Associate Teaching Professor
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition
Innovation Project Title: "Global Food Innovation Engine: A Scalable Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Agron/FSHN 3420 World Food Issues"
The Global Food Innovation Engine is a scalable, two-layer innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem embedded within Agron/FSHN 3420 World Food Issues, a high-enrollment online course serving approximately 300 students per semester. The Innovation Engine consists of two integrated layers:
1. Micro-Ventures, a set of auto-graded, scenario-based case studies that build entrepreneurial and systems-thinking skills.
2. Global Food Solutions Sandbox, a synthesis stage in which students generate, peer-evaluate, and showcase concise innovation concepts (“sparks”) aligned with global food system challenges.
Together, these layers create a repeatable, sustainable, high-impact experiential ecosystem that allows online students to apply course concepts, practice bold thinking, and see their ideas recognized and valued.