UNews - acting manager

Crossing borders with bold Brazilian program

trevor.kenney — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:02:52 +0000

Dr. Drew Rendall's psychology lab might be considered atypical in its student makeup now, but as the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge continues to push internationalization as a key strategic goal, it may soon become representative of many.

Rendall currently has graduate students from Alberta, Manitoba, Sri Lanka and Brazil assisting with his research projects, the most recent addition coming to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ by way of the Brazilian Science Without Borders (SWB) program.

"This is a real boon for us as a university," says Rendall, professor of psychology in the Faculty of Arts & Science. "Graduate students are kind of the heart of the research enterprise, they are the real engine of it. They collect the data and do a lot of the work, and without graduate students the research enterprise disappears."

Science Without Borders began as an initiative whereby the Brazilian government is looking to send 100,000 students to universities around the world to study in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The goal is to revolutionize the country's research and development system.

"Brazilian science has shown great improvement over the last decade but we face many challenges," says Ednei Barros dos Santos, a Brazilian PhD student who has taken advantage of the SWB program to come study under Rendall at the U of L.

"We have a very low proportion of doctors in relation to our population, and there is a low frequency of international collaboration."

Doctoral student Ednei Barros dos Santos just recently returned from a three-month field study in Argentina.

Dos Santos discovered Rendall while researching his master's degree in zoology. After reading his papers, he decided to contact Rendall to see if he was open to supervising his PhD studies. The two met while Rendall was on field study in Argentina and not long after, dos Santos applied to the SWB program for funding.

"My research focus is on song variations of the house wren. I'm going to compare the male songs of two different populations, one here in Canada and the other in Argentina," says dos Santos. "We are trying to understand what is the relation between song variation and different mating systems and migratory behaviour."

That his master's work in Brazil, where he researched language in animal species, could be so closely related to Rendall's studies some 11,000 kilometres away, speaks to the value of international collaboration.

"This program provides an incredible opportunity for Brazilian students to be exposed to scientific innovation at Canadian universities, and will help to spur growth in science and technology sectors in Brazil," says Trish Jackson, the U of L's acting manager, International Centre for Students. "The students we are hosting are a wonderful addition to the institution; they have serious academic intentions, and will certainly make an impact when they return to complete their studies in Brazil."

The SWB program initially provided study opportunities for undergraduate students, placing more than 1,200 in Canadian universities alone. The U of L has 14 students enrolled from the program, including three who began last September and 11 more since January. Currently, a second call is going out for prospective doctoral students, and it is incumbent that faculty members provide the program with details of their research opportunities so that they might be able to participate. The PhD program is one of eight graduate programs offered by the School of Graduate Studies.

"We're excited to take part in this program. It's proven to be very successful at the undergraduate level and is likely to draw exceptionally high quality students," says Dr. Matthew Letts, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science. "The program provides full support for PhD students from Brazil, including tuition, travel, book and living expenses, but potential supervisors need to enter the doctoral research opportunities they wish to provide into the CBIE (Canadian Bureau for International Education) Placement Database to be considered for participation."

That dos Santos was accepted by SWB is heartening to Rendall, given that his research is not as applicable as many of the funded students.

"Brazil is very interested in training students who can come back and contribute fairly directly to agricultural initiatives, to resource extraction initiatives and to the information systems industry, for example," says Rendall. "The thrust of what Ednei is working on doesn't have immediate and obvious implications but I think it's pretty encouraging that they are taking a fairly broad approach to this. It shows that they are also interested in training some basic scientists who will come back and contribute to science broadly, and that's exciting."

For more information on the program, contact Dr. Matthew Letts (matthew.letts@uleth.ca) or Dr. Helen Kelley (helen.kelley@uleth.ca)

GET THE FACTS

· Science Without Borders was just one of the initiatives discussed when ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ President Mike Mahon visited Brazil in May as one of 30 Canadian university presidents who took part in an educational tour

· Dos Santos is wrapping up a three-month field study of house wrens in Argentina and will be back studying at the U of L in February

· The second call for SWB doctoral students runs from Feb. 1 to May 31 for January 2014 intake. The third call runs from June 1 to Sept. 30 for May 2014 intake

· Researchers can access the SWB database at the following web address: web.cbie.ca/smi/index_e.html

Global event hits home

trevor.kenney — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:57:41 +0000

On Mar. 11, 2011, the world watched in horror as Japan was rocked by a massive earthquake followed by a crushing tsunami that left behind a mass of death, destruction and devastation. Stirred by human compassion, many people want to help during such tragedies but often don't know how – so they wait for someone to take the lead. For Mieko Okutomi, a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge student with family in Japan – waiting was not an option.

