CIIFAD to showcase student international projects April 18

The Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD) will showcase multidisciplinary student programs in international development April 18.

Cornell students completed projects in Africa and Asia in January 2013 as part of SMART (Student Multidisciplinary Applied Research Teams), the engaged learning and service program offered by CIIFAD. SMART engages students from all degree programs at the undergraduate (junior and senior), master’s and doctoral levels in international development projects.

“Relationships of Reciprocity: Exploring the Value of Global Service-learning to Students and their Clients,” a panel featuring past and present clients of SMART projects, will be held at 1:30 p.m. in Room 160, Mann Library.

A poster session with student participants of the 2012-13 SMART projects will be held in the lobby of Mann Library, 3-4:30 p.m. The symposium will conclude with a public lecture given by Brady Deaton, chancellor of the University of Missouri and chairman of the Board for International Food and Agriculture Development (BIFAD), on “The Role of the University in International Development: The Promise of BIFAD,” a 4:30 p.m., Room G1, Uris Hall.

Nine projects were carried out in Uganda, Zambia, South Africa, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Bangladesh. Thirty-seven students representing 16 degree programs were partnered with firms, organizations and community groups on projects ranging from rice production in rural Thailand to olive oil processing in Capetown, South Africa. Students were challenged to apply knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to real-world, two-week intensive projects.

Media Contact

John Carberry