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On Monday, November 13, 2017, the �鶹ӰԺ State College of Arts and Sciences and Office of Global Education hosted the MISSION: LIFE VI international innovation competition, focused on bringing together interdisciplinary teams to address major world problems. The �鶹ӰԺ State team, whose idea focused on diverting food waste from the landfill stream and converting it into electricity, won the “People’s Choice” award, after over 300 people visited the three exhibits and voted for their favorite.

This year’s teams concentrated on Global Sustainable Development in the 21 st Century. The event, which was held in the new Integrated Sciences building, featured presentations from teams from �鶹ӰԺ State, Texas, and Brazil. Judges from in and around �鶹ӰԺ State watched the teams’ 10-minute presentations and voted on the juried awards. The team from the Pontificia Universidade Catolica Do Parana (PUCPR) in Brazil, who developed and tested a Role-Playing Game focused on teaching the for middle and high-school students, won the juried First Place prize.

The team from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, took second place in both the People’s Choice and juried awards, with their software app designed to connect students and non-profits, making the tracking of volunteer hours more efficient for both parties. Judges for the event were Roy Messing, director, Ohio Employee Ownership Center at �鶹ӰԺ State; Melanie Knowles, Manager of Sustainability for �鶹ӰԺ; and Jason Miller, Echogen Power Systems.

The student teams competed at the local level to advance to the international competition, which was introduced to �鶹ӰԺ State via Associate Professor and Director of the Biotechnology Program, Edgar Kooijman, who has been instrumental in the development of the strategic partnership with the Pontificia Universidade Catolica Do Parana (PUCPR), an acclaimed not-for-profit private Catholic university located in Curitiba in southern Brazil, where Mission: Life originated. Previously, the school of life sciences at PUCPR has hosted the competition.

"As an international scholar myself – I am originally from the Netherlands – I am so excited to have the opportunity to mentor and lead students in international activities at �鶹ӰԺ. Hosting the MISSION: LIFE VI competition provides a wonderful occasion for students to experience some of the international activities the university is engaged in," explains Professor Kooijman.

The �鶹ӰԺ State team consists of: Michelle Park (senior, Fashion Design), Andrew Hughes (freshman, Biotechnology), Michael Mandac (senior, Hospitality Management), Quaid Kloha (senior, Accounting), Edward Chiyaka (graduate, Public Health), and Paramanand Deginal (sophomore, Aeronautics).

PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT CAN BE FOUND AT:
/www.kent.edu/missionlife2017
/cas/studyabroad/mission-life-vi
 

CONTACTS:
Dr. ing Edgar Eduard Kooijman
Director Biotechnology Program
Associate Professor Biological Sciences
�鶹ӰԺ
ekooijma@kent.edu
330-672-8568

Julie Messing
Executive Director, Entrepreneurship
Initiatives
LaunchNET �鶹ӰԺ State
jmessing@kent.edu
330-672-6781