In the coming decades, human society will be faced with a dramatic transition as it moves from a fossil fuel-based economy to technologically sophisticated, sustainable bio-based economies. Making this transition successfully will depend in large part on the versatility and creativity of the coming generation of researchers, who will need to be prepared to work in a different world than that enjoyed by the current scientific workforce.

Working on Walls (WoW), launched in 2009, is a six-year NSERC CREATE training program focused on graduate student and postdoctoral training in an interdisciplinary, collaborative, and international environment. The scientific focus of WoW is the biosynthesis of plant cell walls and the practical implications of cell wall research. The training focus of WoW is to offer a small group of students and post-doctoral fellows a rigorous and effective post-graduate experience anchored in an integrated set of cell wall research projects balanced with development of a wide array of transferable professional skills. WoW alumni will be prepared to pursue excellence in a number of professional careers.

The WoW CREATE program is funded by