That's why we started the Aquatic Systems Professional and Industrial training for the Restoration Economy (ASPIRE) program. Development sometimes comes at great cost, but the remediation of altered environments can add value to the personnel and regions involved. The Faculty of Engineering at Dalhousie University has identified water research as one of its key strengths. The ASPIRE program is designed to close research gaps in the remediation sector while enhancing graduate student development.

Research Interests

With funding from NSERC-CREATE, the ASPIRE program is a training program in which Masters and PhD students at Dalhousie University are encouraged to develop professional skills while contributing to the development of:

1. Treatment technologies for contaminated aquatic environmental media

2. Methods for the restoration of watershed interactions and hydrologic functioning of altered aquatic systems

3. Assessment and monitoring tools for disturbed and restored aquatic systems

Program Objectives

Through training modules, specialized graduate courses, and a mandatory industrial internship, the ASPIRE program aims to:

1. Provide theoretical and practical training in the science and engineering of aquatic systems restoration projects;

2. Develop professional skills needed to be successful in the environmental restoration sector;

3. Create networking opportunities between program participants (trainees and faculty) and personnel from industrial, governmental, and non-governmental organizations; and

4. Foster entrepreneurial skills and attitudes in HQP.

For details on program structure, see Program.