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Faculty & Student Exchanges
Farmer to Farmer: Many faculty take advantage of Farmer to Farmer programs that send agricultural experts to second and third world countries to work with local farmers on improving their productivity. Besides the professional benefits, most faculty find they learn more about their own craft simply by virtue of teaching it to others. They also can learn about problems that may be unique to a foreign country.
Farmer to Farmer is funded by USAID and run by organizations such as ACDI/VOCA, Winrock International, CNFA, Partners of the Americas, Land O' Lakes, OCI International, and Chemonics International.
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In 2010, Dr. Ray Weil, a soil scientist in the Environmental Science & Technology dept., participated in an ACDI/VOCA Farmer to Farmer program in Liberia. In this photo, the ACDI/VOCA staff, Marvelous and Leona cut macuna for analysis after Dr. Weil suggested it could be used for green manure. |
If you are interested in participating in the Farmer to Farmer program, contact one of the organizations mentioned above, to be placed in their database. Be persistent! Just having your name in the database may not be enough -- contact project coordinators at the organization to let them know of your interest.
Faculty Exchanges: IPAN coordinates faculty exchanges between the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) and foreign universities, and long-term study programs. Faculty exchanges are six months to one year in length. We have had a visiting Indian scientist work on bioremediation, another on crop science, and yet another on fish biotechnology projects. These programs can be designed by the exchange candidate and his or her supervising UMD professor.
Yahong Yuan is a faculty member from Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Yangling, China. She is a food safety specialist who has spent the 2007-2008 year conducting research with Dr. Martin Lo.
STUDENT EXCHANGES
Spend your Summer in Angers, France at the Ecole Superieure de Agriculture
Live with a French family. Sample the finest French foods and wines.Get into some language. Learn about French history and culture.Experience an emphasis in . . .
- Agriculture (horses, dairy cattle, pigs, and more!)
- Viticulture (and sample the wines!)
- Gastronomy (and food quality topics!!)
- Horticulture (flowers plus!)
- Agribusiness (how does the European community do it?) or even Rural Tourism (a possible cash crop for small farm USA?)
For more information, go to:
http://agnr.umd.edu/undergrad/foreign_study/countries_opportunities/France.cfm
"International Summer School in Wetland Science and Management"
First "International Summer School in Wetland Science and Management"will be held July 31-August 16, 2008. The College of Agriculture& Natural Resources will be hosting graduate students from theUniversity of Hamburg, Germany, in a symposium designed to engage thestudents in complex wetland science andmanagement issues. The German and UM graduate students will attend lectures, student presentations, field andlaboratory exercises, structured discussion, and visits to restored andnatural wetlands in the U.S.’s mid-Atlantic region.
Dr. Andrew Baldwin, Associate Professor in the Dept. of Enivornmental Science & Technology (ENST)is the program’scoordinator. “... global climate change is viewed increasinglyas a major threat to wetlands” and as wetland damage and destruction growsinto a worldwide issue, the universities recognized the need for globalpartnership, and thus joined forces to create the curriculum, recruitstudents, and offer the program.
Emphasis in Hands-on-Experiences
Besides attendinglectures by ENST professors and invited experts, students will have anopportunity to engage in a hands-on study of wetland research methods.They will also take field trips to a broad range of wetland types, togain an understanding of diverse wetland climates. Specifically, theparticipants will take guided field trips to Beltsville AgriculturalResearch Center in Maryland; the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C.;the University of Maryland Research Greenhouses; bogs and fens in theAppalachians of western Maryland; tidal wetlands on the Nanticoke Riveron the Delmarva Peninsula; and restored and natural wetlands onDelaware Bay. “Maryland students will interact closely with studentsfrom Germany who are also interested in wetland science and management,but who may have very different perspectives on wetland science andmanagement,” Dr. Baldwin says. Some topics the summer school willaddress in lectures, labs, and discussions include: evolution ofwetlands after the last glaciation; abiotic/biotic wetlandenvironments; and conservation, restoration, and environmentalregulation of wetlands.
Grad Student from India's Haryana Agricultural University visits UM's College of Veterinary Medicine, calls it "trip of a lifetime."
"I learned about the treatment of various exotic species of birds, which I have never seen in India."
Read Amandeep's letter about his visit to UM.
Moscow State University of Environmental Engineering Study Tour
ShareThisFor more information, contact Ann Leger
Last updated: 08/10/2011