BCC is one of 32 colleges/universities from across the country – and the only one in New York State – selected by the U.S. Department of State to receive a 2025 IDEAS (Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students) Program grant to expand global study abroad opportunities for students.

The grant will fund the Project for Sustainable Education in Ecology and Development (Project SEED), giving BCC/CUNY Environmental Science students immersive field-based experience in sustainable agriculture and forestry in rural Maharashtra, India. Students will work with partners including the Govardhan Ecovillage and Chandrapur Forest Academy while gaining practical experience in environmental research and sustainability.

“IDEAS Program projects expand U.S. study abroad opportunities while helping students develop skills that support career readiness and global engagement,” said Jessica Mead, Program Manager for IDEAS at World Learning. “We are thrilled to be able to work with Bronx Community College/CUNY on this exciting initiative.”

“This grant builds on several years of collaboration that have created meaningful international learning opportunities for our students in India, Australia and Spain,” said BCC Professor of Chemistry Dr. Neal Phillip, one of the two principal investigators (PIs) of the grant.

Professor Paramita Sen, the other grant PI, said, “Since 2019, we have led CUNY students in study abroad programs in India that combine hands-on environmental research with real-world global experience.”

“At Bronx Community College, we are committed to expanding educational equity and ensuring that our students gain access to transformational, real-world learning experiences, both in the Bronx and across the globe,” said BCC/CUNY President Dr. Larry D. Johnson, Jr. “This project exemplifies the power of international collaboration, and I am proud of our faculty’s leadership in creating opportunities that elevate student success and prepare the next generation of global problem solvers.”

The IDEAS Program – funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by World Learning – supports international programs that strengthen workforce development and global partnerships. The 2025 awards support projects at colleges and universities across the country in destinations including India, Japan, Kenya, and the United Arab Emirates.

Project SEED builds on BCC’s strong record of international environmental collaboration. Made possible by the National Science Foundation and two U.S. State Department Public Diplomacy grants totaling more than $423,000, BCC/CUNY faculty and students have installed 24 solar-powered weather and air-quality monitoring stations across eight states in India, engaging more than 125 CUNY students from 14 CUNY campuses in research and study abroad activities in India.

Most recently, a CUNY team (Team Big Apple) led by Professor Sen, Dr Phillip and Dr Brian vant Hull from City College – plus five CUNY students, including two from BCC/CUNY – participated in the Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering (PCCOE) international AI for Climate Change Hackathon in Pune, India. Team Big Apple developed a model to improve monsoon rainfall prediction in India and placed fourth among more than 1,000 teams. During the visit, the team also installed BCC’s 24th weather monitoring station at Thakur College of Science and Commerce in Mumbai and presented on their research activities at an International Colloquium on Climate Change and Environment – 2026 at Thakur College