Media Release - For Immediate Release

September 29, 2011

Student Interns Working Towards Food Security In Bolivia, China

Isaac Gray Katie Hunt Ben McKay Chris Stroud

Four Saint Mary’s University Students are spending this semester overseas participating in the “Students for Development” internships program.

Saint Mary’s University recently received funding under the SFD internship program for project in both China and Bolivia.

The project, Sustainable food Security in Mountain Regions (China and Bolivia), will provide a forum through which natural and social science students as well as researchers at the partner organizations can collaborate on research into the causes of food insecurity in rural mountainous communities in China and Bolivia.

The research will also investigate strategies to reduce food insecurity in these regions. The project will explore how rural populations currently engaged in agriculture can improve their agricultural productivity, while maintaining ecosystem health, and identify alternative means of generating income within the community.

The participating Saint Mary's student are:

Isaac Gray, is a fourth year student at Saint Mary's double majoring in Political Science and International Development Studies. This fall he will be traveling to Cochabamba, Bolivia to work as an intern at the Information and Documentation Centre of Bolivia. He will be conducting research related to food security. The topic is close to his heart, as his Honors thesis is on a food security in Mexico.

Katie Hunt is a fourth year IDS undergraduate. She transferred to Saint Mary's after doing two years of Biology at the University of Calgary, followed by two years of work and travel to Thailand, France, Spain, Fiji and Australia. This semester she’s doing a Students for Development internship in Xi’an, China conducting research on food security in mountainous regions. Her blog is here.

Ben McKay is from Sackville, New Brunswick. He completed his Bachelor's degree at Mount Allison University with a major in Commerce and minor in International Development Studies. Now enrolled in the Master's IDS program,his research interests include rural development, agrarian reform, and food security -- specifically in the Latin American region. As part of his SFD Internship, he’s living in Cochabamba, Bolivia and conducting research at el Centro de Documentación e Información Bolivia (CEDIB) on the mining industry's effects on agriculture and food security in the Bolivian context.

Chris Stroud is a MA Candidate in International Development Studies. He received an internship at the Shaanxi Normal University in Xi'an, China focusing on food security. His blog can be found here.

The internship program project comprises of three different components and funding is available for the next four years:

Component 1: Internships for Canadian Students (3rd – 4th year, Masters and PhD level students). Students participate in 3 months internship at host organizations and receive a grant of $6,500.

Component 2: Graduate students (from Bolivia and China) spend a semester in Canada, working with Saint Mary's Professors professors on research topics related to rural development and food security.

Component 3: An opportunity for natural and social science students to participate in the Canadian Association for the Study of International Development (CASID) conference to be held in April 2013.

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For More Information:

Steve Proctor
External Affairs
Saint Mary's University
(902) 420.5513
E-mail: steve.proctor@smu.ca
www.smu.ca

This page last modified Thursday, 29-Sep-2011 15:29:43 ADT