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Kent​ ​State University’s College​ ​of​ ​Arts​ ​and​ ​Sciences​ ​and​ ​Office​ ​of Global​ ​Education​ ​recently hosted​ ​the​ ​MISSION:​ ​LIFE​ ​VI​ ​international​ ​innovation​ ​competition,​ ​focused​ ​on bringing​ ​together​ ​interdisciplinary​ ​teams​ ​to​ ​address​ ​major​ ​world​ ​problems.​ ​The​ ​Kent​ ​State​ ​team, whose​ ​idea​ ​focused​ ​on​ ​diverting​ ​food​ ​waste​ ​from​ ​the​ ​landfill​ ​stream​ ​and​ ​converting​ ​it​ ​into electricity,​ ​won​ ​the​ ​people’s​ ​choice​ ​award​ ​after​ ​more than​ ​300​ ​people​ ​visited​ ​the​ ​three​ ​exhibits​ ​and voted​ ​for​ ​their​ ​favorite. 

This​ ​year’s​ ​teams​ ​focused on the theme Global​ ​Sustainable​ ​Development​ ​in​ ​the​ ​21​st​​ ​Century.​ ​The event,​ ​which​ ​was​ ​held​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Integrated​ ​Sciences​ ​Building,​ ​featured​ ​presentations​ ​from teams​ ​from​ ​Kent​ ​State,​ ​Texas and​ ​Brazil.​ ​Judges​ in​ ​and​ ​around​ ​Kent​ ​State​ ​watched​ ​the teams’​ ​10-minute​ ​presentations​ ​and​ ​voted​ ​on​ ​the​ ​juried​ ​awards.​ ​The​ ​team​ ​from​ ​the​ ​Pontifícia Universidade​ ​Católica​ ​do​ ​Paraná​ in​ ​Brazil,​ ​who​ ​developed​ ​and​ ​tested​ ​a​ ​role-playing game​ ​focused​ ​on​ ​teaching​ ​the​ ​​U.N.’s​ ​Sustainability​ ​Development​ ​Goals​​ ​for​ ​middle​ ​and high school​ ​students,​ ​won​ ​the​ ​juried​ ​first​-place​ ​prize. 

The​ ​team​ ​from​ ​the​ ​University​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Incarnate​ ​Word​ ​in​ ​San​ ​Antonio,​ ​Texas,​ ​took​ ​second​ ​place​ ​in both​ ​the​ ​people’s​ ​choice​ ​and​ ​juried​ ​awards for its software​ ​app​ ​designed​ ​to​ ​connect students​ ​and​ ​nonprofits,​ ​making​ ​the​ ​tracking​ ​of​ ​volunteer​ ​hours​ ​more​ ​efficient​ ​for​ ​both​ ​parties. 

Judges​ ​for​ ​the​ ​event​ ​were​ ​Roy​ ​Messing,​ ​director of the ​Ohio​ ​Employee​ ​Ownership​ ​Center​ ​at​ ​Kent State;​ ​Melanie​ ​Knowles,​ Kent State’s ​manager​ ​of​ ​sustainability​;​ ​and​ ​Jason​ ​Miller, engineering manager at Echogen​ ​Power​ ​Systems. 

The​ ​student​ ​teams​ ​competed​ ​at​ ​the​ ​local​ ​level​ ​to​ ​advance​ ​to​ ​the​ ​international​ ​competition, which​ ​was​ ​introduced​ ​to​ ​Kent​ ​State​ by ​Edgar​ ​Kooijman​,​ ​Ph.D., Kent State associate​ ​professor​ ​and​ ​director​ ​of​ ​the​ ​biotechnology program,​ who​ ​has​ ​been​ ​instrumental​ ​in​ ​the​ ​development​ ​of​ ​the​ ​strategic partnership​ ​with​ ​the​ ​Pontifícia Universidade​ ​Católica​ ​do​ ​Paraná,​ ​an​ ​acclaimed not-for-profit​ ​private​ ​Catholic​ ​university​ ​located​ ​in​ ​Curitiba​ ​in​ ​southern​ ​Brazil​ ​where​ ​MISSION:​ ​LIFE originated.​ ​Previously,​ ​the​ ​School​ ​of​ ​Life​ ​Sciences​ ​at​ ​the Brazilian university has​ ​hosted​ ​the​ ​competition.

"As​ ​an​ ​international​ ​scholar​ ​myself​ ​–​ ​I​ ​am​ ​originally​ ​from​ ​the​ ​Netherlands​ ​–​ ​I​ ​am​ ​so​ ​excited​ ​to have​ ​the​ ​opportunity​ ​to​ ​mentor​ ​and​ ​lead​ ​students​ ​in​ ​international​ ​activities​ ​at​ ​Kent​ ​State University," Dr. Kooijman says. "Hosting​ ​the​ ​MISSION:​ ​LIFE​ ​VI​ ​competition​ ​provides​ ​a​ ​wonderful​ ​occasion​ ​for students​ ​to​ ​experience​ ​some​ ​of​ ​the​ ​international​ ​activities​ ​the​ ​university​ ​is​ ​engaged​ ​in."​ ​

The​ ​Kent​ ​State​ ​team​ ​was comprised of ​​Edward​ ​Chiyaka​​ ​(graduate student,​ ​public​ ​health)​, ​​Paramanand​ ​Deginal (sophomore,​ ​aeronautics), ​​Andrew​ ​Hughes (freshman,​ ​biotechnology), Quaid​ ​Kloha (senior,​ ​accounting), ​​Michael​ ​Mandac​ ​​(senior,​ ​hospitality​ ​management) and Michelle​ ​Park​​ ​(senior,​ ​fashion​ ​design).