Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems: Student Internships Development Plan

Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems: Student Internships Development Plan

Summary

Summary: The Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems (SFBS): Student Internships Development Plan will 1) develop criteria for appropriate and effective student internships, 2) identify verified and appropriate internship host sites in the state of Montana, 3) encourage and assist in the production of collaborative grant proposals to support internship experiences, and 4) identify internship host training needs for working effectively and productively with students. Internships will be designed to meet hosts’ needs, advancing their production, processing or marketing enterprise agendas through research, demonstration and/or education. Projects will engage students’ skills and energy to help their hosts meet research, demonstration and education goals.

Objectives/Performance Targets

1) Develop criteria for appropriate and effective SFBS Program Internships (web-published).

2) Develop a menu of verified and appropriate Internship options for SFBS students, probably to start in the summer of 2010 (the program is slated to begin enrolling freshmen and sophomores in autumn 2008). Internships will be designed to meet hosts’ needs, advancing their production, processing or marketing enterprise agendas through research, demonstration and/or education. The team anticipates the need for 10-20 web-published Internship options by the summer of 2010, and more to follow each year.

3) Encourage and assist in proposals written for implementation of the Internships designed through this Development project.

4) Identify Internship host training needs for working effectively and productively with students.

5) Extend findings to producers and professionals throughout the Western Region via website, presentations, and a pamphlet produced by each student cohort for producers and other sustainable food and bioenergy system actors.

Accomplishments/Milestones

The Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems website has been created and stocked with information about the degree program, potential internship hosts, and contact personnel (see http://sfbs.montana.edu/index.htm for more information).

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

The SFBS degree program was approved and initiated in January, 2009.

Collaborators: