Morris Challenge Youth Institute

The 2024 Morris Challenge Youth Institute will take place on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, on the campus of the University of Minnesota Morris.

The MCYI is an interactive program that connects high school students from west-central Minnesota with research and industry leaders working in agricultural, food, and natural resource-related fields. Students learn how these leaders are making a positive impact—in their communities and beyond—and receive feedback on their research paper presentations.

The World Food Prize Foundation was started by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug, a farm kid from Iowa who earned bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees from the University of Minnesota. More importantly, because of his work to eliminate wheat rust, Borlaug is credited with saving more than a million lives and encouraging youth to get involved and help solve complex issues through programs like the Morris Challenge Youth Institute.

The World Food Prize is equivalent to the Nobel Prize in Agriculture, presented by the World Food Prize Foundation (WFPF). It is awarded to those who have “advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world.”

The Prize was started in 1986 by Dr. Norman Borlaug, recipient of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on food security in India and Pakistan. The Prize is awarded at the Iowa State Capital each October as the culminating event of the annual Borlaug International Symposium.

The Global Youth Institute is the final event of the Borlaug International Symposium. The Global Youth Institute brings together +200 high school students from across the world and international leaders in the field of agriculture to discuss current issues in food security. Discussions take place during the International Borlaug Dialogue panels and in small group activities. Students will also have an opportunity to present their papers in groups of about 10 students and three experts. On the last day, student cohorts are tasked with a global challenge, then come to a consensus on the key issues of the day and offer their recommendations to the large group.

Regardless of whether they advance to the Global Youth Institute, high school students who participate in the Morris Challenge Youth Institute have access to internships, a one-time $1,000 scholarship to the University of Minnesota Morris, and access to World Food Prize Foundation and University of Minnesota events, such as science immersions, special panels, faculty/industry connections, and more.

• All students who submit a paper and complete their participation in the Morris Challenge Youth Institute (paper submitted and participation in May event) are recognized as Borlaug Scholars and are eligible to apply for the Borlaug-Ruan International Internship.
• All students will be invited to participate in future events hosted by the Minnesota Youth Institutes and the World Food Prize Foundation.
• Once in college, students are eligible for the USDA Wallace-Carver Fellowship and George Washington Carver Internship.

Regardless of the course of study and career path you choose, your participation in the Morris Challenge Youth Institute will be just as valuable. Many past participants in the World Food Prize Foundation Youth Institutes have gone on to careers in medicine, law, economics, social sciences, and more, and they felt the experience was a great chance to see how food systems touch every part of society. You can list this experience on resumes or add your research paper to your portfolio.

All students who submit papers will be accepted, and all students will be invited to present their papers at the Morris Challenge Youth Institute on May 14, 2024, at the University of Minnesota Morris campus.

All participating students will receive a one-time $1,000 scholarship to the University of Minnesota Morris.

The scholarship is only applicable to students who choose to enroll at the University of Minnesota Morris. Once enrolled at the University of Minnesota Morris, the money will be automatically applied to your financial aid account.

No need to submit another form. Just email Doug Reed, director of the Morris Challenge with the correct information.

Yes. In honor of Dr. Norman Borlaug’s legacy and the mission of the World Food Prize Foundation, all papers must be related to a global food security issue. Because food security can be affected by many factors, you are encouraged to 1) consider the factors listed below and 2) choose one that your research and paper will focus on.

For example, you could write about climate change & its effect on farm harvests in Brazil, or human rights conflicts in
Yemen and its ties to malnourishment. Whatever you choose, your paper must highlight solutions to address the issue.

Factors affecting food security:

1. Animal Agriculture
2. Animal Health
3. Climate Volatility
4. Conflict
5. Dietary Diseases
6. Education
7. Foreign Aid
8. Human Rights
9. Infrastructure
10. Infectious Diseases
11. International Trade
12. Malnutrition
13. Plants
14. Policy & Governance
15. Populations
16. Renewable Energy
17. Spoilage & Waste
18. Sustainable Agriculture
19. Water & Sanitation
20. Water Scarcity

Student Paper Resources

At the bottom of the Student Resources page on the World Food Prize Foundation website, you will find resources
to help with:

• How to write a research paper
• How to cite sources in the bibliography
• Understanding and avoiding plagiarism

Students are encouraged to have a mentor, but this will not be enforced during virtual MCYI events. Mentors are key to ensuring students have a plan for the research process and are a great source of accountability and feedback.

Mentors can be:

• Teachers at your school
  • You don’t have to know this teacher! This is a great opportunity to share the MCYI at your school.
• Guardians/Family members
• Tutors
• Coaches
• Community members
• Any trusted adult over 18 years of age

No. The research paper and roundtable discussion must be done by an individual. You are certainly welcome to talk to peers/mentors to share ideas and get feedback.

The link to submit your paper is on the World Food Prize Foundation website.

• You must submit your paper no later than April 26, 2024.
• When you submit your paper, you are registered for the 2024 Morris Challenge Youth Institute.

You are expected to choose just one country and one topic (sustainable agriculture, policy, water sanitation, etc.) of your choice. Pick something you are curious about!

The number of solutions is not as important as the depth in which you explore it. Depending on your topic, you could have one to four solutions, but remember you only have two to four pages and are recommended to spend up to half of it on the solution.

You are by no means expected to invent a new technology or come up with a project idea for solutions. Research current work that’s being done to address the issue and see if you can apply it in novel ways, such as proposing possible policy or application in a sector that’s yet to implement a technique.

Yes, part of the context for your research paper includes outlining a typical family’s food security situation.

No, you are not expected to contact anyone in your research country. If you have a personal anecdote you’d like to share as part of the paper, you are welcome to do so, but keep this part brief.

The paper can be cited in MLA or APA format.

Bibliography websites such as ZoteroBib can be helpful tools for formatting.

At the bottom of the Student Paper Resources page on the World Food Prize Foundation website, you will find helpful information on how to cite sources in your bibliography and how to write a research paper.

Feedback from the World Food Prize Foundation Board of Reviewers will not arrive until after May. However, if you would like to get feedback from a Morris Challenge Youth Institute Ambassador before submitting your paper, please contact Doug Reed, director of the Morris Challenge.

• Participants will be grouped with six or seven other students during the roundtable sessions.
• Roundtable sessions will be moderated by three or four field experts.
• Each student will have three minutes to summarize their research findings, followed by about three minutes of Q&A from experts and students in the room.
• The presentations will be completely verbal. No slides are permitted.
• Students may use a notecard, but reading directly from it will affect their presentation scores.
• Experts in the room will evaluate the presentation and submit feedback to the Morris Youth Challenge Institute committee for the selection process to advance to the Global Youth Institute.

It is important for students to focus most of their presentation on the solution(s) to their research area. A common mistake is for students to elaborate too much on background information or country demographics and not have enough time to address how to solve the issues.

Also remember to relax. The experts in the room are there to have a dialogue with you and the other students, not act so much as judges. Often, you are the expert in your topic area/country in the room, so this is an opportunity to share with and learn from both peers and adults.

Practice. Breathe. Smile. Be yourself.

All students are expected to listen respectfully while others are presenting.

You will be assigned one student to prepare a question for. You will ask your question during the five-minute discussion period after they are done presenting. You will only be asked to do this once. For all other students, listen attentively and post comments in the chat box if you have something to say.

If there is extra time after all students have presented, the roundtable session will open up to discussion time, where experts and students can talk and ask other follow-ups.

Students are encouraged to dress in business casual attire.