Dr. A.H.M. Ali Reza, assistant professor of biology at Delta State, had a summer packed with exciting field work teaching a course in a pristine biogeographical island group in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Through the London based organization Operation Wallacea (OpWall), Reza, a native of Bangladesh, helped lead academics and students in the focus area of Wallacea Forest ecology. According to Reza, the Wallacea region of Indonesia is extremely important for understanding the origin and evolution of animals.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy job as a forest ecology lecturer was to instruct, advise and support research projects the students were working on,\u201d said Reza. \u201cThe highlight of the job was teaching students from different backgrounds, where a majority of them came from highly respected universities from all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
In several groups, Reza taught students from Oxford University, University of British Columbia, Harvard University, University of Edinburgh, University College of London, University of Bristol, Trinity College and Nottingham University.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeaching students from all these highly-ranked universities was the best experience I\u2019ve had in my career,\u201d he said. \u201cI learned so many new ideas and got a completely different perspective of teaching over the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of Reza\u2019s goals was to expose himself to a completely different classroom environment \u2014 where teaching was not always set up with familiar settings.<\/p>\n
Some of the lectures were taught in a village right outside the forests of the Buton Island in the Sulawesi region. Other lectures were far from the village and took place after a long day of hiking.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe facilities in the remote forest camps were very basic and there was no audio-visual support, or anything similar to that,\u201d he said. \u201cIn such conditions, the biggest challenge I had was to make all the students interested in the lectures.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition, OpWall organizers invited Reza to conduct guest lectures on wildlife biology, culture and religion, and methods of getting into colleges and universities in the United States.<\/p>\n
OpWall was pleased with Reza\u2019s performance and informally invited him to teach again next summer, pending his availability.<\/p>\n
\u201cLife is full of surprises when you are out of your own familiar environment,\u201d added Reza. \u201cThings are completely different when you are in a new place, in a new culture or in a new country. I strongly encourage Delta State students to experience new places, new cultures and definitely new countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always encourage my students by saying \u2018experience is something \u2014 no one can give it to you, and once you get it, no one can take it away from you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Reza is a strong advocate of students taking advantage of international study opportunities. He continues to explore student exchanges between Delta State and international institutions and can assist those those interested in studying biology abroad.<\/p>\n
In addition to teaching university students in Indonesia, Reza also conducted research on the unique wildlife and biodiversity of Sulawesi. Formerly known as Celebes, Sulawesi is the largest island in the Wallacean region. This area hosts amazing wildlife where Asian and Australasian plants and animals meet.<\/p>\n
Academic leaders benefit from OpWall funding for high quality field work, enabling them to publish papers in peer reviewed journals. This model enables the collection of large temporal and spatial datasets used for assessing the effectiveness of conservation management interventions. Reza is currently working on papers from his findings over the summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking with OpWall was a privilege for me, and I am grateful to OpWall for all their support,\u201d he said. \u201cI am quite sure it would not be possible for me to do similar research on my own without their support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Learn more about the organization at http:\/\/opwall.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n