Annual Review of IAAS World 2005/2006
IAAS World Annual Review 2005/2006
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Annual Review of IAAS World 2005/2006
I
t all started back in 1954, when some progressive students wanted to internationalize their education by meeting students from other parts of the world. Today this has evolved into one of the largest international student associations in the world with members in over 45 countries in 5 continents. Our beloved IAAS – the International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences – next year will reach its 50th year anniversary and for its 49th anniversary we decided to begin the journey down memory lane.
IAAS: The largest of our kind In 1957 there were only 8 countries gathered in Tunisia and now there are over 40 countries from all over the world, making IAAS the largest international student association within our field. To meet the increased diversity in countries and studies represented in IAAS the organization name was changed in 2002 to make all students feel welcome in the association. Our mission is »to promote the exchange of experience, knowledge and ideas. To improve the mutual understanding between students in the fields of agriculture and related sciences all over the world.« IAAS gathers students studying, majoring or researching in agricultural and related fields such as agronomy, organic agriculture, landscape architecture, environmental, biological or food sciences, sustainable development, biotechnology, etc. IAAS strives to assist students in agriculture and related sciences all over the world to foster an intercultural dialogue and communication. IAAS is a great way to learn about other cultures, make new friends and learn about your field of study all at the same time. Join IAAS and discover the WORLD!!!!
Annual Review of IAAS World 2005/2006
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Tord Stiero IAAS President 2005/2006 Nationality: Norwegian University of Oslo, Norway Major: Agricultural Economics
Raquel GarcĂa-Alvarez IAAS Vice-President 2005/2006 Nationality: American University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Bachelors in Animal Science
Alexandra (Sasha) Razzhivina IAAS Secretary General 2005/2006 Nationality: Russian St. Petersburg Agrarian University Masters in Plant Protection
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Annual Review of IAAS World 2005/2006
At IAAS events and meetings, members and participants meet leading innovators in the agricultural and related science industry, explore new ideas and form rewarding relationships. By interacting with colleagues from all areas of agricultural and related sciences and from different parts of the world they develop a comprehensive view of the profession.
IAAS WORLD CONGRESS 2005
T
he annual world congress takes place during the summer and consists of the General Assembly and a seminar. During the General Assembly all decisions affecting the association are discussed during working groups, and subsequently voted upon. The seminar usually deals with a specific agricultural topic and includes excursions, visits, lectures, social activities and a round tour of an area in the organizing country.
"Combating Hunger in Developing Countries - the Role of Agricultural Research" Hosted by IAAS Togo & IAAS Ghana »Everyone met each other on Friday as they arrived and were treated to an authentic Ghanaian dinner before they heard the keynote speaker, Dr. Ricardo Salvador speak on “Imaging Sustainable Agricultural Systems.” The next day, the IAAS students ate at the International Food Fair, tasting foods from France, India, China, Chile, Kenya, and many others. The IAAS meeting focused on annual conferences, recruitment of new schools in the fall, and non-profit status were also talked about. Individual constitutions were compared with the IAAS international constitution designing a committee constitution.«
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The Director's Meetings are held annually and bring together delegates of all the countries within the region of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. ADM - African Directors Meeting - "Agriculture and deforestation in sub-Saharan African countries" Hosted by IAAS BENIN EDM – European Directors Meeting - "Implementation of HACCP system for the food Industry" Hosted by IAAS Macedonia Latin American Regional Meeting - "Conservation of Natural resources" Hosted by IAAS-Guatemala Panajachel,Amatitlan, GUATEMALA US & Them: The Worlds of Agriculture Hosted by University of Iowa State, Ames, Iowa, USA The continent of Europe is divided into four sub regions and each Sub region meets twice a year in a rotating system. During the regional meetings members get to know one other and discuss matters of the association, but this time on a less official and more personal basis. North Eastern European Regional Meeting - "Supporting soil - sustaining life" Hosted by IAAS Finland Helsinki, FINLAND
»I’d like to thank our sponsors Kemira GrowHow, Nordkalk, Vieskan Metalli, KesPro and Fazer for making this Regional Meeting possible and the other members of the Organizing Committee for your energy and professionalism. But most of all I want to thank all the participants – we provided you with the surroundings, but it was really you who made the meeting something very special!«
Regional Meeting - "Food Industry, Agronomy and Nutrition" Nancy, FRANCE
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Annual Review of IAAS World 2005/2006
RM North-Western Europe - "Swedish wildlife and culture" Hosted by IAAS Sweden, Uppsala, SWEDEN Thursday: The beautiful day started with the famous Swedish breakfast, oatmeal porridge! It serves best with BOTH milk AND jam! Unfortunately we forget to tell our friends this. With full bellies we took our umbrellas and went for a guided tour around the university. Afterwards we listened to a lecture on reindeer management and about the different programs in Sweden. That evening two dancers and a violinist from a folk dance team showed us how to dance to traditional Swedish music. We all enjoyed ourselves during this sweaty hour!
