Approved by the Ministry of Education, the Joint International Research Laboratory of Global Change and Water Cycle was established in 2017 in collaboration with the University of Waterloo, the Desert Research Institute, the University of California, Los Angeles, the Delft University of Technology and other well-known foreign universities and research institutions.

Adhering to the construction and development philosophy of "Talent-oriented, Academic First, Open and Sharing, Harmonious Innovation", the Joint Laboratory has formed a stable research team. At present, there are 92 researchers, including 48foreign scholars, 5 domestic and foreign academicians, 8 selected for the Thousand Talents Program(including Youth Program), 5 Yangtze Scholars distinguished professor, 3 National Outstanding Youth Science Fund winners, 1 "YangtzeScholars and Innovation Team Development plan"innovation team, 1 "Innovative Talents to Promote Plan Key Areas" innovation team, 1 "High-level Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Introduction Plan" team , 1 scientific and technological innovation team of "Qinglan Project" of Jiangsu Province, 1 "Excellent Science and Technology of Jiangsu Universities" innovation team,and 5 "111" innovation and wisdom introduction bases.