MILWAUKEE — The Silicon Valley of Water. That’s the title the University of Wisconsin System wants to secure for the state.
Governor Tony Evers toured the UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences on Friday highlighting the freshwater collaborative. It’s an effort among all 13 University of Wisconsin System institutions to address the need for fresh water access and security. In effect, the collaborative will keep more Wisconsinites in state and attract out-of-state students.
The freshwater collaborative would require $27.6 million in state support phased in over three budget cycles, but a recent award by the Wisconsin economic development corporation which was matched by the UW system provides seed money to launch the effort.
“From my vantage point, this is just the beginning. If we truly want to have science at the highest level possible, and also job creation at a highest level possible, it’s going to take some more resources,” Governor Evers said.
In about five years, the collaborative anticipates including 1,000 new undergraduate students studying water sciences and 400 new graduate research students.
For more information on the fresh water collective, click here.