RM South-Eastern Europe - "Implementation of Standards in Agriculture and Food industry for Sustainable development" Hosted by IAAS Belgrade Belgrade & Vrsac, SERBIA & MONTENEGRO Regional Meeting - "Bread & Beer" Hosted by IAAS Bonn Bonn, GERMANY RM in Portugal Hosted by IAAS Portugal Santarem, PORTUGAL
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Seminars Seminars deal with specific topics related to agriculture and related sciences. National or local IAAS committees organize them. These are some seminars that took place for the year. "The role of Sugar on the World Market" Bonn, GERMANY "Biomass Energy" Hosted by IAAS Wageningen Holland Wageningen, HOLLAND Environmental technologies, renewable resources, harmony and ethics for sustainable development" Hosted by IAAS Belgrade and Novi Sad Belgrade, SERBIA AND MONTENEGR Exchange Weeks are organized by two or three different countries. Groups of students from these countries visit each other and participate in a week full of excursions, visits and social and cultural events organized by the host country. IAAS Belgium and IAAS Greece Hosted by IAAS Greece, LC ThessalonikiThessaloniki, GREECE IAAS Germany and IAAS Switzerland" Hosted by IAAS Switzerland SWITZERLAND Norway, Spain & Croatia Hosted by IAAS Norway NORWAY Belgium, Serbia & Poland Hosted by IAAS Belgium Denmark-Germany-Switzerland Hosted by IAAS-Denmark Copenhagen, DENMARK Exchange week Russia - Portugal Hosted by IAAS-Russia St. Petersburg
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Other Activities IAAS Committees all over the world also organize various other activities in their universities like motivation weekends, tours, visits to companies, lectures and debates, social evenings etc. 6th International Summer School - "TOWARDS HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE IN COUNTRYSIDE" Hosted by IAAS Russia - LC St. Petersburg & AAFEI St. Petersburg, Russia
General Assembly 2006 Preparation Meeting Hosted by IAAS-Denmark Copenhagen, DENMARK
IAAS Poland Ambassador Program The program is directed toward companies, students and members of our IAAS Committees. Its goals are: 1. To create a close cooperation with companies 2. To help companies find best workers 3. To give knowledge to our members and colleagues about the opportunities for work, internships and practices at companies 4. To gain experience and useful contacts by our Ambassadors 5. To get knowledge, PR, natural and financial support for our IAAS Committees In this program an IAAS member becomes an “Ambassador” of a company. Their duty is mainly to inform students about internships and work at this company by organizing workshops, arranging information stands - and many other activities like hanging up posters, handing out leaflets, visiting university lectures, and etc. This individual has a big opportunity to show their creativity and to make best promotions through lowest costs. Currently, the committee has 3 Ambassadors: PricewaterhouseCoopers (one of the biggest consulting groups in the world), Masterfoods (producer of Mars, Snickers, Pedigree, Whiskas etc.) and American Bistro Poland (company, which owns a network of T.G.I. Friday’s American restaurants in Poland and some others as well).
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There are three types of membership in IAAS: Correspondent, Candidate and Full. Candidate membership is granted by the annual General Assembly. As a candidate member you are invited to take part in activities and to organise your own activities. Candidate membership is free of charge. After one or two years as a candidate member you can apply to become full member. Full membership is granted by the General Assembly after submitting an activity report.
Member Countries of IAAS for 2005-2006: IAAS had 48 member countries and 89 local committees across five continents.
Full Members Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Macedonia, Mexico, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Ukraine, United States, Zambia, Zimbabwe New Full members: Greece, Tajikistan, USA
Candidate Members Benin, China, Cuba, India, Rwanda, Trinidad and Tobago, Uzbekistan, Poland New Candidate Member: Benin
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IAAS
is 49 years old, and we know that IAAS would not have made it this far without the help of past members!! Students today are able to enjoy the benefits of this great organization because of the great work of past members. This year we initiated IAAS Alumni net.
Marcus Schmidt, Swiss Exchange Coordinator 1988-1990 Z端rich City Environment and Health Department as a pest control operator for the city pest control advisory service.
