Students Around the World Have Just 2 Weeks to Help the Planet

By CnAgri2012-08-27 19:38:34 Print

As the academic year kicks off, the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition (BCFN), Bannockburn, Ill., invites students around the world to submit their ideas about improving the global food system. In June, the BCFN launched BCFN YOUNG EARTH SOLUTIONS! (BCFN YES!), an international competition for students and researchers involving food-related sustainable development projects. Students and young researchers now have just over two weeks left to apply, as the deadline for applications has been extended to Sept. 10.

The ten top submissions will be selected as finalists and presented during the BCFN's 4th International Forum on Food and Nutrition, which will take place in Milan this coming November 28-29, 2012 and offer an opportunity to meet and discuss with leading experts on the international scene.

The winning concept will be evaluated during the final day of the Forum and will receive a cash prize of euro 1,000 (around $1,250). In addition, its creator will have the opportunity of being involved in a Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition research project during 2013 in one of its four areas of activity: Food for Sustainable Growth, Food for All, Food for Health or Food for Culture.

BCFN YES! is dedicated to engaging university students and researchers on an international level to identify the most valid ideas for sustainability in the agri-food sector -- from global challenges tied to the theme of food and nutrition, the obesity crisis and simultaneous paradox of lack of food, to re-thinking in the food industry towards greater environmental sustainability throughout the food chain.

The competition is open to individual students or teams of up to 3 members. Participants must be university students or researchers of any faculty, level or country, who will have not turned 30 years of age by October 20, 2012. Selection criteria involve the real social impact of the idea, its originality and innovativeness and its actual feasibility, with special emphasis on the multi-disciplinary approach of the solution.

All materials and competition regulations can be found at: http://www.bcfnyes.com/index.php?lang=en