CARE Program
Climate Adaptation, Resilience and Empowerment (CARE)
The CARE Program is a Franco-Canadian initiative bringing together the University of Guelph, University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, and Sciences Po Paris.
The CARE Program seeks to prepare and energize the next generation of global environmental leaders and citizens by providing them with the knowledge, skills and experience to generate hands-on solutions addressing the challenges of climate change.
About the Program
The CARE Program is an innovative, state-of the-art initiative designed to instill the next generation of climate-conscious global leaders with the knowledge, skills, and experience to generate hands-on solutions to address the climate crisis. A pioneering carbon-neutral program, CARE is a joint initiative of Sciences Po, in partnership with the world-class Canadian higher education institutions of The University of British Columbia, University of Guelph and University of Toronto with the support of the DRG Foundation.
The CARE program is designed as a 5-year initiative beginning in January 2024 and ending in July 2029, aligned to the closing five years of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals and with a total budget of €7.2 million.
The CARE Program will contribute to shaping a new generation of climate-conscious global leaders and citizens to make a positive impact through evidence-based policy and community engagement that contribute to sustainable development.
Annual Conference
Collaborating institutions will jointly organize its flagship annual international conference focusing on one or more core themes. The annual conference will feature a strong pedagogical dimension whereby resources, methods, and innovations will be identified to train graduate students in response to the challenges and impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
Participants will be drawn from academia, policy makers, foundations, local land-based groups, international organizations and leading companies. Funding will be made available for ten participants from each partner school to travel to the host university for each annual conference. There is also an opportunity to participate in the poster presentation.
2025’s conference will take place on March 2nd-4th, 2025 starting in Toronto and ending in Guelph, Ontario. Learn more about the CARE conference.
Competitions
Competitions with prizes for innovation in addressing climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution will also be organized each year. An annual “Sustainability in a Changing Climate” Case Competition with teams invited from all four institutions will be managed by the Munk School at U of T starting in Spring 2025. A bi-annual Climate Solutions Competition to encourage students from all four Consortium universities to identify creative, feasible and innovative approaches to environmental challenges will be launched by PSIA in Spring 2024.
Keep an eye on this page for upcoming competitions, none are currently available.
Writing Strong Policy Briefs
Applied Learning Project
The applied learning projects focused on empowering students to bridge the gap between research and policy through the assembling of a series of policy briefs. Working alongside subject matter experts, students drafted briefs focused on innovative strategies for environmental sustainability and agriculture health.
To support students in crafting effective policy briefs, we have created a comprehensive policy brief guide. This guide walks you through how to craft the perfect policy brief and shares an example of a well written one. We also provide a link to the recording of our Policy Brief Workshop with Dr. Evan Fraser, who has extensive experience communicating with all levels of national and international governments, on how to craft scientific knowledge into powerful, concise policy messages.
- Land Retirement for Greenhouse Gas Capture: This brief recommends the retiring of marginal farmland to capture greenhouse gases and increase biodiversity.
- DNA Metabarcoding for Pest Control in Agriculture: This brief recommends wider adoption of DNA metabarcoding as a cost-effective way to monitor pests for better control in Canadian agriculture.
- Pesticide Monitoring for Pollinator Health: This brief addresses the lack of widespread pesticide-use monitoring in Ontario and emphasizes the need for data-driven approaches to safeguarding ecosystems, protecting pollinator health and biodiversity.
Opportunities
Scholarships
The CARE Program will feature a Scholarship scheme for specialized Masters programs offered by the Consortium partner universities. Scholarships will be awarded to:
- French students to pursue Master’s programs related to CARE core themes at UBC, UofT and UofG.
- Scholarships will be awarded annually to the most meritorious offer-holders within each new cohort.
Applications for the CARE Scholarship are now live, view the Climate Adaptation, Resilience & Empowerment Scholarship [E6103].
Fellowships
Fellowships will be available for students at Consortium partner universities to pursue independent research, internships and study exchanges which form part of their Masters training and are linked to the CARE Program’s core themes. Fellowships will be granted on a basis of merit.
Applications for the CARE Scholarship are anticipated to go live in January of 2025, stay tuned for more information.
Courses
U of G and other participating universities will facilitate cross-cultural exchange in climate change leadership and expertise by providing students with access to a select number of existing courses linked to CARE themes. New collaborative courses will be developed drawing on the strengths and diverse expertise of partner universities. Sciences Po, which has valuable experience in developing such courses, will lead the collaborative course activity, with substantive input from other Consortium universities.
At current there are no courses available, keep an eye on this page for future opportunities.
Events
U of G and other participating universities will facilitate cross-cultural exchange in climate change leadership and expertise by providing students with access to a select number of events linked to CARE themes.
- October 2-3rd, 2025 | CARE InnovEAT: Sustainable Solutions to the Challenges of Climate Change
- This 1.5-day hackathon will bring together students from all CARE partner institutions and empower them to innovate sustainable, scalable, and equitable solutions in the food system through interdisciplinary collaboration and real-world impact.
- Learn more: InnovEAT
- This 1.5-day hackathon will bring together students from all CARE partner institutions and empower them to innovate sustainable, scalable, and equitable solutions in the food system through interdisciplinary collaboration and real-world impact.
About the CARE Program
Education at Arrell Food Institute
Arrell Food Institute, and other collaborators at the University of Guelph, are providing a variety of new ways for students to collaborate across disciplines, to gain new entrepreneurship and communication skills, and to put these skills into practice by tackling real-world problems. We strongly believe that an experiential learning approach that prioritizes teamwork, innovation, and builds essential communication and strategic thinking skills is how universities will train the next generation of leaders and prepare them for an ever-shifting agricultural landscape.