Transatlantic exchange offers program in renewable resources
U of A leads U.S. partnership in graduate exchange program with European universities
April 14, 2005Contact Information:Dr. Andrew Proctor, Food Science, 479-575-2980 / aproctor@uark.edu By Fred Miller, Science Editor
479-575-5647 / fmiller@uark.edu
Dr. Andy Proctor, professor of food science at the University of Arkansas, and Dr. Roland Verhé of the University of Ghent, Belgium, discuss the Renewable Resources and Clean Technology International Exchange Program. Verhé visited the U of A in April to help launch the program that offers grants to graduate students for studying "green technologies" at partner universities in Europe.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. --- A new international exchange program offers University of Arkansas graduate students the opportunity to study emerging knowledge in renewable resources and clean technology abroad.
The U of A is the lead U.S. university in the Renewable Resources and Clean Technology International Exchange Program, said Dr. Andy Proctor, professor of food science in Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.
The first students to participate in the program will begin in fall 2005.
The program was conceived and developed by Proctor and Dr. Roland Verhé of the University of Ghent, Belgium. It is funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Education and the European Commission's Directorate General for Education and Culture.
Each participating American university will send nine students, three to each of the European partners, and host three students from each of the three European universities, Proctor said.
The grant will cover the travel and living expenses of the graduate students while they are studying abroad for up to five months. Language training, if needed, will also be provided.
Besides the U of A, the American institutions include Iowa State University and the University of Washington. The European institutions are the University of Ghent, Belgium, the Karl-Franzens University of Graz, Austria, and the National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse, France.
Proctor describes the program as "multiple institutions, multidisciplinary and multiple topics." It is open to students from any college at the university interested in studying renewable resources and clean technologies.
The curriculum will include courses and projects in primary bio-production; unit operations in clean technology; renewable resources from carbohydrates, wood, lipids and proteins; bio-fuels; bio-energy; high-value added products; and socio-economic concerns.
Verhé, during a visit to the U of A in April, said the programs, some of which will be conducted in English, will be adapted to the individual experiences and needs of the participating graduate students.
A student could arrange a study program with classes, practicums and seminars; a thesis project involving research; or a combination of both. Another option would be an intensive program in a specific area of study.
Verhé, an advocate of "student mobility," conceived the idea for the program as an outgrowth of similar programs among European universities. The idea was proposed by Verhé to Proctor by during a meeting of a European consortium that Proctor attended at the University of Ghent, Belgium in January 2004.
Proctor met Verhé after he was invited to give a series of lectures during graduate course on renewable resources and clean technology in Vienna, Austria, two years ago. He presented his Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station research in developing processes that uses rice hull ash, a byproduct of rice processing, to produce carbon and sodium silicate, products with a number of industrial uses. Besides providing a renewable resource that reduces harmful impact on the environment, these products require less energy to process than similar materials from other sources. A new plant, using this technology, started up in Stuttgart, Ark., last year.
Such "green industry" technology is very popular in Europe, Proctor said, but university curriculums teaching it are not common in the U.S.
"Roland approached me about producing an international course in this area," Proctor said, "and the ball got rolling from there."
Verhé said he has been heavily involved in the internationalization of education or, as he calls it, "moving students around," for many years. Most of the programs he has designed have been between European universities.
"I was interested in building a program with U.S. students," Verhé said.
The benefits of international study, he said, include opportunities to study in different educational environments, gaining international professional experience that will enhance professional opportunities, developing personal skills and living in different cultural and social settings.