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Ag technology drawing student interest at University of Illinois
The Interim Dean of the Colleges of ACES (Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences) at the University of Illinois says advancements in agriculture technology have helped increase student enrollment numbers.
“We are projecting a very healthy number for freshmen this fall of about 540, that will put the College of ACES at about 2900 undergraduate students. We also have a very strong graduate program that has about 750 students.”
German Bollero tells Brownfield their Center for Digital Agriculture has created more opportunities to work with artificial intelligence in the food and ag sector and offer new degree programs that combine computer science with applications in agriculture.
“The industry is everywhere. All of those technologies may represent people writing code for new programs that will help farmers, or the latest technologies in packaging foods, or even developing new foods.”
Bollero says the department is also focused on diversity with a goal to attract students who never considered a career in agriculture, while still welcoming students who want to return to a farm.
Brownfield interviewed Bollero during the Ag Tech Innovation Summit hosted by the University’s Research Park.
