In an effort to dramatically strengthen and expand its capacity to improve global human and environmental health via the food system, the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) has hired a cluster of new faculty who bring strengths in these areas.

Undergraduates from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) will soon have the opportunity to work with other students around the world to support children’s health and design water projects. Thanks to the new Global Classrooms initiative and our faculty’s commitment to create such courses, these invaluable “international” experiences will be available from Illinois-based classrooms.

The longstanding College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) International Seed Grants program, facilitated by the Office of International Programs, continues to prove itself successful, as recent impact reporting shows. The program allows faculty to apply for $4,000 grants to create or support international research or extension activities.  

URBANA, Ill. ­– In today’s global economy, production of goods depends on inputs from many trade partners around the world. Companies and governments need a deeper understanding of the global value chain to reduce costs, maintain a profitable production system, and anticipate ripple effects of disruptions in the supply chain.

URBANA, Ill.  – Smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa use fertilizer well below recommended rates, contributing to consistently low agricultural productivity. Farmers in Tanzania and Kenya, for example, apply just 13 kilograms of fertilizer per hectare, compared with 165 to 175 kilograms in India and Brazil. Low use directly affects cereal yields, which average 1.2 to 1.7 metric tons per hectare, compared to 4 to 4.5 metric tons in South America and Asia.

While students wait eagerly for study abroad programs to open back up, the ACES Global Service Learning course is proving to be a fulfilling alternative. 

Learning to adapt and overcome challenges are central competencies that can be learned through studying abroad, and 2020 has spurred a need for even more creativity and flexibility within the field. Given that travel restrictions have limited in-person experiences for students and institutions over the past nine months, virtual project-based programs have become increasingly present with opportunities for students to still connect around the world and develop global competencies in an innovative and resourceful way.

The 13th cohort of the ACES Global Academy “International Partnerships for Digital Agriculture Research and Applications in BRAZIL” is building collaborations with Brazilian colleagues in spite of the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic.

URBANA, Ill. – An aging U.S. population is rapidly increasing the demand for nursing care. The number of U.S. citizens aged 65 and over is expected to almost double from 43.1 million in 2012 to 87.5 million by 2050, while the workforce is shrinking. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the need for health care professionals.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant disruptions and complications with regards to the College of ACES (and everyone’s) international activities. ACES faculty have engagements in 76 countries, but since March 2020, representatives of ACES have not traveled for official business, and the college has hosted no international guests.