CREATE

Our vision is to expand scientific knowledge and develop innovative strategies and technologies that will strengthen the nation's leadership in creating solutions to help sustain the Earth's natural resources. The CREATE program will facilitate investigations that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries and address the issues of water, energy and sustainability through a systems approach, building bridges between academic and private sectors. Therefore, the program provides a vital stage for the exchange of interdisciplinary research and perspectives, uniting nationally and internationally acclaimed researchers from the Faculties of Engineering and Computer Science, Arts and Science and the John Molson School of Business.

The Program will establish linkages with existing programs at Concordia and the Government of Quebec to fund student mobility, especially as part of an internship or required research. Internships will enable trainees to work in the modern collaborative workplace to improve their academic and professional strengths and acquire program-relevant work experience. They will gain important soft skills (communications, team work, interpersonal cooperation) essential to today's work environment, while learning more about the expectations and needs of employers.

The short term objectives of the program include:

• To catalyze, through collaboration, enhanced research opportunities in sustainability
• To train students and fellows in an interdisciplinary manner for public, parapublic and industrial sectors. The program will provide students with practical experience through internships and multidisciplinary training in various fields, including alternative energy sources, sustainable water management, infrastructure development, sustainable land use and design, green industrial engineering and materials, global natural resource conservation, and environmental economics, laws and policies
• To attract external research funding, and foster relationships with external researchers and internal Concordia researchers with similar interests

The long-term objectives of the program include:

• To train highly-qualified personnel to design systems, solutions and technologies in a multidisciplinary manner with an emphasis on water, energy, and resource conservation. Our team will recognize and support the outstanding graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who are pursuing research-based Master's and doctoral degrees in fields within the CREATE program
• To expose students to a variety of unique environmental learning and research experiences, and help nurture students to become critical thinkers capable of addressing pressing challenges associated with current environmental change and sustainability

Generously supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada