Hope everyone had a great holiday season; I know I did. If you’re a grad student studying sustainability, food systems, or international politics, do you know about the U.S. Borlaug Fellows in Global Food Security Program? If not, you very well might be interested in a couple of opportunities being offered through the program, which is supported by the U.S. government in the effort to produce more experts in the field of international food security “who have the scientific base needed to effectively study and manage the global landscapes in support of sustainable food systems.” (from their website, found here)

To that effect, the Borlaug Program encourages you to apply for its Graduate Research Grant, given to applicants in the field of food security that aspire to conduct part of their research in a developing country. The research would be done under the mentorship of someone from the International Agricultural Research Center (IARC) or from qualifying NARS (National Agriculture Research System) units.

Requirements are that applicants must be U.S. citizens and be enrolled in an accredited university at the time of their application. The stated goals of the program are research and training for the future as well as fostering cross-cultural understanding, so if you’re the intrepid world-traveler type, this sounds like the kind of program you might be interested in. The application can be found by clicking the blue words.

Deadline: APRIL 1, 2013

For those not quite willing to take as big of a leap as the grant program, the Borlaug also is offering a two week Summer Institute on Global Food Security, from May 28 – June 8, 2013, in sunny West Lafayette, Indiana, on the campus of the Big Ten’s very own Purdue University. The program is touted as “for graduate students who are interested in developing a holistic understanding of the conceptual challenges around global food security”, with a special focus on real-world, current developmental challenges.

In order to participate, an applicant must have completed at least one semester of graduate studies at a U.S. university, but, good news, you don’t have to be a citizen in order to participate. I don’t know why you can do one but not the other, foreign people, but ask the government. You can apply on the website and the website’s page on the Institute is linked to the words I wish I could make another color other than blue.

Deadline: MARCH 4, 2013