Photo: Martin Alejo and Isidro Mamani working to finish their research projects and graduate.
Photo: Hugh and Reinaldo Mendoza in the internet café in the Ceja of the Alto.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Thesis Boot Camp Continues
Weekends are still busy at the Cuartel de Tesis in the Alto. Keep us in your prayers for lots more graduates this year!
Photo: Martin Alejo and Isidro Mamani working to finish their research projects and graduate.
Photo: Hugh and Reinaldo Mendoza in the internet café in the Ceja of the Alto.
Photo: Martin Alejo and Isidro Mamani working to finish their research projects and graduate.
Photo: Hugh and Reinaldo Mendoza in the internet café in the Ceja of the Alto.
Volunteer Wedding
When our volunteer Maria Uchida arrived at the UAC in 2006, no one imagined that she would one day be tying that knot with another member of the Carmen Pampa community.
Walter Cusi is a veterinary student and bread baker for the student food program. A very responsible, serious young man, he and Maria became friends, then one year ago fell in love.
This weekend, Maria and Walter got married in a small ceremony at the Hotel Esmeralda in Coroico with a justice of the peace in the presence of family and friends.
Much love and success to both of you!
Photo: Maria, Walter and their families.
For more photos see:
Hugh's Picasa Pictures
Jenny Uchida's blog
Walter Cusi is a veterinary student and bread baker for the student food program. A very responsible, serious young man, he and Maria became friends, then one year ago fell in love.
This weekend, Maria and Walter got married in a small ceremony at the Hotel Esmeralda in Coroico with a justice of the peace in the presence of family and friends.
Much love and success to both of you!
Photo: Maria, Walter and their families.
For more photos see:
Hugh's Picasa Pictures
Jenny Uchida's blog
Lorma Flores graduates
Another graduate! Lorma Flores is the newest UAC graduate, a nursing student who defended her research project about the relationship between nutrition and warts. Great job, Lorma!
Photo: Lorma with her newly defended project with our statue of St. Francis on Campus Leahy.
Photo: Lorma with her newly defended project with our statue of St. Francis on Campus Leahy.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Practice being an agronomist
Last night were the student presentations of módulos, the extra-curricular activities that agronomy students do to pratice what they learn in classes. The student módulos include vegetable production, biological pest control, soil analysis, citrus crop management, biotechnology and more.
Photo: Gustavo and Marcos talk about their soil analysis project.
Each group of students had 10 minutes to talk about the project that they developed throughout the semester.
Photo: Agronomists Desiderio Flores, Hector Espejo, Angelica Salvatierra and department head José Luis Beltrán judge the presentations.
The agronomists on campus served as judges, grading the presentations on content, presentation and ability to answer questions.
Photo: Gabriel and Vlady explain their worm composting project.
Photo: Gustavo and Marcos talk about their soil analysis project.
Each group of students had 10 minutes to talk about the project that they developed throughout the semester.
Photo: Agronomists Desiderio Flores, Hector Espejo, Angelica Salvatierra and department head José Luis Beltrán judge the presentations.
The agronomists on campus served as judges, grading the presentations on content, presentation and ability to answer questions.
Photo: Gabriel and Vlady explain their worm composting project.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Another graduate!
Photo: Hugh Smeltekop, the new graduate Carlos, and his father.
The UAC has a new graduate, Carlos Gutiérrez. He defended his thesis about the control of coffee borer (the worst coffee pest in the yungas) with an extract from the neem tree. He is the second person in his family to graduate from the UAC -- his sister Rosemary graduated from the UAC in 2003, and is now doing her MS at South Dakota State University.
Good job, Carlos!
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Thesis Bootcamp
One of our biggest challenges at the UAC right now is getting students to graduate.
Most universities in Latin America require a research project ("thesis") of undergraduate students. Since most of our faculty travel to and from La Paz to teach their classes, they do not have time to develop and manage research programs at the UAC, and are not very available to help students choose and design their undergraduate thesis projects. So the students choose projects that interest them and help their communities, but lack the intellectual and strategic support that they need.
On top of that, since they have finished their classes, most no longer live at the university, so do not have access to their professors and have to fend for themselves economically, too.
The result of this is that many students have done their field research, but have not analyzed or written up their results. Instead -- understandably -- they are working to support themselves and their families who have made great sacrifices for them to study.
Photo: Student Juan Carlos Paco works on his research project about quinoa harvesting.
When Dr. Diane Rickerl was in Bolivia in July with collaborators from tribal colleges from South Dakota and Nebraska, and she talked about the Thesis Bootcamp that she did with her students from the Prairie PhD program, getting the students together with their advisers, stats people, computers and other resources to help them get their these written. We have shamelessly copied her idea, and with funds from South Dakota State University (through the Larson Foundation) -- and with funds forthcoming from FONADAL -- we have put together our own bootcamp, the Cuartel de Tesis.
The Cuartel has two parts. One is to capture the students who are now living in La Paz and the Alto. We have taken over an Internet café in the Ceja of the Alto on Saturdays and Sundays, providing a place for students to come and consult with me and others from the Instituto de Investigación about their stats, writing, and organization of their theses; and also provide a space for them to meet with their advisers.
Photo: "Our" Internet café in the Alto of La Paz.
The second part is a space in the Instituto's offices with computers, printers and access to Instituto staff to help finish up their research projects. The Cuartel also pays for their printing and binding costs, and the fees that the university requires to organize the project reviews and defense.
And we are making progress. Six students have moved on to the review process at the Universidad Católica Boliviana, the last step before the final project defense. And we expect many more to finish the entire process by the end of the year.
Photo: Student Magdelena Colque works on her research project about forage supplements for goats.
Most universities in Latin America require a research project ("thesis") of undergraduate students. Since most of our faculty travel to and from La Paz to teach their classes, they do not have time to develop and manage research programs at the UAC, and are not very available to help students choose and design their undergraduate thesis projects. So the students choose projects that interest them and help their communities, but lack the intellectual and strategic support that they need.
On top of that, since they have finished their classes, most no longer live at the university, so do not have access to their professors and have to fend for themselves economically, too.
The result of this is that many students have done their field research, but have not analyzed or written up their results. Instead -- understandably -- they are working to support themselves and their families who have made great sacrifices for them to study.
Photo: Student Juan Carlos Paco works on his research project about quinoa harvesting.
When Dr. Diane Rickerl was in Bolivia in July with collaborators from tribal colleges from South Dakota and Nebraska, and she talked about the Thesis Bootcamp that she did with her students from the Prairie PhD program, getting the students together with their advisers, stats people, computers and other resources to help them get their these written. We have shamelessly copied her idea, and with funds from South Dakota State University (through the Larson Foundation) -- and with funds forthcoming from FONADAL -- we have put together our own bootcamp, the Cuartel de Tesis.
The Cuartel has two parts. One is to capture the students who are now living in La Paz and the Alto. We have taken over an Internet café in the Ceja of the Alto on Saturdays and Sundays, providing a place for students to come and consult with me and others from the Instituto de Investigación about their stats, writing, and organization of their theses; and also provide a space for them to meet with their advisers.
Photo: "Our" Internet café in the Alto of La Paz.
The second part is a space in the Instituto's offices with computers, printers and access to Instituto staff to help finish up their research projects. The Cuartel also pays for their printing and binding costs, and the fees that the university requires to organize the project reviews and defense.
And we are making progress. Six students have moved on to the review process at the Universidad Católica Boliviana, the last step before the final project defense. And we expect many more to finish the entire process by the end of the year.
Photo: Student Magdelena Colque works on her research project about forage supplements for goats.
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