Ames, Iowa
August 23, 2007
Faculty at
Iowa State University were
recently awarded a USDA Higher Education Challenge (HEC) Grant
to create an interdisciplinary undergraduate certificate program
in biobased products combining technology and entrepreneurship
education.
Bob Jolly, professor of economics, was the lead author of the
proposal which involved faculty from the colleges of Agriculture
and Life Sciences, Business and Engineering. Jolly also directs
the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative in the College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Jolly said the goal of the $139,000 grant is to prepare students
entering the biobased product industry to discover new business
opportunities and ultimately create businesses to meet the needs
they identify.
“Strengthening and expanding entrepreneurship education is the
primary objective of the college’s Agricultural Entrepreneurship
Initiative,” Jolly said. “In addition to supporting this
objective, the certificate is designed to recruit students to
agriculture, business and engineering.”
A biobased fundamentals course will be offered on campus and
on-line starting fall 2008, with the certificate program
finalized and available fall 2010. An additional course on
entrepreneurship will be developed for the program with a focus
on discovering and responding to opportunities in the biobased
product industry.
The 20-credit undergraduate certificate will provide a way for
students to receive formal recognition of focused study in a
specialized area that is less comprehensive than an
undergraduate major and more comprehensive than a minor. It will
be awarded in addition to degrees after students complete a core
set of courses and select approved electives.
Tom Brumm, agricultural and biosystems engineering associate
professor, says the new certificate will complement biorenewable
programs currently underway at ISU, especially the Biorenewable
Resources and Technology (BRT) graduate degree program.
“This undergraduate certificate will be a nice parallel to the
BRT program,” Brumm said. “Prior to this, there was nothing
formal at the undergraduate level for students interested in
biofuels and biorenewables.”
Iowa State also is planning a biorenewables option in a new
biological systems engineering degree, distinct from the new
certificate. Additionally, a program funded by a Cargill gift is
providing undergraduate engineering student training and
experience in biorenewables. |
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