Project Objectives

Objective 1. 

To expose and train middle and high school students of the Puerto Rico’s public education system in disciplines related to food security, food safety, agricultural biotechnology, and natural resources through hands-on activities and learning workshop experiences.

Activities:

  1. Summer Camps      
  2. Field Trips                       

Objective 2.

UPRM Student sponsored by the grant.

To strengthen ties and capabilities among institutions in order to develop and enhance faculty performance, improve curriculum, introduce new and effective methods of instruction, acquire equipment and improve infrastructure, all aimed to better serve undergraduate and graduate students whose career goals are within the food security and safety topics.

Activities:

  1. Workshops for faculty professional development: Faculty, staff and students of all collaborating HSIs will be trained about innovative cutting-edge trends in science.
  2. Curriculum: New trends in science (i.e. metagenomics, phytobiomes) and their relation to food security, food safety issues and climate change impacts will be incorporated in courses. An on-line course on Fundamentals of Pest Risk Analysis will be designed (UPRM).
  3. Enhancement of Infrastructure: Various pieces of equipment (i.e. thermocycler, microscopes, microcentrifuge) will be acquired to furnish a recently improved and renovated facility for a proposed Tropical Agriculture Ph.D. program at UPRM. The acquired equipment will be used by faculty and students during the training workshop series.

Objective 3.

To achieve a 20% increase in the number of students pursuing careers in food security and safety from all collaborating HSIs after their participation in the project.

Activities:

  1. Undergraduate Research Mentoring
  2. “Role Model” Seminars
  3. Professional Internships for undergraduate students
  4. Graduate Assistantships
  5. Other professional and leadership skills development activities: Workshops on communication skills in English, development of effective communication strategies, preparation of scientific presentations, and writing a resume will be organized.

Collaborating Organizations