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Monsanto is an agricultural company. Farmers around the world use their innovative products to address on-farm challenges and reduce agriculture's overall impact on our environment. They use the tools of modern biology to support their commitment to agriculture and to support the farmers that feed, clothe and fuel our growing world. Monsanto produce leading seed brands in large-acre crops like corn, cotton, and oilseeds as well as small-acre crops like vegetables. They also produce leading in-the-seed trait technologies for farmers that are aimed at protecting their yield, supporting their on-farm efficiency and reducing their on-farm costs. In addition Monsanto also manufacture the world's best-selling herbicide, Roundup速, and other herbicides - used by farmers, consumers and lawn-and-garden professionals.
The Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA), comprising international grain and feed traders has been in existence for 128 years and currently has members in over 80 countries. Its aim is to promote and protect the interests of its Members in the trade of grain, animal feed, pulses and rice worldwide.
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Annual Review of IAAS World 2005/2006
F
or more then 40 years, the IAAS exchange program (Expro) offers students the unique opportunity to experience and learn about agricultural and related sciences on an international level. ExPro is run in 31 member countries, but only six countries actively participate in the program. The rest of the countries accept very few students or only sends out students. For the year 2005-2006, 157 students were exchanged, that is a bit lower then the previous year (163). From Belgium to Togo “I learned a lot about the local food, the local way of living. They have not a lot of money and still they are always happy. This was for me the greatest contrast between the north and the south of the globe.” (Kris Callebaut - Expro participatant) Sending students Ghana is responsible for 26% and Ukraine with Belarus for – 23% of applications, while only latter countries are responsible for students exchanged: 31 and 19% accordingly. Receiving students Switzerland is responsible for 40% of students, which were placed; Austria and Norway combined 21%, Belgium, Germany and Togo: 24% and Sweden: 5%. A total of 17 countries were accepting students this year, which is 2 countries more then the previous year. After some time, I got yet another chance to gain a new experience working for the Department of Molecular Biology on the Detection of Phytophtora Infestans oospores in soil using PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)-detection experiments. It is the most challenging branch of science in which I have ever worked in. Sometimes I helped my colleagues, exchange students, at Department of Entomology and Nematology on the strawberry fields. (Slobodanka Dimitrijevic) WWOOF internships This year IAAS began a cooperation with WWOOF (World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, www.wwoof.org ), an organization which offers volunteer opportunities on organic farms, volunteers do farm work an exchange for food and accommodation. The information about WWOOF training places were sent to 20 IAAS member countries and some countries were able to place expro students using WWOOF like Croatia.
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ExPro meetings In May IAAS-Denmark hosted an exchange week, it was an ExPro meeting entitled “The enhancement of attractiveness of Youth Exchanges�, which gathered members of IAAS Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and IAAS Headquarters. The exchange week program included working sessions where participants contributed knowledge and experience to analyze the current situation within the exchanges of IAAS, revealing root problems, identifying current resources and defining actions to be taken to improve the status of the IAAS exchange program. Discussions were mainly focused on priority goals such as: increasing the number of students in Exchange Program, motivation of participants and hosts, finding solutions to make exchanges affordable for all participants. The outcome from the exchange week was very fruitful and priority strategies were defined for the exchange activities connected with increasing IAAS liability, creditability and new policies, etc.
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Annual Review of IAAS World 2005/2006
n September and October we sent out the first issue of IAASWORLD Magazine, created by the EC 2004/2005. A new partnership with the Univeristy of Illinois has enabled us to have an editor every year. The editor for the year 2005/2006 is Angel Edmond who studied Agricultural Communication. She created two issues of IAASWORLD. The first one, was dedicated to our IAAS “ALUMNI” and the second to ECO-SUSTAINABILITY both are available online.
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ICA
stands for the Interuniversity Consortium in Agriculture and related sciences in Europe. ICA is an association formed among universities in the EU and ascending countries, and is fully financed by the European Commission. ICA runs several projects related to higher education in agriculture and related sciences, and ICA participates in arranging conferences on higher education in Europe. There have been four Executive Committee meetings this year and the President has taken part in all of them. ICA has several projects of importance and interest to IAAS, and are about to start up a new project on Quality Assurance and Accreditation, and are already running the AMEU project and the MRENet project.
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“To promote the exchange of experience, knowledge and ideas. To improve the mutual understanding between students in the fields of agricultural and related sciences all over the world.” Tunisia, 1957 Address of Secretariat: Kasteelpark Arenberg 21 B-3001 Leuven Belgium Phone: +32 (0) 16 321 736 Fax:+32 (0) 16 321 958
E-mail contacts: President : VP of Communication : VP of Partnership : VP of Finances : VP of Exchange :
president@iaasworld.org vpcommunication@iaasworld.org vppartnership@iaasworld.org vpfinances@iaasworld.org vpexchange@iaasworld.org
website: www.iaasworld.org © IAAS,
Designed by Matjaž Turinek
2006