At Loyola Marymount University, students, faculty, and staff work together toward a shared vision: creating the world we want to live in. That’s why LMU’s first year participating in Diplomacy Lab, a public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of State that guides student teams through real-world global challenges, has been such a valuable opportunity for our community. Launched in 2013, Diplomacy Lab is an initiative designed to engage students in the work of the State Department—harnessing the expertise of students and faculty members across the nation to conduct research on the foreign policy topics that are central to our time. Critically, Diplomacy Lab offers a unique, hands-on way to practice the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), a set of 17 interconnected global objectives designed to address the world’s most pressing issues by 2030. These goals, which have been adopted by LMU, are grounded in five principles: people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership.
LMU’s exciting inaugural year as a Diplomacy Lab partner featured faculty from across the university, including the LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, the LMU Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering, and the LMU College of Business Administration. Inas Kelly, professor of economics, mentored students in an independent health economics research project focused on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief’s (PEPFAR) role in combating HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. Aidin Namin, associate professor of marketing analytics, led a capstone course to uncover key factors behind the decline in Qatari student enrollment in U.S. universities. Finally, Demian Willette, associate professor of biology, led his ecology students in a project exploring the monetary value that endangered species provide to ecosystems. Specific, complex, and concrete, each of these projects served as tangible opportunities to apply critical thinking and empathy toward actionable insights.
Professor Namin was drawn to his Diplomacy Lab project, “Campaign to Attract More International Students from the Middle East,” because it combined real-world data analysis with cultural and educational trends—an ideal opportunity for students to apply marketing analytics in a meaningful, globally relevant context. It also aligned closely with his teaching goals in the Marketing Analytics pathway, particularly in helping students learn how to translate raw data into strategic recommendations.
“One of the most unique aspects of working with DipLab is the emphasis on experiential, project-based learning that mirrors real-world consulting and research environments. Unlike traditional courses that often rely on structured lectures and hypothetical case studies, DipLab engages students in open-ended, often ambiguous problems that require them to define the scope, develop methodologies, and adapt as new insights emerge. This hands-on approach fosters a deeper level of engagement, critical thinking, and problem-solving,” said Namin.
For Professor Kelly’s project, entitled “Resilience Matrix: Envisioning a Comprehensive Tool for Assessing Health System Resilience and Sustainability,” each student produced a unique research paper, which included subjects like “HIV Drug Development in Sub Saharan Africa,” by Francisco Lacombe Franca ‘25; “Case Study on the Health Care System in Thailand,” by Nikhil Malik 25’; and “HIV/AIDS in Russia Before and After the Fall of Communism,” by Sofia Moskaleva ‘25. This past June, five of Professor Kelly’s students presented their work at the Western Economic Association International (WEAI) conference in San Francisco.
“Several of my students were interested in both making a difference and conducting research in health economics, working with real-world data and using the econometrics tools they’d recently learned. A unique aspect of DipLab is the involvement with an outside point person, in this case, Dr. Michael Reid, a PEPFAR physician who works with the U.S. Department of State. He provided excellent feedback when the students gave their presentations on Zoom at the end of the fall 2024 semester. Since he is also a faculty member at the University of San Francisco, five of the students had the opportunity to meet him in person at the recent San Francisco conference,” said Kelly. Kelly’s students also presented research at the Eastern Economic Association conference in New York and the Undergraduate Research Symposium at LMU.
Professor Willete’s project, “Economic Valuation of Wildlife and Wild Spaces,” asked students to assign a monetary value of the ecosystem services—i.e. the free benefits nature provides to humans—that eight endangered or vulnerable species provide. The species studied were the Bornean orangutan, Bengal tiger, Chinese pangolin, European eel, mountain gorilla, hawksbill sea turtle, black rhino, and jaguar. Noting that each of these species has some dollar value they are worth if hunted and sold in the wildlife trade or illegal black markets, Diplomacy Lab’s focus was on the value they provide ecologically to humans, year after year, if they are protected and allowed to thrive. “What our students found was extraordinary,” said Willette.
Focusing on the mountain gorilla, Dana Alsayer’s ‘25 project sought to develop an economic valuation through the lens of conservation science, exploring the use of contingent valuation methods to estimate the financial worth of gorillas based on ecotourism, ecosystem services, and their broader role in biodiversity preservation. “DipLab gave me invaluable hands-on research experience and helped me develop confidence in applying scientific thinking to global issues. As someone planning to pursue medicine and public health, the program strengthened my ability to approach complex problems from an interdisciplinary perspective, combining biology, ethics, economics, and communication. It felt empowering to take ownership of a project from start to finish, and it challenged me to clearly communicate scientific ideas to a broader audience,” said Alsayer.
Stefan Bakovic 25’, who worked with Professor Namin, noted that one of the highlights of his Diplomacy Lab experience was getting the opportunity to present his findings directly to officials from the State Department and the Embassy of Qatar. “It was incredibly rewarding to know that our work had real world implications, rather than just being for the class. After weeks of designing surveys, analyzing responses with programs such as SAS using techniques we had been learning, and forming strategic recommendations, seeing that our insights could really help shape outreach and policy around international student recruitment made the entire experience feel very impactful and meaningful. Knowing that our research could influence how the U.S. engages with international students from the Gulf region was incredibly gratifying. It also made me realize how well you can tell a story through data when it’s done with intention and clarity,” said Bakovic.
Even in its nascent form, Diplomacy Lab has proven to be a unique teaching and learning modality, challenging students to apply their knowledge, skills, and fresh perspectives to real-world subjects, and allowing them to gain confidence and literacy with real-world stakeholders within their chosen fields. Not only have students honed the difficult skill of turning large sets of information into concise, meaningful recommendations—they have foregrounded the importance of empathy and cultural understanding in their work. While this past year’s projects focused on the UN SDG’s Life on Land, Quality Education, and Good Health and Well-Being, the future holds much potential for diving into the Sustainable Development Goals even further.
Faculty are still able to secure Diplomacy Lab projects for their fall courses—simply visit LMU’s Diplomacy Lab webpage or email Jennifer Ramos, LMU’s director of Global Learning and Diplomacy Lab coordinator. We look forward to hearing from you and supporting your project!