IRES - International Research Engagement for Graduate Level Professional Development: Limnology and Oceanography Research Exchange and Mentoring Experience (LOREX ME)

Water bodies often span multiple political boundaries and many of the challenges facing our planet are global in nature, hence international collaboration in general and in the aquatic sciences in particular is necessary to address these challenges. Most universities do not offer formal training for students to guide them in initiating and conducting productive international research collaborations. To address this need, this project provides a comprehensive training program that includes professional development opportunities and on the ground experience in planning and executing a collaborative international research project led by graduate students. This project catalyzes the development of globally engaged U.S. aquatic scientists by providing a multi-stage modular high-quality training and research program for graduate and undergraduate student teams. The experience advances graduate students in their professional development, career achievements and opportunities for success and prepares future scientists to conduct collaborative work, serve to expand networks and mentoring, improve science through collaborations and serves to increase the status of U.S. research in the world. LOREX ME supports graduate students throughout the whole process of conducting international collaborative research. Graduate students prepare individual research proposals for projects aligned with their specific research goals and execute the project at one of several international research stations in four countries (Australia, Canda, Sweden, or Israel). Undergraduate students are matched with graduate student mentors based on mutual interests and work as a team with the graduate student to conduct the research and disseminate findings. Professional development for the graduate students includes training in effective mentoring. Additional in-person and virtual workshops focus on communication and collaboration skills, planning for international work, critical incident analysis, cultural awareness, publishing and more. These webinars are open to the broader student and early career Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) community. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.