Program Profile

Description

For more than 30 years, International Programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has been actively engaged in a variety of program initiatives in Central and Eastern Europe. From 1974 a scientific exchange program with Poland was established with funding from the Alfred E. Jurzykowski Foundation. For the next 18 years approximately 50 young scientists from Polish institutions came to Cornell. In 1993 the Mellon Foundation provided funding to support initiatives involving the Slovak Agricultural University at Nitra, and Godollo Agricultural University in Hungary. The focus of the two programs was on training for the transition to free market economies. In 1997 the Cornell Central and Eastern European Program Committee was approached about a continuing involvement in the region. In 1997 seed money was provided for a Central Europe Initiative. The Alfred Jurzykowski Foundation provided the needed resources. In 1997 a team of Cornell faculty and staff representing the Central and European Program Committee visited Poland to explore the possibility of a planning workshop and to begin the process of identifying key areas for collaboration. The guiding principles for program development included: (1) work on programs which are institutional strengthening (for Cornell University, as well as for institutions in Central and Eastern Europe); (2) enhance the sustainable development of rural communities with emphasis on agricultural and environmental resources; (3) engage faculty and collaborators in multidisciplinary approaches to solving problems; (4) enhance opportunities for scientist -to- scientist exchanges within the framework of selected issues; (5) and to promote research, education and extension/outreach services that are immediately and visibly useful to both the public and the private sector. The first planning workshop was held in Sielinko, Poland in 1998. Five focus areas were identified for discussion and collaboration: Rural Development; Environmental Issues Related to Land and Water Management; Quality and Safety Assurance of Agricultural Products and Foods Produced in the Region; Agricultural Market Economics; and Biotechnology.  In 1991 a second workshop was held on the Cornell University campus to develop specific proposals for funding and develop plans for the overall management of the project. Successful proposal writing led to major funding from the Jurzykowski Foundation, NATO, USDA, the Farm Foundation, and Slovakia and Cornell to carry out workshops, collaborative research and outreach in the five key areas of interest: Biotechnology, Rural Development, Agricultural Market Economics, Environment and Natural Resources, and Food Quality and Safety As a result of a major grant from the U.S. State Department, a special educational partnership program in regional development management developed involving CALS and the University of Rousse, Bulgaria. The Cornell-Rousse partnership’s overall goal was to establish a process that will result in the establishment of a Master’s degree program in regional development management at Rousse University, and an off-campus certificate program in local development that would be delivered to local leaders.Efforts are currently underway to establish collaborative relationships with scientists in the Ukraine, Russia and elsewhere in the region.

Target Countries

Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine

Target Regions

Central and Eastern Europe