About the Program
The U.S.-Pacific Resilience and Adaptation Fellowship Program is a partnership between the U.S. government and The University of the South Pacific (USP) that aims to address the critical impacts of climate change and build resilience in the Pacific Islands region. This Program is led by USP and focuses on building leadership and expertise through three key initiatives:
Leadership Training: Enhancing the capabilities of middle and senior managers from Pacific organizations through tailored leadership programs. These programs are designed to foster resilience and strategic thinking among managers in the context of climate uncertainty.
Academic Pathways: Offering pathways for USP staff and recruited scholars to pursue advanced degrees in collaboration with prominent U.S. universities. This initiative spans a wide range of academic disciplines crucial for understanding how to achieve sustainable development throughout the Pacific Islands region.
Course Development: Developing postgraduate courses that integrate Pacific perspectives and address regional challenges. These courses are designed to equip future leaders with the skills and knowledge needed to implement effective climate adaptation strategies.
Why focus on Climate Change?
Climate change presents unprecedented challenges to countries throughout the Pacific Islands regions, endangering essential aspects like food security, livelihoods, and cultural heritage. Given the vast oceanic territories and fragile ecosystems of the Pacific Islands region, innovative and adaptive solutions are urgently needed. The U.S.-Pacific Resilience and Adaptation Fellowship Program aims to address these pressing issues, fostering resilient leadership capable of navigating and mitigating the impacts of climate change. By integrating Indigenous knowledges with modern scientific advancements, the Program seeks to empower Pacific communities to be resilient and prosper amidst environmental changes.
Scope of the Program
The Program offers exciting leadership and scholarship opportunities for world-class research and development on a wide range of topics critical to understanding how the Pacific Islands region can respond to the severe impacts of climate change and build a resilient future. Much of the research supported by this Program is anticipated to be inter-disciplinary and provide academic pathways across a wide range of themes, such as the following:
Natural Resource Management
Business and Economics
Marine Ecology and Ocean Science
Food Systems
Renewable Energy
Food and Water Security
Waste Management
Public Health
Sustainable Development
Implementation
Over a three-year period, the Program will operate across USP’s 12 member countries which include Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
Our Partner Institutions
USP is proudly collaborating with a range of leading universities and research institutes in the U.S. to enrich the Program and foster global knowledge exchange, with partners such as:
Georgetown University – Earth Commons Institute
Stanford University – Doerr School of Sustainability
University of California, San Diego – Scripps Institution of Oceanography
University of California, Santa Barbara – Bren School of Environmental Science & Management
University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa
Join Us in Building a Sustainable Future
USP, as one of the world’s few regional universities, spans the Pacific islands region with campuses and partnerships that amplify our impact. Our commitment to integrating local wisdom with global best practices ensures holistic solutions that resonate across our diverse Pacific Islands communities.
We encourage you to explore the leadership and academic pathways offered by this world-class Program, and please make contact with our Program staff if you wish to learn more. Together, we can innovate, educate, and inspire a resilient future.
To discover how you can be part of building a resilient and sustainable Pacific Islands region through the U.S.-Pacific Resilience and Adaptation Fellowship Program, please read about the Program:
PhD Scholarship Scheme
For more information click here
Contact
For enquiries about the Program, potential partnerships, or scholarship applications, please contact us at email: [email protected]
Potential candidates are invited to submit their applications by 28th August 2024.
