2013

Past News & Events

Peace and Conflict Student Earns Third Prize in National Mediation Competition

Ikechukwu “Ike” Ikerionwu, a master's student originally from Nigeria, placed third in the 2013 Cyberweek eMediation Competition hosted by the Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution at Cornell University. The competition, with 80 entrants from 17 universities, used an online platform and model workplace dispute cases to test the students’ skills. “The competition was an avenue to put what we learned in class into practice,” says Ikerionwu. “The University’s mediation course has all it takes to produce experts in the alternative dispute resolution field and I have come to realize that we are one of the best, judging from my experience in the competition.”

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PCS Graduate Starts Non-Profit to Support Rwandan Youth

Vanessa Colomba, M.A. '12, focused her academic research on the Rwandan genocide and the aftermath. After traveling to Rwanda in 2012, Vanessa started Bright Future Generation, a non-profit that seeks to increase the confidence and proficiency of grassroots foundations to identify and respond to the unique problems of the vulnerable children and youth they serve. Vanessa is just one of the many Peace and Conflict Studies graduate making a difference in the world. In the accompanying video, Vanessa discusses the organization as part of the Difference-Makers challenge. (She won second prize in the Social Change category.)

United States Institute of Peace Awards Two Grants to Peace and Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies at UMass Lowell was awarded two prestigious grants from the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) Public Education for Peacebuilding Support initiative. The first award from USIP will enable UMass Lowell to host a panel discussion at the upcoming Women in Public Service Conference, exploring the role of women in post-conflict reconciliation.The second USIP grant was awarded to UMass Lowell to host an online forum on "Careers in International Peacebuilding."

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Five Students Selected to Present Research Papers at National Peace Conference

Five Peace and Conflict Studies students at University of Massachusetts Lowell were selected to present their papers at the 2013 Notre Dame Student Peace Conference. The Notre Dame Student Peace Conference is the premiere forum for graduate and undergraduate students to engage in dialogue on important issues related to peacebuilding, global issues, and social justice. University of Massachusetts Lowell will have the largest representation of any external university at the conference and we are pleased that 100% of our student submissions were accepted.

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