The NSERC CREATE in Computational Agriculture will capitalize on the deep-rooted collaboration between plant and computer sciences at the University of Saskatchewan and will address the recent dramatic shift toward the adoption of data-rich processes in the agricultural sector to drive economic competitiveness and environmental sustainability. The potential economic returns of accelerated computational agriculture in Canada exceed $10 billion, and the potential environmental returns of data-intensive agricultural climate solutions and optimized food production may lead to an even larger impact, but this cannot be realized without the rigorous measurement of outcomes based on data science. Capturing the economic and environmental gains promised by agricultural technology will require a substantial and sustained supply of highly trained individuals operating at the intersection of plant and computer science. In order to thrive and lead new opportunities in computational agriculture, the trainees must combine proficiency in all aspects of agricultural data processing with keen professional skills, such as visual communication, an understanding of intellectual property and regulatory issues, and the promotion of team diversity.
The computational agriculture training program is centered around a novel integrated computer/plant science graduate course that includes cross-discipline training, hands-on field and data work, and stakeholder-proposed team projects. Equity, diversity and inclusiveness training are embraced at all levels of the training program, as is training to address the environmental, social and ethical implications of new agricultural and artificial intelligence technologies. Trainees will put their skills to work in professional rotations or company internships across the range of opportunities in computational agriculture and at three Training Hubs in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The computational agriculture training program will greatly strengthen our international reputation achieved through the Plant Phenotyping and Imaging Research Center and will deliver highly qualified trainees to lead Canada's initiatives on global food security and environmental sustainability in the agriculture and technology sectors.
