REC IVED Ar 0 1 2005
January 2005Vol. 16, No. 1
International
UF/IFAS International Programs Office of the Vice President for Agriculture & Natural Resources Gainesville, Florida 32611
IFAS, ESPOL expand collaboration in research, extension
UF/IFAS's longstanding cooperative agreement with ESPOL in Ecuador is expanding to include new opportunities in research focused on small farms and collaboration in extension programs in coastal marine resource management.
New research opportunities could link UF/IFAS to Ecuador's national research program. International Programs Assistant Director Lisette Staal visited Ecuador in January to explore opportunities with ESPOL under the cooperative agreement.
Emerging research opportunities
involve UF and two key entities in Ecuador, a national research center named Pichilingue managed by INIAP, Ecuador's National Institute for Agricultural Research, and ESPOL. Staal and Ramon Espinel of ESPOL met with national directors of INIAP and the director of the Pichilingue re-
search station to discuss collaboration. The representatives were enthusiastic.
"This is
the first
time that
ESPOL,
UF and
INIAP sat
down together as a '
team to
talk about
research Lisette Staal and Ignacio opportuni- Sotomayor Herrera, ties," she director of Pichilingue said. "The research station. hopes are that over the next few months, we will implement the initial stages of this team effort and cooperative project focused on small farmers in the region."
Representatives of the three organizations will evaluate research opportu-
nities and design the initial phase of collaboration.
ESPOL's department of marine science is looking to UF to learn about and adapt a method of extension for their programs. ESPOL does not have an extension function, although it has been working with communities and outreach programs. ESPOL has research and community programs in marine science and fisheries, and UF/ IFAS could play a role in enhancing ESPOL's extension and outreach program in marine sciences, youth development, and environmental stewardship. ESPOL is looking to U.S. programs that are supported by Sea Grant, a federal program with a Florida office based in UF/IFAS. Staal met with ESPOL faculty in marine science to develop a cooperative program that could involve ESPOL faculty participating in training at UF/IFAS in the management of marine natural resources. ESPOL's marine research is based in CENAIM-the National Center for Aquaculture and Research-and managed through the department of marine sciences, which Staal visited during her three-day stay in Ecuador.
This visit could expand the areas of cooperation between the two universiSee Ecuador, p. 2
tor a tour-six weeK perioca UN RSITY' OF
ona During their stay they would learn FLORIDA
nce Fellows for. new techniques and become familiar would like to add See Tropical agriculture, p. 2 IFAS
Telephone: 352 392-1965 FAX: 352 392-7127 Website: http://international.ifas.ufl.edu
January 2005
Vol. 16, No. 1
..
Russian Fulbright scholar develops educational model
R ussia and the United States have developed different educational models for teaching and research. In the Russian model, research is the responsibility of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Education is the
responsibility of
Ministry of Education.
This model
leads to a distance between
research and ed- Kratasyuk ucation, particularly for undergraduates. Valentina Kratasyuk, head of the biophysical department of Krasnoyarsk State University, is at UF on a Fulbright Scholarship to see how science and teaching are integrated.
Her observations will be incorporated into a plan for Krasnoyarsk State University and its related research and educational centers that will then serve as a model for other Russian universities.
"It will be helpful for me to understand how this connection between education and research is accomplished at this university," she said.
In Russia, research educational
centers were developed to fuse teaching and research. Kratasyuk is the educational director of a center associated with Krasnoyarsk State University. This and other centers are responsible for molding a new generEcuador, From p. 1
ties and lead to an exchange of researchers and extensionists in marine science.
On a related note, a recent project based in Sea Grant at the federal level has been exploring the potential for establishing an international Sea Grant initiative for management of marine resources in three international settings, Nicaragua, Honduras and Ecuador. ESPOL is one of the partic-
ation of scientists, teachers and technicians skilled in monitoring ecological systems and creating programs for conservation.
The research educational centers have begun to combine research and education through a series of programs, courses, activities, lectures, and educational incentives for faculty. But more work needs to be done.
At UF/IFAS, Kratasyuk is working the department of agricultural and biological engineering with professor Ray Bucklin. This is her third visit to UF/IFAS.
Bucklin said Kratasyuk is among the top researchers worldwide in bioluminescence. Her expertise could complement some of the work he and his colleagues ar UF/IFAS are doing.
"I work with control of environmental systems for the productive growth of plants," said Bucklin. "Her work can develop sensors that are useful for monitoring the wide range biological systems that we work with in IFAS."
Kratasyuk has a doctoral degree from the Institute of Biophysics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences in biology and biophysics. She also has a Ph.D. from the Institute of Biophysics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences/Krasnoyarsk.
Contacts
Valentina Kratasyuk, krata@ufl.edu
Ray Buckliln, bucklin @ ufl. edu J
ipants in this effort. A UF/ESPOL initiative on extension may link to the international Sea Grant initiative. UF/ IFAS and Florida Sea Grant have much to contribute because of the current interactions, cooperative agreements and longstanding ties UF/IFAS has in place with institutions in those countries.
Contact
Lisette Staal, ms@ifas.ufl.edu )
Focus
..
GEAP provides practical education in gender analysis
rhe Gender, Environment and ParI ticipation Program--or GEAP-is reaching out beyond campus boundaries while it enhances its involvement in teaching, research and extension on campus.
