The MIIS 2012 Beijing Delegation was invited by CACDA (China Arms Control and Disarmament Association) to conduct a week-long set of exchanges on nonproliferation issues and international relations between China and the U.S in Beijing, China. The delegation was comprised of 8 Chinese-speaking students studying nonproliferation, 1 international relations/MBA major, 2 teaching assistants and 1 instructor.

MIIS scholars who participated in the module reflected positively on the experience as a means of improving their Chinese language skills, their knowledge of Chinese perspectives on arms control issues, as well as a networking opportunity.

Tina Hu, a first year Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies student created a blog to better document the experience. To read her blog, and learn more about this immersive module from a student perspective, please visit: http://nouvellecommencement.blogspot.com/search/label/Beijing

 Mandell Gisnet Center for Conflict Management Presents:

Conflict Resolution Skills for Work and Life

This one day interactive and experiential workshop will teach you how to:

keep conflict from escalating, listen without becoming defensive, speak without making others defensive, find common ground and mutually satisfying solutions, and  create positive lasting change.

Offered the first Friday of the month at the Community Justice Center at the Monterey College of Law from 9:00-4:30. The fee for this class is $95, which includes all materials and lunch.

Register on-line by following this link!

http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=roi4dcgab&oeidk=a07e5jdbdsj93654457

For more information, visit  www.mgmediation.org or email center@montereylaw.edu.

The Prize Competitions Specialist will be fully integrated into the DAI Grand Challenge team to provide overall support to the Grand Challenge effort and to provide  implementation and advisory services around a comprehensive suite of prize competitions to USAID, to include: 1) prize competition strategy and design services that result in the identification of scalable international development solutions (including consultation with USAID/Washington and USAID mission-based teams); 2) strategies to build communities of non-traditional development actors that can catalyze global action around Grand Challenge problems 3) identify and work with a prize platform provider.

The Prize Competitions specialist shall provide support for a variety of activities under this objective that may include some or all of the below for a series of international development competitions over the remaining 2+ years of the contract (this time frame is based on USAID exercising project extension options). Each engagement on prize competition design will require a custom set of the activities – some will require comprehensive support, while others will require only design or platform services.

Services will include, but will not necessarily be limited to:

• Strategic concept development;
• Identify the right prize competition type or model for the stated goal;
• Recommend the appropriate target solver community profile given the type of competition.
• Market research, interviews, and stakeholder engagement to understand how best to structure the incentive given 1) needs and goals of prize competition “sponsor” ; 2) existing activity in the space, 3) number and kind of potential participants, 4) primary motivations of contestants;
• Assist in crafting the problem statement and/or “call to action”;
• Recommend length of competition, type and size of incentive purse, eligibility, submission rules, and other relevant design factors;
• Knowledge of prize competition rules, regulations, and intellectual property rights;
• Assist in establishing judging criteria and/or prize competition rules and composition of judging panel;
• Support the appropriate set of tracking and measurement metrics for the prize competition.

• Serve as principle liaison to the partner IT firm to ensure the IT platform
• Design and conduct USAID internal prize workshops to build understanding and buy-in
• Liaise with broader prize community within the USG (White House, NASA, GSA etc.) and beyond the USG.  ( XPrize, InnoCentive etc.)
• Work with the DAI GCD team to develop and implement strategies for the Grand Challenges that promote sourcing open innovation, crowd sourcing and community building.

DAI is recruiting a full-time candidate to be based in Washington D.C. (working part time at DAI, USAID and personal residence) for the life of the contract

Required qualifications:

• At least five years of experience in designing and managing crowd-sourcing, on-line community engagement, open innovation, or prize competitions for a variety of organizations and clients.
• Experience with prize competition designs, platforms, and industry leaders.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to integrate into a team

Additional desirable qualifications sought:

• Previous experience in open government and organizational innovation
• Experience managing online communities of practice.
• Experience in international development and working with USAID.

Interested applicants are encouraged to apply by May 21, 2012.

