On RFD-TV: Deepak Keshwani

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08/27/2025 Added

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Today we’re joined by Dr. Deepak Keshwani, professor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and a faculty leader in CASNR, the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Dr. Keshwani has been deeply involved in program development, curriculum design, and innovative workforce training across the agricultural sciences.

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[00:00:00.000]The University of Nebraska-Lincoln
[00:00:01.790]is working to prepare the next
[00:00:03.230]generation of agriculture,
[00:00:04.840]giving students in rural
[00:00:06.230]communities skills and literacy
[00:00:08.100]to pursue a career in the
[00:00:09.410]industry.
[00:00:10.240]Dr. Deepak Keshwani joins us
[00:00:11.960]now for an overview of these
[00:00:13.510]opportunities.
[00:00:14.740]Thank you so much for your time
[00:00:16.410]today, doctor.
[00:00:17.520]Let's start with something that
[00:00:19.460]many may not know, UNL's
[00:00:20.980]integrated science degree.
[00:00:22.920]What is it and why was it
[00:00:24.180]created?
[00:00:24.940]Yes, so this is a really unique
[00:00:26.660]degree program that is offered
[00:00:28.400]by our college, in fact, at the
[00:00:30.190]university. It allows students
[00:00:32.140]an opportunity to essentially
[00:00:33.740]customize their degree program
[00:00:35.400]if they have interests that
[00:00:36.810]span multiple aspects of food,
[00:00:38.450]agriculture, and natural
[00:00:39.860]resources.
[00:00:41.200]Another unique element of this
[00:00:42.710]program is that it can be
[00:00:43.850]completed online. And that's
[00:00:45.510]amazing for non-traditional
[00:00:46.950]learners, people that are in
[00:00:48.390]the workforce currently or
[00:00:49.780]maybe for whatever reason have
[00:00:51.240]stopped out and want to get
[00:00:52.500]their degree but still continue
[00:00:54.070]to work. So this gives them
[00:00:55.430]that opportunity. It's a great
[00:00:57.050]example of our college's
[00:00:58.260]commitment to support all our
[00:00:59.710]learners regardless of their
[00:01:01.170]circumstances. We really want
[00:01:02.800]to help all our learners grow
[00:01:04.180]where they are.
[00:01:05.880]Yeah, how beneficial is that to
[00:01:07.540]be able to do it around a
[00:01:08.700]schedule when you're already
[00:01:10.240]busy? Now, you've also been
[00:01:11.970]working on updating the
[00:01:13.240]agricultural systems technology
[00:01:15.100]curriculum. What are you adding
[00:01:16.940]there?
[00:01:18.200]Absolutely. So in partnership
[00:01:20.070]with our alumni and our
[00:01:21.340]employers, we developed a new
[00:01:23.060]course on techno-economic
[00:01:24.580]project management that
[00:01:25.990]essentially provides our
[00:01:27.470]students the ability to better
[00:01:29.210]understand technology, how
[00:01:30.880]feasible they can be, and also
[00:01:32.680]the economic implications.
[00:01:34.580]And so being able to look at
[00:01:35.910]both the feasibility of the
[00:01:37.340]technology and the economics of
[00:01:38.960]it helped them make better
[00:01:40.300]decisions about whether or not
[00:01:41.900]a certain technology makes
[00:01:43.320]sense.
[00:01:44.000]And as you know, with the role
[00:01:45.360]of technology in agriculture,
[00:01:46.900]this skill is going to be
[00:01:47.940]really important.
[00:01:49.040]It also highlights a unique
[00:01:50.450]aspect of CASNR, which is we're
[00:01:52.090]constantly engaging with our
[00:01:53.610]employers and our alumni to
[00:01:55.030]improve our curriculum.
[00:01:56.580]Sounds like you're not just
[00:01:58.120]preparing students for today's
[00:01:59.940]jobs, but for the future as
[00:02:01.470]well.
[00:02:02.020]Can you share a bit about how
[00:02:03.560]you're introducing data science
[00:02:05.480]to those younger students?
[00:02:07.240]Absolutely. So through our Cultivate
[00:02:09.490]Access program, which is our
[00:02:11.140]effort to engage rural
[00:02:12.400]communities, high school
[00:02:13.920]students in rural communities
[00:02:15.640]across Nebraska,
[00:02:16.840]we are creating this really
[00:02:18.490]interesting educational video
[00:02:20.450]game called Ripple Effects that
[00:02:22.400]essentially helps students
[00:02:24.140]better understand concepts
[00:02:25.880]related to data science and
[00:02:27.600]systems thinking in the context
[00:02:29.050]of food and agricultural
[00:02:30.170]systems.
[00:02:30.760]and who doesn't like to play
[00:02:32.150]video games, right?
[00:02:33.440]And it's such a great, creative
[00:02:34.640]way to engage young learners.
[00:02:35.880]Yeah, you're definitely, you're
[00:02:37.740]sparking an interest there in
[00:02:39.230]those young ones.
[00:02:40.360]So where can folks go to learn
[00:02:41.590]more?
[00:02:41.980]Absolutely.
[00:02:43.280]The easiest way is just to
[00:02:44.740]visit our college website, casner.unl.edu,
[00:02:47.880]and you can connect with any
[00:02:49.290]one of our team members who can
[00:02:50.820]connect you to these
[00:02:51.980]and some of the other programs
[00:02:53.000]that we have.
[00:02:53.580]Some exciting stuff there.
[00:02:55.800]That's Dr. Deepak Khashwani
[00:02:57.660]with the UNL College of Ag
[00:02:59.090]Sciences and Natural Resources.
[00:03:01.260]Thank you for your time today.

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On RFD-TV: Deepak Keshwani

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