Thanks to videoconferencing technology, William Rivera taught a recent class in College Park from South Africa. Nothing unusual about that, these days. The twist is he taught his class in international agricultural extension and development while moderating a conference seminar in the city of Pietermaritzburg, home to the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Among the conference participants were students from countries following a path from Southern Sudan in the north through Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, with a hop to Zimbabwe and South Africa. Plus Ghana in West Africa.

The conference, noted Rivera, a professor working out of the Institute of Applied Agriculture who has done extensive field work in developing countries, "is an example of partnership and cooperation between international organizations and U.S. universities." A lead conference sponsor was the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), which helps developing countries make decisions about agricultural policy.

Rivera's 10 students on campus were nearly as diverse a group as their African counterparts. Their countries of origin spanned the globe from Nigeria to Japan plus the U.S. The students, who represented 8 majors around campus, each took the opportunity to question conference participants.