As a professor dedicated to his students and to delivering quality education, Professor Shaw reflect much of what Professor Eliason also dedicated her teaching efforts towards.  Leslie Eliason was a strong woman, dynamic and passionate about her chosen profession of teaching.  She pursued her responsibilities as a teacher and mentor with great warmth and care for her students and colleagues, reflecting her intelligence, integrity, good humor, and commitment to quality in all of her endeavors.

Similarly, Professor Shaw has had impressive intensity and thoroughness in his role as teacher, colleague, mentor and advisor.  As was true for Professor Eliason, Professor Shaw is interested in building the capacities of his students, in helping them and the Institute reach their greatest potential, and in working collaboratively with his colleagues across programs and graduate schools to achieve their goals.  There is no question that Professor Shaw has demonstrated consistently the qualities Professor Eliason valued the most — hard work, intense and at times passionate commitment to students and sound academic programming, and good collegial interactions and collaborations.

Congratulations to Professor Shaw who will also be the December Commencement speaker.  We will celebrate his selection in early September once our new academic year has gotten started. More details will follow about the award ceremony.

A former Monterey Institute of International Studies student, Jessica Sanders, spoke at this conference on behalf of the Global Environment Facility.  Congratulations Jessica for being involved in such a great conference.

WHEN:MAY 11TH 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM (REFRESHMENTS AT 8:30 AM)

WHERE: MG 100

WHO: BERYL LEVINGER’S ADVANCED SOCIAL CHANGE LEADERSHIP CLASS

Your classmates in Catalyst Group have been conducting an organizational assessment of the Community Alliance for Safety and Peace (CASP). Please join them for their culminating event as they present their methodology, experiences and findings over light refreshments. Look forward to seeing you there!

The  Les Zambo Scholar Program  Selection Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2012-2013 awards. The committee received many strong applications this year, but determined that two applicants best met the stated criteria of the Scholar Program.

The Monterey Institute of International Studies is pleased to recognize Celena Aponte and Megan Christenson for their academic achievements and service to the Fisher International MBA Program, GSIPM and MIIS. They will receive scholarships of $4,354 for the coming academic year. Congratulations Celena and Megan!

Whether your business idea is a revolutionary game-changer or a stunningly simple but creative solution to an everyday problem, Entrepreneur Magazine wants to hear about it. Tell us what your plan is for the business–your inspiration for it, what makes it viable, and how it’s different from the millions of other ideas out there now. In return, we’ll show the winner $5,000 in seed money, and more importantly, thousands of dollars in publicity money can’t buy.
PRIZES
*       $5,000 in startup capital for your business idea
*       be profiled and promoted (i) in a special section of the January 2013 issue of Entrepreneur magazine (a value in excess of $150,000), and (ii) in a follow-up article in the December 2013 issue of Entrepreneur magazine (a value in excess of $80,000).

*       $500 gift certificate for products and services at any of The UPS Store locations

*       Expense-paid transportation and accommodations to award ceremony in Dallas, TX

*       3 Year subscription to Entrepreneur Magazine

ENTER BEFORE JUNE 15

ENTER HERE: http://www.entrepreneur.com/e2012college

There are two review sessions scheduled:

• May 18, in MG100, from 12-2pm and
• May 22, in MG 100, from 1-2:30pm.

We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Initiated in 1916, The Farm Bill is reauthorized every five years. The 2008 Farm Bill appropriated $284 Billion and covered a range of farming and agricultural interests: commodity pricing to rural and small scale farming, technical assistance, energy use, food safety, crop insurance, nutrition, and food stamps. Historically the Farm Bill has provided extensive subsidies for large commodity producers at the expense of smaller and less energy-intensive farming approaches.

The Farm Bill has a major impact on farmers, consumers, rural communities, the natural environment, and the 40-plus million people receiving food assistance as well as global agribusiness.

It’s time for the Farm Bill to promote, rather than inhibit, local agricultural economies as well as small and mid-size food production businesses. The next Bill should, and could, include policies that encourage fair competition, equal access to capital for young farmers, and agricultural practices that protect the environment future generations.

Presenters:

Bob Junk of Fay Penn Economic Development Council

Lorette Picciano, Executive Director of the Rural Coalition

Ferd Hoefner, Policy Director of National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

Register Here!