Visit to Brussels and Green Week

This week I went to Brussels with my class on International Environmental Policy and Law to Brussels. While we were there we visited the European Parliament, pictured above.

Afterwards we attended the Green Week conference. At the conference we got to listen to researchers and politicians give presentations. During the break I was able to also get in contact with people giving poster presentations. Some of the best posters included a project to improve water quality in the Ijselmeer in The Netherlands and organic farming in Turkey.

La conjugaison des verbes

You can watch the video on youtube (which also allows viewing in high definition and full screen) by clicking here!

Here is a quick instructional video to the program on practicing conjugating french verbs. Enjoy!

You can download the file here.

Getting to Know ArcGIS Tutorial: excercises in Chapter 4

This is an explanation on how to do the excercises 4a, 4b and 4c found in the book Getting to Know ArcGIS. These videos are a suppliment to the course on basic GIS techniques given in the Environmental Science curriculum at Avans University of Applied Science in Breda, The Netherlands. These videos can be viewed in HD quality on youtube by clicking:
Excercise 4a: here
Excercise 4b: here
Excercise 4c: here

Getting to Know ArcGIS Tutorial: excercises in Chapter 3

This is an explanation on how to do the excercises 3a, 3b and 3c found in the book Getting to Know ArcGIS. These videos are a suppliment to the course on basic GIS techniques given in the Environmental Science curriculum at Avans University of Applied Science in Breda, The Netherlands. Higher resolution versions of these videos can be viewed on youtube by clicking:
Excercise 3a: here
Excercise 3b: here
Excercise 3c: here

Held hostage in Nigeria (by a volcano in Iceland)

Like many travelers this week, we have been stranded in a far away place by an erupting vulcano in Iceland. All the flights to Europe from Nigeria have been canceled. Along with my colleagues we have sought shelter in a hotel near the airport in Lagos.

I wouldn't say that we are desperate. We have had a problem of cash. You see, Nigeria is very much a cash oriented country. You can't pay with your credit card ANYWHERE. Not even in the fancy hotels. Thankfully, our agent here has been able to lend us some cash.

We have sought solace on the beach with our coconut cocktails. The latest news is that we will be on the Thursday flight. We might be able to catch a flight sooner to France or Spain and take a train or bus to the Netherlands. It's simply a waiting game. More details once there is more to tell.

To see a tragic photodocumentary of our time. Download the powerpoint presentation here.

Recruitment presentations

On Wednesday we had our second round of presentations. We met with 15 students that had come to the Federal Palace Hotel. While some of the students were interested in the Environmental Science and Information Technology programs, several students also asked about our International Business studies department. In general it was a very busy day. In the photo above you see my colleagues Ans and Ndibuisi preparing the reception area with pamphlets on all our different courses.

Yesterday, we finally had a day off. Of course this was the only day that was completely overcast. Oh well, we just went to the market and bought a few small trinkets (masks, drums, etc.).

Today we had a round of meetings with the University of Lagos. We met with the department head of the International Relations department on getting to a memorandum of understanding between our respective universities. Afterwards, we talked to the head of Information Technology department and toured the campus. In the picture on the right, you see Ans, Innocent, Indibuisi, the head of the international department and myself after our talks.

Lekki Conservation Centre

Today we gave the presentations to prospective students. I think that one or two might be joining us next year. It's been a long day in a hotel conference room.

But more interestingly, when we were scouting for locations, we went to the Lekki Conservation Centre, which has a nice conference hall. Next time we should give presentations here because of the relaxed surroundings. But they couldn't be reached when we needed to confirm. While there, of course we had a look around. In the picture above, you see two of the Mona monkeys that live in the park.

The conservation centre is quite nice. There are raised wooden trails throughout the mangrove swamp. You can climb a treehouse and see the monkeys. You will also see monitor lizards, snakes, many birds and crabs. I'd love to come back and do some research comparing the conservation area to the rest of Lagos.



In the reception area there was also a nice tortoise. To be honest I know next to nothing about reptiles. I would love it if someone could identify this one for me. I have better pictures of the tortoise if anyone is interested in identifying it.