[Plsgs] Fwd: Food Systems International PhD training program - application announcement

Tue Feb 25 16:08:17 MST 2025

Please see the information about an exciting opportunity below and
attached. It is intended for students early in their graduate careers.

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 or Sharon Collinge at 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
<https://www.google.com/maps/search/Arizona+%7C+1221+E.+Helen+St?entry=gmail&source=g>
.
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