I had the pleasure of breaking bread with the founder of the Conrad Foundation during FFA convention last month. As I learned more about the foundation's efforts to inspire and support students, I realized what a great opportunity this is for our own agricultural education students.

Check out the website at http://www.conradawards.org/. Click on the competition tab at the top of the page and look at the catagories. There are three that fit what we do: Green schools, Renewable energy, and Space nutrition. I can envision teachers using this competition as a classroom assignment, as an SAE, as an FFA and POA projects.

The foundation encourages students to be inventors, look at problems with fresh ideas and without constraints. They provide expert scientists for support using blogs and webinars. You can even become engaged with the competition as volunteers (what better way to learnthe event?).  One of the things that I find amazing is what happens after the competition. The students have access to internships, support in their entrepreneural efforts, funding to take their invention commercial, and a network made up of the movers and shakers in industry. It can catapult them beyond their (and your) wildest dreams.

Submission deadline for this years competition appears to be Dec. 15th, and that is coming quick, but the foundation's director assured me that most of their submissions come in the 2 weeks just prior to the deadline. I can just imagine a food science class creating a nutrition bar before thanksgiving, entering, and winning the competition! If only I were still teaching. If that deadline seems too quick, then put it on your radar for next year. Start looking at the website, watching the videos, participating in the webinars and get ready.

There is hope of a possible agriscience catagory for 2010!!! Now if our students don't participate and don't win this catagory, we should all be ashamed of ourselves.

If only.... I had a student several years ago that invented a way to equip a drill press with the ability to self oil the drill bits while they bore through metal, similar to a water cooled band saw, without throwing oil all over the place. He couldn't afford the patent and the idea floated away when he graduated. If only... So, I know all of you have some students similar to mine and would be perfect for this competition and future success. Get moving!!!

Get on the website and inspire some inventors and entrepreneurs in your classes! http://www.conradawards.org/.

Nina