The Helmholtz-Alberta Initiative (HAI) is an independent, international research partnership designed to find solutions to the pressing environmental issues facing energy projects such as Alberta's oilsands in Canada and coal production in Germany. This long-term partnership between the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres and the University of Alberta will develop technologically innovative solutions, for a cleaner energy production shared by both countries. Initiative researchers will also encourage the training of the next generation of scientists in this field.

One of the Helmholtz-Alberta Initiative's major objectives is to establish an international, interdisciplinary graduate school. The graduate school will play an important role in training the next generation of researchers, scientists, and highly qualified personnel in this vitally important research area. In 2010, the University of Alberta (UofA) and the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU), the main academic partners within HAI, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish an Interdisciplinary Graduate School for Mine Site Reclamation and Landscape Development.