Friday, February 10th, 2017...6:53 pm

New Blue Pioneers Program To Include Three Spots for MIIS Students July 23-August 5, 2017

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Who: Program includes spots for 15 graduate students from Peking Guanghua Business School, 3 graduate students from the Middlebury Institute, and 2 graduate students from Stanford

What: The Paradise Foundation, in partnership with Peking University Guanghua Business School, the David and  Lucile Packard  Foundation  and China’s  Yintai  Foundation,  has established  the Blue Pioneer Program to identify and train the new leaders of  China’s blue economy. The Blue Pioneer Program will enable young leaders to take effective action to build the corporations,  nonprofits and social enterprises that can successfully solve the sustainability and economic challenges that China faces in and around its oceans, coasts, fisheries  and aquaculture sectors.  The program has now added the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions (COS) as partners for 2-week summer training in Monterey.

When: July 23-August 5, 2017 (all day)

Where: Program will take place at sites around the Monterey Bay

Cost: There is no program fee to participate. Double-occupancy lodging at a hotel in Monterey is available free-of-charge for those without an apartment in Monterey over the summer.

Who Should Apply: MIIS graduate students with interest and/or experience in social business, nonprofit management, coastal conservation, or environmental sustainability.

How to Apply: Interested MIIS students should apply online  by March 15, 2017.

What you will gain:

  • Training and knowledge on how to launch and grow “social enterprises” and non-governmental organizations related to the ocean
  • Interaction with Chinese graduate assistants seeking to start social enterprises focused on the blue economy
  • Exposure to marine and social business experts from California
  • Professional certificate from the Blue Pioneers Program

Why  was  the Program Created?

China’s blue economy will play a centeral role in the country’s 21st century development. China’s coastal provinces, with just 14% of its land area, have half the population of the country and two-thirds of its economic activity. The oceans are a major source of food production, employment, and economic activity. In the coming decade, China’s maritime economic is expected to achieve a growth rate nearly twice that of other sectors. This growth is challenges because China’s coasts and oceans face mounting pressures and threats. More than half of China’s fisheries are over-harvested and depleted. More than 60% of China’s coastal wetlands have been lost to development. Pollution carried by rivers to China’s coasts produce vast “dead zones” and contaminates seafood in the rapidly growing coastal aquaculture industry.

The complex economic, environmental and social issues around our oceans require business acumen and leadership to provide sustainable change. Over the next two decades, there will be a tremendous need for leaders and entrepreneurs who can build organizations that innovate to solve challenges facing China’s blue economy and those who can create businesses that can provide sustainable economic, social and environmental benefits from China’s marine resources.

Contact: For more information contact Prof. Yuwei Shi at yshi@miis.edu or IPLSP Director Carolyn Meyer at cmeyer@miis.edu/831-647-6417.



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