Global Seminar Spotlight: Naisargi Dave
This is a continuation of our "IANR is Global" series, which highlights the many ways internationalization is woven through the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources: through research collaboration, government and private industry partnerships, extension work, student educational experiences and the IANR community from around the world.
This edition is specifically focused on the many global voices we have or have invited to campus who will be sharing their expertise through seminars during fall semester 2020. Environmental engineer and program coordinator with the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, Naisargi Dave, will be giving a talk entitled “Gender and the Environment: Perspectives from the U.N." on October 15 at 12:00 p.m. as part of the Institute's Global Voices Seminar Series. We appreciate the expertise we are fortunate to have from all over the world, as shown by their many and varied contributions to the work of the university and our continued mission to create a globally engaged institution. To this end, we want to help our campus community get to know each other (and the world) more, starting with these experts.
Where is home for you? Where did you receive your education?
One time I was backpacking in the Himalayas and I stayed in a local family’s cottage- that felt a lot like home! I am originally from Ahmedabad, India and that’s also where I got most of my education, the highest level being a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering.
Tell us a little about your path to where you are now.
During my undergraduate studies in India, I got an opportunity to go to Germany for a summer education program and since then, I realized how much more there is in the world to learn. I arrived in Nebraska in 2016 and graduated with a Master’s in Environmental Engineering in 2018. In 2018, I joined the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska, and have since worked on both local and global projects.
What is something people don’t know (or that you wish they knew) about where you’re from?
Ahmedabad is the first UNESCO Heritage City of India. At the same time, it also hosts the first smart city of India called Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City.
Why is it important for institutions like the University of Nebraska to create opportunities to hear from people with experience from different parts of the world?
There is a wealth of knowledge, experiences, and potential all around the world. I have met so many people from different backgrounds and places, and each person teaches me something new, something valuable, something I wouldn’t learn from textbooks. The more I get to know them, the more I get creative in my life as well. Hearing from people from a different part of the world is an enriching experience in itself. When you bring an international person onboard, the place and the experience comes to you, without having to go anywhere and you even build a bond with the “local”- how beautiful is that?
What is one piece of advice you would share with students, especially those who are interested in an international career?
International career involves a massive amount of willingness to learn- not from the textbooks, but from the experiences. Each community is different and so are the problems and the ways to solve them. You will not always be able to walk in on day one and solve all the problems; occasional failures are inevitable because you never know what works. You must keep an extremely open mind, be resilient, collect all your learning experiences, and keep going. Because at the end of the day, it still is the most rewarding and enriching career.
We encourage the campus community to attend Naisargi’s webinar at 12:00 p.m. on October 15 via Zoom.
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Are you giving a seminar in fall 2020 (or the future) and have an international element to your work, studies or experiences you'd like to see highlighted? Contact Brianne at bwolf4@unl.edu.