Undergraduate Student Section: 2017 AAEA Annual Meeting Activities

On behalf of the Undergraduate Student Section of the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association, we cordially invite you and your students to attend and participate in the 2017 AAEA Annual Meeting in Chicago (July 30-August 1, 2017). Our section offers a wide variety of professional development opportunities for undergraduate students of agricultural and applied economics:

• Academic Bowl Competition
• Student Paper Competition
• Earl O. Heady Decision Sciences Spreadsheet Competition
• Outstanding Chapter Competition
• Creative Club Competition

In addition to the aforementioned competitions, students can interact with representatives of major graduate programs in our profession to discuss MS and PhD programs. Our reception on Sunday night (July 30, 2017) is a great opportunity for your students to meet and forge lifelong friendships with other students from over 20 domestic and several Canadian universities. On Monday night, immediately following the final round of the Academic Bowl Competition, we recognize and celebrate student accomplishments at the Awards Ceremony. Additionally on Monday night, in our section’s business meeting, students have the opportunity to run for elected student leadership positions within our section.

To encourage participation, the student registration fees are only $20 per student. As a further incentive to participate, there is a total of $1,800 in prize money, various award plaques, and of course bragging rights to be national champions in a given competition. All of the required registration forms, competition rules, and overview of the Undergraduate Student Section may be found at: http://www.aaea.org/membership/sections/ss-aaea/aaea-annual-meeting

Grant Writing by Early Career Professionals

“Money Talks” Hear first-hand what donors think is most important in proposal preparation

Pre-conference Workshop
Saturday, July 29, 2017
7:30 am – 2:00 pm
Registration opens at 7:00 am
Cost: $66
Grants available for first 20 participants through funding from the AAEA Trust

This workshop aims to strengthen the core grant writing skills of early career professionals, offering the opportunity to learn more about the perspectives of major funding organizations by engaging directly with donor representatives. The event will also facilitate networking among young early career professionals.

Panelists:

• Tom Baerwald, National Science Foundation
• Caron Gala, Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics
• Mariana Kim, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• James Oehmke, U.S. Agency for International Development
• Robbin Shoemaker, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Intended Audience: Early career AAEA members, including students and recent graduates (within 4 years of PhD completion).

This workshop is co-sponsored by the International, Senior and Africa Sections of AAEA and C-FARE, with generous support from the AAEA trust.

View the schedule and learn more here: http://www.aaea.org/meetings/2017-aaea-annual-meeting/events/pre---post-conference-workshops#Grants

Call for Participation: AEM/Graduate Student Section Case Study Competition

The AEM/Graduate Student Section Case Study Competition allows graduate students to test their communication skills and their ability to apply their knowledge of agricultural economics and agribusiness subjects to practical situations. Students competing in the competition will receive a copy of the case study at least two weeks in advance of the 2017 AAEA Annual Meeting.

AEM/GSS Case Study Competition Rules: Each team should prepare an oral summary of their solution to the case that will last no more than 15 minutes. Presentations lasting over 15 minutes will be penalized. After the presentation, teams should be prepared to answer questions from the judges on their interpretation of the case.

Teams can be comprised of up to three graduate students. Students may either compete as a team from the same school, or may choose to be mixed with students from other schools. If there is only one student from a school that wants to participate, the student can compete on their own, or he/she can be matched with other students. In the case of teams that are matched with individuals from different universities, competitors will be notified of their teammates as soon as possible, but no later than the same day the case is announced.

AEM/GSS Case Study Competition Prizes: The top three teams will receive plaques and cash prizes.

• First Place: $300
• Second Place: $200
• Third Place: $100

Specific Information for the 2017 Case Study Competition: The number of rounds will be determined by the number of teams entered. The final round will be composed of the top 3 teams. In addition to plaques and cash prizes, the three finalist teams will also be recognized during the AAEA Awards Ceremony.

• Sunday, July 30, 8:00am – 3:00pm: First Rounds of Competition
• Monday, July 31, 1:30pm – 4:00pm: Final Round (if necessary)
• Monday, July 31, 6:00pm – 7:15pm: Awards Ceremony

Students participating in the case study competition will need to be registered for the Annual Meeting AND the Case Study Competition.

Students should register for the AAEA Annual Meeting through the 2017 Annual Meeting Registration Form which is available online at http://www.aaea.org/meetings/2017-aaea-annual-meeting.
Each team must also complete the Case Study registration form identifying their teammates and send it to AAEA no later than June 12, 2017.

Please direct any questions regarding the 2017 AAEA Case Study Competition to Dr. Lia Nogueira-Rodriguez (lia.nogueira@unl.edu) or GSS Section Chair, Aaron Ates (aaron.ates@okstate.edu).