An initiative with Heifer Project International provides an opportunity for graduate students to participate in hands-on analysis of gender and participation issues and production of training materials. A graduate course in gender analysis offers in-depth education and participation.
The initiatives are the result of GEAP's move to agricultural education and communication. GEAP Coordinator Marta Hartmann, with assistance from international and domestic graduate students, is expanding GEAP's involvement and the opportunities for students to get experience in gender analysis.
"I see an enormous potential to deGender analysis tools
Participants from diverse disciplines I throughout campus learned to relate gender to their research at the Gender Analysis Workshop on Martin Luther King Jr. day.
With presentations, working
sessions, theory discussions and a discussion relating gender analysis tools to research, 19 participants spent the day working together under the leadership of 11 trainers with international experience in gender analysis.
Trainers spent nearly two
months preparing for the workshop. An element of the training Max issu
was the interaction among participants, said Britt Coles, lead planner for the training. The diverse backgrounds and experience of participants enhanced the educational experience.
The annual workshop is sponsored by the Gender, Environment, Agricul-
velop the program and explore new territory in terms of what we could do outside our UF community," Hartmann said. "I personally am very much interested in seeing GEAP expand its role within a global context."
The initiative with Heifer Project International involves producing training materials for incorporating gender awareness into HPI's interaction with domestic clients. HPI has provided funding for GEAP graduate students to produce the materials. Under leadership of Sandra Russo, UF International Center director of Program Development & Federal Relations and principal investigator for the HPI project, graduate students are getting experience. Russo, Hartmann, and students Gina Canales, Camilo Cornejo and Tirhani Manganyi visited communities served by HPI in Alabama in December. The next phase is spring break, when the team will con-
duct interviews using the sondeo-a team survey process that provides information rapidly and economically about agricultural and rural problems.
Hartmann has integrated the HPIinitiative with educational programs so that students taking Farming Systems can participate in the sondeo.
With participation from GEAP students, Hartmann is teaching Gender, Environment, Agriculture and Participation. She plans to make the course a regular offering. Students can participate in the sondeo.
"We really believe in providing research opportunities and hands-on experiences to our graduate students, and thanks to our collaboration with Heifer Project International, we have the opportunity," she said.
In the future she plans to offer a short-term study tour to Ecuador, where students explore international gender issues.
for research are the focus of GEAP workshop
ture and Participation Program, or GEAP, and the Tropical Conservation and Development Program.
After opening sessions, the group worked on an analysis of stakehold- w
ne owns, center, discusses gender es at the Gender Analysis Workshop.
ers' power structure based on a videocassette about a magistrate in South Africa who visits rural groups of people to explain the nation's position on gender equality.
Participants evaluated the stake-
January 2005
holders in the video and constructed models to illustrate power structures.
Participants represented diverse
fields on campus including anthropology, political science, agriculture, history, natural resources, law, sociology, geography, and animal science.
Maxine Downs, a doctoral student in economic anthropology, found the training useful in her research on cloth dyers in Mali, Africa. The workers are largely women who are income earners for the family. Downs is studying how they utilize a microcredit program in their decisions about health care, education and other issues.
"Some of this training is a review," she said, "but it reaffirms what I know. I can incorporate a lot of concepts into my research."
Contact
Marta Hartmann,mmh @ifas.ufl.eduJ
3
..
Office of International Programs University of Florida Office of the Vice President for Agriculture
and Natural Resources P.O. Box 110282 Gainesville, FL 32611-0282
MS DALE B CANELAS UNI LIBRA & DIR DIR-LIBRARIES PO BOX 117001 GAINESVILLE FL 32611-7001
UF/IFAS co-hosts conference on internationalizing extension
Extension faculty and administraors from throughout the United States participated in the Global Perspective II Internationalizing Extension conference in January co-sponsored by UF/IFAS.
Presentations on international topics from leading extension faculty across the nation addressed topics ranging from helping U.S. citizens understand global issues to overcoming barriers of language and culture.
Seminars included working with diverse audiences, Web site and curriculum development.
UF/IFAS District Extension Director Pete Vergot moderated the opening session and a session on mini-grants. About 120 people from 24 states participated in the conference.
The conference Jan. 18-20 in Orlando, Fla., was co-hosted with Michigan State University and CSREES
U.S. Department of Agriculture. It was a component of the National Initiative to Internationalize Extension, a three-year program funded by CSREES-USDA.
More on the national initiative can
be found at: http:// www.msue.msu.edu/intext/newsite/ index.htm.
Contact
C Pete Vergot, vergot@ifas.ufl.edu
Bannister gives presentation on Haiti to governor's group
CSTAF Assistant Director Mike Bannister gave a presentation on lessons learned during his 20-year experience in tree planting and agroforestry projects in Haiti to the Governor's Haiti Advisory Group.
In his presentation in January in
Coral Gables, Bannister described the role and value of trees in Haitian farming systems. Although trees serve as savings, security and income for small-scale, forests have declined from about 8 percent in 1954 to less than 2 percent today.
Bannister was involved in the
Agroforestry Outreach Project and the Productive Land-use Project. The first project focused on tree distribution and soil conservation.
The second involved adding crops to agroforestry systems.
The Governor's Haiti Advisory
Group was formed last year to assess Haiti's economic development, education, and environment and to seek ways volunteers can help Haiti.
Contact
SMike Bannister, mikebann@ufl.edu)
..
|