Engaging Undergraduates in an Interdisciplinary, International Collaboration for Development

Since 2009, faculty and students from the Pennsylvania State University College of Agricultural Sciences (CAS) have partnered with the Children and Youth Empowerment Centre (CYEC), a program for street-dwelling children in Kenya. This partnership has resulted in initiatives and programming related to food production, youth development and entrepreneurship, including the creation of a youth cooperative through which vulnerable youth can work, save and further develop their skills. A key component of this collaboration has been the participation of undergraduate students through a multidisciplinary course, Issues in Economic, Community and Agricultural Development in Kenya (a course cross-listed in Agroecology, and Community, Environment and Development). This program has dual objectives of fostering student learning and growth, as well as helping the CYEC meet their goals of youth and enterprise development.