addition, we stand to strengthen our own sustainability science capacities and access to equitable global research partnership opportunities.



Students selected to participate in this amazing international opportunity will:  take part in  a weeklong, in person field school to be held October 29-November 6, 2025, in Quebec City, Canada centered around the topic of "How food systems can play a crucial role in improving public health outcomes, particularly for the most at-risk populations, and in preventing the rise of chronic diseases globally." This meeting in Quebec includes participant attendance at the International Rendezvous on Health Food and Ingredients<https://benefiq.ca/en/>.



In addition to the field school in Canada, there will be a one-day, virtual meeting on September 12, 2025, that will include all participants from the first cohort of this collaborative platform with the newly selected second cohort (the applications being solicited here).



Selection criteria:

- Early-stage PhD student

- Multidisciplinarity of thesis topic

- English fluency (capacity to work in an English-speaking environment)

- Capacity to participate in at least 2 platform activities

- Interest in sustainable development sciences



Applications due: Friday March 21, 2025



Apply here<https://uarizona.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5i2K8QwQ2FkJ9We>



For details about the expectations for students participating in this experience, please see section 3.2 "how will the platform operate and what will it do?" below or starting on page 6 of the attached document, with more details in the following sections of the document.



3.2         How will the Platform operate and what will it do?



The Platform will bring together higher education institutions (universities and analogous organizations) from all regions of the world, with each selecting and supporting 2 doctoral students to participate in the Platform for at least 2 and preferably 3 years. Given that the Platform is not intended to function as a joint doctoral program, the terms and conditions, including timeframes, of selected students' PhD studies will not be affected by their participation. They will, in other words, continue to receive supervision from their home institutions and will graduate in accordance with examination processes and timelines determined by those institutions.



The Platform will financially support selected PhD students' participation (travel, accommodation and subsistence) in Platform activities, which are described below.



Phase I of the initiative (2024 - 2026) will be launched with a consortium of up to 20 institutions (see point 3.4 below), bringing together a cohort of 40 doctoral students per year. During this phase, priority will be given to students focusing on any aspect of sustainable food systems.



In Phases II and III of the Platform (of three-year duration each) will be open to participation by additional institutions and to additional thematic foci in the Feed, Protect, Care framing.



Platform activities, which will be agreed by the International Steering Committee (see point 3.3 below) and coordinated by the Platform's International Office (see point 3.3 below), will include:

*            Annual PhD field schools, which are in-person events for doctoral students, lasting at least 5 days, and hosted by UM or UP or any other Platform member institution. If resources allow for it, bi-annual events will be considered. In addition to a focus on systems transformations, the events will provide joint training and networking on cross-cutting issues at the science-policy-society interface, including for example, introductions to science in multilateral policy fora and global assessments, relationships between science and the private sector, between science and the media, and between science and other knowledge systems, as well as the essentials of data science.

*            Additional virtual events as needed and ongoing exchanges with and between the cohort of PhD students via a dedicated virtual research environment.

*            Mobility exchanges, to be agreed on a case-by-case basis between those institutions participating in the Platform and with a focus on both South-South and North-South exchanges.

*            Networking opportunities, with opportunities for doctoral students to engage with senior representatives of international initiatives operating in the sustainability science arena, including for example, expert panels (such as IPCC, IPBS, HLPE/CFS, One Health HELP), CGIAR, Future Earth and the World Climate Research Programme.

*            Further opportunities to develop bilateral and/or multilateral research partnerships, including between students' supervisors.



In addition, and depending on successful fundraising, the Platform will award an annual Innovation and Impact Potential Prize; the terms and conditions of this award, as well as the selection process, will be defined and overseen by the Platform's International Steering Committee.



Once graduated, those doctoral students who have participated in the Platform and joined at least two annual in-person events will become members of a Feed, Protect, Care Alumni Network. Looking at shaping future academic communities, the exact purpose, nature, and scope of activities of the Alumni Network will be determined during the first year of the Platform's operations and on the basis of brainstorming with the first cohort of participating doctoral students.



Please consider nominating a graduate student from your unit to participate in this amazing opportunity. If you have questions, please contact Sky Dominguez at skyd at arizona.edu<mailto:skyd at arizona.edu> or Sharon Collinge at skcollinge at arizona.edu<mailto:skcollinge at arizona.edu>.



All the best,



Sharon Collinge and Sky Dominguez



************

Sky Dominguez, M.Sc. | she/her

Fulbright Scholar, France (2024)

Associate Director, Engagement and Program Development

France-Arizona Institute for Global Grand Challenges

Home of the 1st CNRS International Research Center

University of Arizona | 1221 E. Helen St.



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