NSERC CREATE Training Program
Building Resilience in Smart Agriculture
A national, multi‑disciplinary program to develop Cybersecure, Reliable, and Equitable AgFoodTech—connecting Computer Science and Agri‑Food across Canada.
Program at a Glance
- Program Length
- 6 years
- Trainees
- 113 (UG, MSc, PhD)
- Provinces
- •ON •QC •BC •SK •NS
- Pillars
- •Cybersecure •Reliable •Equitable
About the Program
SECURE‑AGRO trains highly qualified personnel (HQP) to design, deploy, and steward trustworthy agricultural technologies across Canada’s agri‑food sector. The program bridges Computer Science and Agri‑Food Science, aligned to three thematic areas and delivered through institutes, seminars, online courses, mentorship circles, and industry/government internships.
Thematic Research Areas
Equitable AgFoodTech
- Inclusive design & ethical AI for all stakeholders
- Fair trade, market access, and data equity
- Policy & governance for just adoption
Cybersecure AgFoodTech
- IoT/robotics security & privacy-by-design
- Threat intelligence, supply-chain & DLT
- Human factors, training, and secure AI ops
Reliable AgFoodTech
- Precision & smart agriculture with monitoring
- Responsible AI & assurance for critical processes
- Resilient agri-food infrastructure & automation
Training & Curriculum
Fall Institute
Kickoff; streams selection; Cyber Sentinels module.
Summer Institute + Hackathon
Research Showcase with Hackathon.
Bi‑Monthly Seminars
Hybrid talks by global experts; recordings available.
Online Courses (2)
OC1: Computational Methods • OC2: Building Reliable AgFoodTech.
Mentorship Circles & PDP
Cross‑disciplinary circles; quarterly huddles; annual PDPs.
Professional Rotations & Internships
Including industry placement.
Leadership
Dr. Ali Dehghantanha
Program Director (CRC in Cybersecurity; Canada Cyber Foundry)
Dr. Evan Fraser
Co‑Program Director (Director, Arrell Food Institute)
Dr. Fattane Zarrinkalam
Associate Director (Vector Affiliated; IR & Applied AI)
Co-Applicants
Gisele LaPointe
U. of Guelph – Food Science (NSERC/DFO IRC)
Natalia Stakhanova
U. of Saskatchewan – CS (CRC Tier 2)
Stuart Smyth
U. of Saskatchewan – Agri‑Food Innovation Chair
Nur Zincir‑Heywood
Dalhousie – CS (Distinguished Research Professor)
Frank Rudzicz
Dalhousie/Vector – CIFAR Chair in AI
Suresh Raja Neethirajan
Dalhousie – Digital Agriculture Chair
Benjamin C. M. Fung
McGill – CS (CRC Tier 2)
Lenore Newman
UFV – Food & Agriculture Innovation Chair
Collaborators
Our collaborators span government, industry, and academia. They provide mentorship, project challenges, internship opportunities, and knowledge‑mobilization support across Canada.
Government
- Katherine MacDonald (AAFC)
- Tanya Katsoulis (AAFC)
Industry & Non‑Profit
- Karen Hand (Canadian Digital Agri‑food)
- Steven Webb (GIFS)
- Janos Botschner (CSKA)
- Bill Greuel (Protein Industries Canada)
- Eric Morin (CAAIN)
- Kevin Dawson (ISA Cybersecurity)
- Fred Wall (Farm Credit Canada)
- Ragulan Sinnarajah (Sobeys)
- Jacqueline Keena (EMILI)
- Andreas Liris (Maple Leaf Foods)
- Nestor Gomez (CFIN)
- Denise Dewar (Bioenterprise / Syngenta)
- Carla Berquo (Canada’s Food & Agri‑Tech Engine – Bioenterprise)
- Miranda Burski (PIC)
- Tiffany Stephenson (PIC)
Academia
- Benjamin Bradshaw (Environmental Governance)
- Ian Stavness (Digital Agriculture, U. of Saskatchewan)
- Alice Raine (Arrell Food Institute)
- Rick Moroz (Canada Cyber Foundry)
- Valeria Pinto (CRIFS)
Participation & Intake
- Students (UG/MSc/PhD): Prepare a 1‑page statement of interest, CV, and transcript. Indicate theme(s) and home institution.
- Postdocs & Faculty: Indicate mentorship interests, seminar/course contributions, and supervision capacity.
- Industry/Government: Submit a short challenge brief (problem, data, outcomes, EDI notes) for matching to trainee teams.
We acknowledge the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
Nous remercions le Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada (CRSNG) de son soutien.