Dear Colleagues,

Ibsar in collaboration with the Entrepreneurship Initiative at the Olayan School of Business offers a platform for our students, under the supervision of their course professors, to participate in the International Biodiversity Day At AUB (IBDAA).  IBDAA, a yearly poster forum, offers AUB students an opportunity to present and share their class projects; thus highlighting the innovative, creative, and pioneering role of the AUB community in addressing nature conservation and sustainability and raising awareness of biodiversity issues.  In this way, IBDAA is committed to expanding its work beyond the laboratory and classroom into the neighborhood and the country at large.

 Students from different disciplines are introduced to the concept of Nature Conservation through their professors.  As a part of a course requirement, they are offered the opportunity to work in a group (of 2 or 3 maximum) on a project that tackles nature, its conservation, its challenges, and/or its use, from a variety of viewpoints depending on the course discipline.  Students present their projects in the poster forum on May 20 in an open space at AUB (to be announced in due time). 

 In line with the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UN-CBD) 2011 Year of the Forest, the theme for IBDAA 2011 is Trees and Forests of Lebanon. Depending on the course discipline, student projects can include essays, poems, case studies, demonstrations, products, designs and business models, along with descriptions of research findings related to the conservation, use, and awareness of the importance of Trees and Forests of Lebanon. 

 May 20, 2011, will be the 5th ibsar annual open-air forum for students to display their works at AUB.  The event will take place from 15:00 -18:00 pm.  Each professor will create a short list of the most successful projects and announce the winning projects of his/her class during the event.  A jury of IBDAA supporters will choose three winning projects from the professors’ short lists.

 For the first time, this year there will be a monetary prize for the three winning projects:  first prize 1,000 USD, second 500 USD and third 200 USD.  The selection criteria for the winning teams will be announced in due time.

 We kindly invite those participating in IBDAA 2011 to start planning for it as a part of your course in the Spring 2011.  Please contact me with any inquiries or if you would like representative from ibsar or the Entrepreneurship Initiative to give a short presentation in your class during the Spring semester.

 The IBDAA preparation, participation and exhibition processes are scheduled as follows:

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Najat Aoun Saliba, PhD