The Pacific Agriculture Scholarships, Support and Climate Resilience (PASS-CR) Program provides scholarships and support to postgraduate students in agriculture, forestry and fisheries at The University of the South Pacific (USP) and Fiji National University (FNU). The scholarships support Masters and PhD students to conduct their research within an active or upcoming ACIAR research project.

The Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research (ACPIR) at the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC), provides support to PASS-CR scholars and academic staff including professional development, peer-to-peer learning, research collaboration, and higher degree research supervision training. Student work placements and career development are included under PASS to build ongoing industry connections.

Launched in April 2022, the Climate Resilience component of the PASS-CR program will firmly place climate resilience at the heart of higher degree research and agricultural education in the Pacific. The additional resources will help the partner universities to develop post-graduate level courses in climate change resilience so that these novel concepts and approaches are mainstreamed into building the capacity of researchers across the region.

The PASS-CR program aims to develop the skills and capacities of students and academics at the University of the South Pacific and Fiji National University. The program empowers Pacific communities to build their own research capacity to meet emerging agricultural challenges in the region. A thriving agricultural education system will help sustain the careers of Pacific researchers, enabling them to live locally and contribute over the longer term.