Manhattan College Hosts Visiting Students and Faculty Scholars From Colombia, South America

Studies focus on improvement of agricultural business development and soil analysis for rural communities.

Manhattan College announced the arrival of four students and two faculty members from Universidad de La Salle, Colombia, to its Riverdale campus in the Bronx for an intensive two-week study program with partner students and faculty from Manhattan College’s Engineering School. According to the grant application prepared for the U.S.-Colombia Grant Competition for 21 st Century Higher Education Partnerships, the teams from both schools are partnering to promote cross-cultural student learning and community awareness about the cocoa crop – a vital crop within Colombia. The specific project, titled Upcycling Cocoa By-Products for Sustainable Production and Circular Economy Strategies: An Integrated Exploration of Sustainable Development, will afford all participants the tools and knowledge for transforming waste residues from cocoa production into valued by-products, therefore generating greater economic empowerment and commercialization opportunities for rural communities. Faculty spearheading the project grant included Dr. Rosalina González and Dr. Santiago Saenz Torres for Universidad de La Salle and Dr. Gennaro Maffia and Dr. Ricardo Dello Buono for Manhattan College.

President Milo Riverso and Columbia exchange students and facultyUniversidad de La Salle has worked with young women and men from underserved communities for more than 50 years and has established Utopia, an academic program in rural communities that assists college students in becoming agricultural engineers.

The specific goals of the program include:

  • Generating a baseline of knowledge through virtual presentations and exchanges regarding cocoa crop production, Fair Trade Certifications, and circular economy topics for students from both institutions;
  • Promoting international bi-directional mobility of the students, allowing for intercultural and knowledge exchange;
  • Constructing an on-site, diagnostic study of cocoa crop waste management at the Colombian Utopia campus;
  • Exploring sustainable management options to transform the cocoa crop waste into by- products; and
  • Generating the transcendence of scientific knowledge beyond national borders.

Said Dr. Ricardo Dello Buono, Executive Director, Office of Global Engagement and Study Abroad and Professor of Sociology at Manhattan College, “Our study abroad program offers Manhattan College students the ability to experience different cultures in various geographies. This particular project with the Universidad de La Salle offers several of our chemical engineering students and faculty the ability to do cutting edge research to help establish state-of-the art techniques for circular economy in cocoa production at the Utopia campus in Colombia. In addition to hosting the delegation, the Manhattan College team is very much looking forward to its travel to Colombia this summer.”

It is anticipated that the results of the program will be published in various venues in both countries, including at the Annual International Conference on Solid Waste in Annapolis, MD.

By MC Staff