"When it first happened I was at home and I saw my friends on Facebook writing about Japan. I wasn't too concerned because Japan often has large earthquakes – but when I saw all the media coverage I started to realize this was different," recalls Okutomi, whose home is only 100 km away from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. "I felt really bad because at first I couldn't reach some of my family members. It took a while to find out they were OK. That was what initially prompted me to get involved in the fundraiser. I felt compelled to do something. I knew I would never be able to look at myself in the mirror if I hadn't done anything."

Mieko Okutomi (fourth-year accounting), Sayu Ishimine (fourth-year psychology), Yukino Okutomi (volunteer), Eri Asano (volunteer) and professor Eiichi Yokota and his wife Yuko Yokota.

Responding to an plea from the International Centre for Students (ICS), Okutomi, Ayuno Nakahashi, Ryosuke Imura, Sayu Ishimine and Emma Wight met with staff and came up with the idea to fundraise money to aid Japan through the Red Cross. The students created displays and brochures detailing the tragedy and set up donation boxes on campus. The fundraiser took place Mar. 16-18.

"The ICS provided the students with logistical support, organizing tables on campus, supplying presentation material and signing the contract with Red Cross so that the fundraiser could happen," says Trish Jackson, acting manager ICS. "I am just so impressed by how much enthusiasm, love and care the students brought with them and how well it was received around campus."

During the fundraiser, Okutomi became aware of an extraordinary achievement by Yuko Yokota, the wife of Dr. Eiichi Yokota, a visiting professor from Hokkai Shouka Daigaku, Hokkai School of Commerce in Japan. Mrs. Yokota had made more than 1,700 traditional paper cranes that she was willing to donate to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. In Japan, the crane is a very important symbol of hope and peace, and legend says that if you fold 1,000 cranes you are granted a wish.

Thanks to Mrs. Yokota's incredible contribution, the ICS, along with Okutomi, began an awareness campaign with the wish that Japan not be forgotten once the media coverage diminished. Their goal was to see how many cranes they could collect and display in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ as a symbol of hope and recovery for Japan.

From Mar. 28 through Apr. 1, Okutomi, her sister Yukino, and other student volunteers manned tables in the Atrium, where everyone was welcome to learn about the legend of the crane and show their continued support for Japan by folding their own cranes and adding them to the collection.

"The crane project is very therapeutic. When you fold a crane you put your love and compassion in it and it becomes a physical symbol for you. When you add it to three or four thousand other cranes it becomes so much more," says Jackson. "You realize that you have support and there is compassion around campus. Each time a tragedy like this happens we have students who come together to find ways to help. We also saw that with the recent earthquake in Haiti."

For Okutomi, thousands of miles away from a tragedy affecting her homeland, the outpouring of support shown was heartening.

"I really have to say thank you to all the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community, our friends and the ICS," she says. "I was really moved by the compassion people showed for our cause, asking if our friends and family were OK, even when they did not know us. I am really proud of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community for its kindness."

GET THE FACTS

· More than $3,000 was raised through the fundraiser and the sale of tickets for an International Dinner hosted by the Ecumenical Campus Ministry. The Ecumenical Campus Ministry held two memorial services to support Japan.

· There are currently four U of L students on exchange programs in Japan, along with one faculty member. All have reported they are safe following the tragedy.

· ICS donated 600 sheets of origami paper as a thank you to Mrs. Yokota. She folded it all, creating more than 2,400 paper cranes for the project.

· Students are also planning on displaying the cranes at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Calgary campus. Anyone wishing to make additional paper cranes is welcome to bring them to the ICS (SU040).

For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - acting manager

Crossing borders with bold Brazilian program

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Global event hits home

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