Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** amidst rising global nutritional…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** amidst rising global nutritional needs exacerbated by the pandemic, land-grant universities are crucial in preparing students in animal science for future challenges. This field, pivotal for its contribution to nutritional value, economic stability, and sustainability, demands a workforce adept at navigating complex issues within diverse teams. However, interest in food animal careers, like those in the poultry industry, do not meet industry demand. Addressing this requires enhancing educational experiences that build global intercultural skills. There's a GAP in effectively integrating these competencies in agricultural education, highlighting the need for clear strategies that develop non-technical skills, essential for industry readiness, through domestic learning opportunities tailored to animal science. The specific objectives for this proposal are to: 1) describe workforce demands for global intercultural learning skills in the poultry sector; 2) describe efforts of U.S. Post-secondary institutions to support and address global intercultural learning opportunities through domestic experiences; 3) submit a 2026 higher education challenge grant collaborative proposal. The long-term goal of this proposal is to submit a HEC collaborative proposal that will create a national platform for discussing the value of domestic experiences to enhance student global intercultural skills and provide recommendations for embedding intercultural development in domestic experiences.