Meaningful Community Engagement and Its Impact for Students
Creating partnerships and lifelong friendships in Bangladesh and Kenya
By Amanda Ward, MPA ’15, MBA ’21
Editor’s note: This post is part of a series about community-engaged learning in the Student Multidisciplinary Applied Research Teams (SMART) program in the Cornell’s Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. Also check out Finding Like-minded People and Gaining Clarity on My Purpose through SMART by Isabelle Noelsaint ’21 and Small Steps by Alexander Li ’20.
Following an internship with Among the Least, a non-profit that promotes business-skills training for women in Kenya, for my Masters of Public Administration; I returned to Cornell for my final year as a graduate student. I was excited about what I’d learned in Kenya and soon found myself enrolling in Professor Ralph Christy’s Emerging Markets class and applying to participate in the Student Multidisciplinary Applied Research Teams (SMART) program. Through SMART, I had the opportunity collaborate with partners in emerging markets in Asia and Africa, all while honing my business and entrepreneurship skills.
Learning the Importance of Partnerships in Asia
For my first SMART project, I was on a team of four students working with The Essential Electronic Agriculture Library (TEEAL) in Bangladesh. TEEAL is a collection of digital research on agriculture and related sciences that places electronic boxes in libraries and research centers throughout emerging markets. Researchers, students, and faculty who don’t have reliable internet access the boxes for their research, and — in turn — supply knowledge to farmers and agrobusinesses to help increase their output or expand their efficiencies. Our SMART team’s objective was to produce a marketing report on how TEEAL could expand its reach into Bangladesh, a market that offered new opportunities and new challenges.
The TEEAL project was my first time in Asia and a truly eye-opening experience. Everywhere we went we were met by friendly and welcoming people, with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Everyone wanted to help us, and they viewed the TEEAL tool as a way to expand their own research and help increase the transfer of knowledge to farmers who may not have access to the internet.
We were able to meet with government officials, institutes, a few universities, an NGO, and some research labs. However, what I remember the most, is the time I spent with the students. They were looking for ways they could connect with each other and researchers to find out how to best apply international research in the local context of Bangladesh.
This inspired us to suggest value-add initiatives into the TEEAL process, such as “tea with a researcher” and dedicated Facebook groups to promote cross-research dialogue and help develop a network of users. What I learned the most about on this trip and within our research, was the impact of partnerships within development work, and how crucial it is to develop relationships among various networks.
Creating Meaningful Community-Engaged Learning in Africa
The following year, I was able to co-lead two teams of SMART students in Kenya. Having just finished my own SMART experience, I understood the importance and impact a trip like this has on students and their learning.
I wanted to ensure that the students captured the important intersection of relationships, partnerships, and concepts behind businesses and their development in Kenya.
The two teams were split, with one group working with Dryland Seeds Limited to focus on a marketing plan for their expansion, and another team assisting Makamithi Enterprises by providing a growth strategy and market analysis. In order to build synergy and ensure the best learning experiences for the teams, we allowed them to visit both companies together to understand the entire agricultural value chain. We also planned excursions to government facilities, as well as to NGOs. These trips allowed the teams to understand the macroenvironment for agricultural businesses in Kenya.
We also wanted the students to connect with the local context, so we visited family farms, attended community events, and went to religious services to meet with community members. Everywhere we went we were welcomed with open arms, and everyone was willing to talk to us and help with the research. Understanding the local Kenyan context and gaining insight from the community, the employees, the owners, and the government allowed the teams to be truly immersed in the market environment and provide a richer analysis for their respective companies.
Interfacing with (or co-leading) these two teams, I came away with a true realization for how beneficial community-engaged learning is for students. Experiencing the impact of these two companies’ work and learning from the people who operate in their value chains taught me and the students more about Kenya and the hundreds of thousands of other similar SMEs throughout Africa in 10 days then what we could have learned in a classroom over an entire semester. I then understood why mutual learning and respect are emphasized in the SMART Program. I truly hope that the services and advice we offered them equaled the lessons they were able to teach us.
Long-term Impacts on Students and Communities
One of the most beneficial aspect of SMART is that the program stays connected with its partners. I am Facebook friends with employees at Dryland Seeds as well as the late owner and his daughter, and we continue to chat every once in a while. As a whole, the SMART program will often revisit partners and have subsequent SMART teams return to offer further assistance. These relationships are one of the many strengths of the programs and allow for a very rich, hands-on learning experience for students.
Now returning to Cornell as a one-year MBA student at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, I have at my desk three pictures: one of the group of mothers I interned with in Kenya, another of my SMART team in Bangladesh at the University of Dhaka, and the last of the Kenya SMART teams at an agro dealer shop. As I sit and reflect on these experiences, I have come to realize just how profoundly they have shaped my outlook and my career trajectory; and I have a feeling they will continue to do so for much longer.
Amanda Ward, MPA ’15, MBA ’21 earned a Master of Public Administration from the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs. In 2021, she will earn a Master of Business Administration from the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.
