International Collaboration
Greetings! Bonjour! Hola! Konichiwa! Guten Tag! Jambo! Namaste!
The Innovation Transfer Network is pleased to be working with the Pa Department of Community and Economic Development to highlight international activity taking place at private sector companies in Pennsylvania, as well as across our ITN college and university network. This is a new addition to the site, so join the conversation! To submit your news, email us at itnwk@psu.edu.
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Kenya Welcomes "Creative Minds" from Penn State Berks
Reading - Penn State Berks' students along with their professors, the "Creative Minds" team, took a recent trip to Nyeri, Kenya. The Team taught the children from the CYEC - Children and Youth Empowerment Center - about electronic waste, dismantling the waste properly, and how to create jewelry and art pieces from the waste. The Creative Minds Team visited multiple individuals and organizations to discuss collaboratation for the future of the project. In addition, the Team is currently working on marketing the product in Reading, PA which is funded by a Program and Course Development Grant from National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). Dr. Sadan Kulturel-Konak, Associate Professor of Management Information Systems and Coordinator of the Engineering Entrepreneurship minor, and Dr. Janelle Larson, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics and Head of Engineering, Business and Computing Division, are the grant investigators. In this project, Penn State Berks is collaborating with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agricultural and Technology (JKUAT). "The idea of creating jewelry and other pieces of art out of electronic waste in Kenya was very innovative in many ways: reducing the waste, creating sustainable solutions for the population of street-dwelling young people in Kenya, and contributing to youth education," commented Dr. Kulturel-Konak.
Senior Students From Elizabethtown College Conduct Market Research Overseas
Elizabethtown - Elizabethtown College seniors had the opportunity this spring for some real-time experience in the area of international business as they researched overseas markets for regional companies through the Collaborative Industry Partnership (CIP) program at the College.
Hossein Varamini, professor of Finance and International Business at Elizabethtown, and Martin Brill, program manager of International Trade at Kutztown University Small Business Development Center (SBDC), in Harrisburg, worked together to devise a new course project for the Elizabethtown College International Business (IB) Senior Seminar class. Click here to read more.
Elizabethtown College Works to Create Sustainable Solutions in Gambia
Elizabethtown - Dr. Petru Sandu, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Management at Elizabethtown College is involved in a collaboration between two US institutions: Elizabethtown College and Rowan University (including the student chapter of Engineers without Borders), and the University of The Gambia. The purpose is to foster the collaboration between students in engineering and business to solve problems in Gambian communities. Their vision is to create environmentally and economically sustainable solutions that the local population can afford and will choose to use. Current projects include photovoltaic power systems for lighting and pumping water, hand powered water pumps fabricated locally, and a system of using compacted peanut shells as a cooking fuel.
DCED Seeking PA Firms for a Life Sciences Trade Mission to Japan
Harrisburg–The Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) is leading companies in a life sciences trade mission to Japan in October 2011. Pennsylvania therapeutic, pharmaceutical, medical device manufacturers and diagnostic companies are invited to participate in one-on-one meetings, the BioJapan 2011 Pennsylvania booth, and promotional and networking receptions with stops in Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan. Click here to read more.
