International travel grants have been awarded through International Programs
The UF/IFAS International Programs office has awarded four travel grants as part of a twice-yearly program to assist faculty with international program development. The primary objective in establishing the fund was to increase the number of IFAS faculty who gain international experience and to foster cooperative efforts between our faculty and their colleagues abroad. International Programs is very appreciative to the UF/IFAS VP and Deans for making $18,000 available and in so doing, demonstrating their conviction that globalizing UF/IFAS is a high priority.
The International Programs Advisory Team (IPAT), which sets the guidelines to administer the funds and sends a request for proposals to all IFAS faculty twice a year, appointed a committee to review the proposals and make the awards. The committee gives priority to first-time travelers trying to establish ongoing programs; to travel that has a high probability of resulting in new cooperative projects; and to professional improvement.
The four travel proposals chosen by the current IPAT selection committee are:
International Sponge Fishery and Ecosystem Collaboration
May 2006
John Stevely, Florida Sea Grant regional marine Extension agent, will travel to Rio de Janeiro Buzios, Brazil, to make a presentation on long-term evaluation of sponge population recovery following a widespread mortality and to meet with world-renowned sponge research scientists. Stevely’s truly unique, fifteen-year evaluation of commercial and non-commercial sponge populations in the Florida Keys began with a cyanobacterial bloom that killed 90+% of sponge community biomass in a 1000 km2 region in the lower and middle Keys. The die-off was one of the most dramatic manifestations of the perceived collapse of the Florida Bay/Everglades ecosystem. Stevely’s data have been used to help manage the Florida commercial sponge fishery and to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to restore the Florida Bay ecosystem. Stevely will use the travel grant to develop collaborative research projects in a plan to preserve Stevely’s data through publication in peer-reviewed journal articles.
Costa Rica Study Tour in Natural Resources and Sustainable Community Development
Spring 2006
Eleanor Foerste, UF/IFAS Osceola County Extension, will enroll in a study tour in Costa Rica, a three-week program that will allow Foerste to study the Spanish language and culture through total immersion and a home-stay program; to study Costa Rican government policies to protect natural areas; to study a development project and provide suggestions to reduce environmental impacts within the context of the local culture and tourist population; to establish a plan for other UF/IFAS Extension faculty to visit Costa Rica and learn hands-on about sustainable development practices implemented in Costa Rica; and to identify opportunities for UF/IFAS faculty involvement in research relating to reducing environmental impacts of development in Costa Rica and the U.S.
Animal Science Virtual Laboratories, Digital Media, and Collaborative Research with Nigeria’s University of Ibadan
TBA
Adegbola Adesogan, Animal Sciences, will be traveling to Ibadan, Nigeria, to assist Nigerian universities upgrade the quality of their instruction. Ibadan’s equipment and lab facilities have not been updated since 1988, the Animal Sciences Department has little or no knowledge of current laboratory techniques or technological advancements for livestock production, and they lag behind in experimental design and analysis. Adesogan will use digital technology and Web-based teaching to develop virtual labs for graduate courses, to be offered at a cost to the University of Ibadan. In addition to the potential for generating revenue for UF and enhancing the quality of education in Nigeria, Adesogan will also develop a cooperative research agreement between the University of Ibadan and UF, apparently the first such agreement between UF and any university in Nigeria.
Community and Rural Development in Northwestern Ireland
February 2006
Rosemary Barnett, Family, Youth and Community Sciences, will travel to Ireland to conduct intensive meetings and planning sessions with Irish researchers, university faculty, EU funding agencies, outreach agents, and community/rural development specialists, as well as deliver an invited presentation at the National University of Ireland—Galway. Barnett will establish formal plans for immediate and long-term research, data/resource sharing, and program development. These plans will focus on internationalizing UF/IFAS Extension, on comparative youth development research/programming, on community development research/planning, and on sustainable tourism to retain youth and build communities, as well as working toward a comparative studies component on policy issues.
Contact: Roger Natzke, or phone 352-392-1965
Roger Natzke is senior associate dean and director of UF/IFAS International Programs
