Loyola Marymount University recently sent a high-level delegation to the United Nations campus in Bonn, Germany, to attend the 10th plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). LMU was among a select group of 12 universities given observer organization status with the IPBES, an international organization supported by the United Nations.
“By entering into this global conversation, with the help of Provost {Thomas] Poon and Vice Provost [Kat} Weaver as well as Seaver College, LMU is giving students opportunities for application of their broad science skills,” said Demian Willette, associate professor of biology, who joined Dean Tina Choe of the LMU Frank R. Seaver College of Engineering, and Associate Dean Suzanne Larson to represent the university on this global stage. The delegation connected with LMU students studying in Bonn and strengthened the university’s involvement in STEM abroad. Willette added that seeing current Seaver students taking advantage of LMU’s global presence reminded him of his own journey.
“My whole dissertation occurred thanks to my study abroad experience,” Willette explained. He didn’t grow up near the ocean but took up marine biology in his undergrad years. “I studied abroad in Dominica, away from the system that I knew and the culture I was familiar with. Just that perspective helped me to see things differently.”
One of those “different things” he saw, a species of seagrass he suspected was not native to Dominica, launched a lifelong study of invasive species and the ways they travel across man-made borders.
That research, in some ways, came full circle during his recent trip to Bonn, where he was one of the contributing authors of an international report on alien invasive species for the IPBES. The IPBES, comprised of 143 nations in pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, is designed to strengthen research behind policies that support sustainability and biodiversity.
“I learned so much about how to answer the question: How can science be done in the most effective way so it has meaningful, practical applications in today’s world?” Willette said.
Choe, Larson, and Willette also connected with current LMU students from Seaver College, the LMU College of Business Administration, and the LMU College of Communication and Fine Arts studying in Bonn. This year, Seaver College relaunched its Bonn study abroad program for engineering students after the program was paused during the pandemic.
“Spending a week in Bonn and working closely with our [Academy for International Education] partners re-affirmed the value and potential of our study abroad program,” Larson said. “It was great to see our students and faculty who were studying in Bonn completely engaged and enjoying the entire experience. Most of our study abroad students say it has had a lasting impact on their whole worldview. Moving beyond our personal sphere and learning and experiencing things from a different vantage point helps us gain insight, develop self-confidence, and increase our understanding and compassion for our world and its people.”
Larson also said experience abroad gives students a chance to become more adaptable in addition to developing communication and practical problem-solving skills, all valuable for career development. Willette said the classroom implications for his experience with IPBES are clear.
“Students are usually communicating with fellow scientists — faculty, other students, industry leaders. What I have learned is the importance of being able to share research with non-scientists,” Willette said. “There are more than 13 thousand citations in the alien species report. So, how can I provide a summary of that that will influence policymakers to understand the urgency of our research results?”
In his experience, not everyone who studies science becomes a scientist. But those with the right technical background can offer valuable insight to governing bodies and nonprofits, exactly as the IPBES study is doing for international leaders.
“When our students leave LMU, they will be working in a number of different fields. The ability to speak simply, speak the language of the organization, and communicate beyond the details is essential,” Willette said.
In alignment with the university’s strategic commitment to “extend our reach beyond the bluff” and Seaver College’s goal to “deepen local and global engagement,” Willette is a champion of LMU’s global presence and encourages students to think about the worldwide impact their own work could have.
“Education of the whole person goes beyond pipetting and lab skills — which are difficult — we’re also answering the question ‘What does that do beyond a lab setting?’” Willette said. “There is really good science going on in the Biology Department, in Seaver College, and at LMU. Now we need to get it out to the whole world.”
