Joint Programmes
Our joint programmes equip postgraduate students to lead transformative research, accelerating knowledge exchange and innovation across the land‑based sectors.
Joint Postgraduate School: Food Transitions 2050
The Joint Postgraduate School: Food Transitions 2050 was established in 2021 in partnership with Canterbury-based research organisations: the University of Canterbury, Lincoln University and Bioeconomy Science Institute.
The programme supports strong alliances between partners through the transfer of knowledge and shared infrastructure, and as a result, produces an industry-oriented research programme which aims to contribute to finding more sustainable ways of producing food.”
Hosted on the Lincoln University campus, PhD students conduct cross-disciplinary research to support the transition of regional, national and international food systems to a more sustainable future with their co-supervisors from one or both universities and at least one Public Research Organisation. Their research must fit within one of the following themes: food and future landscapes, food for a zero-carbon future, food consumer transitions or food governance.
In 2025, the joint programme reached a significant milestone with the first cohort of graduates from Lincoln University. Then, in early 2026, Professor Paora Tapsell (Ngāti Whakaue and Raukawa) was appointed Director of Food Transitions 2050.
The Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management
The Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management is a joint programme between Lincoln University and the University of Canterbury. It focuses on interdisciplinary training for freshwater scientists, equipping them with an understanding of policy, governance, water ecology, hydrology and water quality.
The joint Lincoln and Canterbury University Master’s programme is co-led by Lincoln University’s Professor of Waterways Management Susie Wood. For postgraduate students, the programme is an attractive offering, delivering a diverse range of skills and enabling students to gain a qualification and complete a research project.
With many issues in the freshwater space centred on land use and agriculture, the Centre is ideally co-located at Lincoln University, where students and researchers can collaborate on multidisciplinary research in areas such as social policy and governance.