A team of six representing NTNC have concluded their visit to Oregon State University, USA, after taking part in a four-day workshop.
The workshop, scheduled from May 27th to 30th, was organized by the OSU’s Department of Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, with whom NTNC has a formal arrangement for promoting joint research and academic collaboration.
At the event, discussions on a variety of research themes and topics building on transdisciplinary approaches were made, with additional sessions dedicated to joint proposal development and peer learning.
The engagement module was a mix of in-classroom sessions, thematic knowledge building exercises, together with outdoor learning and observation.
As part of the workshop, on May 27, a mini-symposium between the NTNC team and OSU faculty and students was organized. During this, a total of seven presentations were made, starting with a keynote by the NTNC Member-Secretary Dr. Naresh Subedi.
Group photo of members from NTNC and OSU faculty
Formal welcome by Prof. Dee Denver, Department Head of Integrative Biology at OSU
Dr. Naresh Subedi, member-secretary of NTNC, making the keynote
Ms. Reetu Deuba, conservation officer at NTNC, presenting about women in Nepal's community conservation efforts
Ms. Rachana Shah, program manager at NTNC, presenting about human-wildlife conflict mitigation strategies in Nepal
Dr. Chiranjibi Prasad Pokheral, director at NTNC, presenting about Nepal's conservation journey and good practices, from the role of local communities and traditions to its successful tiger conservation outcomes
Dr. Madhu Chetri, manager at NTNC, presenting about snow leopard research in Nepal
Presentations and discussions at the symposium were focused on science, community and cultural roles in Nepal’s nature conservation success, women roles in community conservation, human-wildlife conflict mitigation strategies and practices, tiger and snow leopard conservation initiatives in Nepal. There were also sessions covering the potential of mycotourism in Nepal, including building on an ongoing transdisciplinary research between NTNC and OSU on medicinal mushroom.
Earlier this year in March, NTNC had hosted the OSU team to a similar knowledge workshop for three days in Nepal. Professor Dee Denver, who is the Department Head of Integrative Biology at OSU, and who leads the university’s course program titled “Intersections of Biodiversity and Buddhism in Nepal,” has been visiting Nepal frequently over the past two years.
The exchanges are meant to expand and synthesize research capabilities and academic programming potentials between the two institutions.
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