The Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships: Advanced Scholars (QES-AS) program is a Canadian initiative that supports doctoral researchers,post-doctoral fellows, and early career researchers from Canada and low- and middle-income countries in developing solutions to complex national and global challenges.
In 2018, the Water Institute secured the QES-AS Water Security as a Foundation for Healthy Communities and Sustainable Livelihoods project in partnership with McMaster University, the Kenya Medical Research Institute, Uganda Christian University, University of Zambia, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Small Grants Programme in Pakistan. The objective of the project, which will train some 30 young researchers, is to increase local water resources management capacity in support of:
- Climate-smart agricultural for food security
- Climate-proof public health services under increasingly severe drought and flood conditions
- Safe water supply and sanitation facilities to improve the health status of mothers and infants
“There are some amazingly bright people in the world, with tremendous capacity, who simply lack the resources to pursue education. The QES-AS program is an amazing opportunity to build on this capacity,” said Susan Elliott, co-investigator and University of Waterloo professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management. “This program is their chance to make a difference in their home country and beyond.”