Ires - international research engagement for graduate level professional development: limnology and oceanography research exchange and mentoring experience (lorex me)

The National Science Foundation's Office of International Science and Engineering (CFDA 47.079) awarded $450,000 to the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) on July 1, 2025, for the International Research Engagement for Graduate Level Professional Development: Limnology and Oceanography Research Exchange and Mentoring Experience (LOREX ME) program. This three-year project, concluding June 30, 2028, delivers a comprehensive training and research program designed to develop globally engaged U.S. aquatic scientists through structured international collaboration experiences. The primary products include a multi-stage modular training curriculum that guides graduate students through planning and executing collaborative international research projects at designated research stations in Australia, Canada, Sweden, and Israel, coupled with professional development modules addressing effective mentoring, grant writing, and international research partnerships.

Under this award, UCSC provides mentorship-based research experiences where graduate students develop individual research proposals aligned with their specific goals and lead field-based research execution at international sites, while undergraduate students are paired with graduate mentors to conduct collaborative research and disseminate findings. The program directly advances professional development, career preparation, and networking opportunities for participating students while strengthening U.S. research standing internationally through structured training in conducting productive international scientific collaborations on shared water resources and aquatic science challenges that transcend political boundaries.

Abstract

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.- subawards are planned for this award.