Student Engagement

Central to J-WAFS’ mission is the cultivation of the next generation of leaders in the water and food sectors

Through funding opportunities, events, support for clubs and entrepreneurship, and mentorship, we endeavor to expose students across the Institute to exciting research, networking, and professional opportunities in water and food.

Examples of our work in this area

Graduate Fellowships Supporting PhD Research

J-WAFS provides a variety of funding opportunities for students, including graduate fellowships that provide outstanding students the opportunity to focus on individual research projects.

Student Clubs and Initiatives Focused on Water and Food

J-WAFS works closely with the MIT Water Club and the MIT Food and Agriculture Club, providing mentorship, sponsorship, and other support for their initiatives.

Man presenting presentation called "Roadmap to Success"

Student Innovation Prizes in the Water and Food Sectors

Two global-scale innovation prizes produced by student clubs at MIT and supported by J-WAFS provide opportunities for student teams to compete for startup funding for water, food, and agriculture business ventures.

Student Video Competition: MIT Research for a Water Secure Future

A student video competition in honor of World Water Day, which highlights the innovative water sector research being conducted around the Institute and the importance of sustainable water resource management.

Student Video Competition: MIT Research for a Food Secure Future

A student video competition in honor of World Food Day to showcase the exciting food and agriculture research being conducted by students across MIT.

Student speaking to two others on farm in India

Targeted Grants Supporting MIT Student-led Research

Students are eligible to apply for J-WAFS implementation grants related to targeted challenges in the water and food sectors.

“J-WAFS provided me the freedom to explore both fundamental physics and materials engineering to push the water sorption limit of hydrogels. I got opportunities to collaborate with chemists and computational scientists to not only understand the mechanics and thermodynamics that govern the water sorption of hydrogels, but also explore versatile manufacturing techniques to fabricate the designed hydrogel on a large scale.”

—Shaoting Lin, Postdoc in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and researcher on a J-WAFS seed grant project "Smart porous hydrogels for atmospheric water harvesting" with Professors Xuanhe Zhao and Gang Chen