Indoor Ag-Con, Sollum Technologies Launch Scholarship Program For College Students To Attend 2025 Edition
Two Students to Receive Conference Pass, Travel, Accommodations For March 11-12, 2025 Edition at Westgate Las Vegas
Indoor Ag-Con is partnering with Sollum Technologies, a pioneer in dynamic LED lighting solutions for controlled environment agriculture (CEA), to launch the Sollum Student Scholarship to Indoor Ag-Con. Sponsored by Sollum Technologies, Booth #1125, this scholarship offers a unique opportunity for two college students to attend the March 11-12, 2025, edition of Indoor Ag-Con at the Westgate Las Vegas. As the largest trade show and conference for the CEA, vertical farming, and greenhouse industries, Indoor Ag-Con provides invaluable networking, educational sessions, and exposure to the latest industry innovations.
Each scholarship recipient will receive:
– A full-access conference pass to the March 11-12, 2025 edition
– Round-trip airfare (coach)
– A two-night hotel stay at the Westgate (room and tax included)
– A daily per diem for meals and expenses
“We’re excited to partner with Sollum Lighting on this scholarship program, which reflects our commitment to fostering the next generation of leaders in controlled environment agriculture,” said Brian Sullivan, CEO, Indoor Ag-Con. “This scholarship gives students a unique chance to step outside the classroom and gain practical knowledge, inspiration, and connections that will help shape their future careers.”
“Supporting education and innovation in agriculture is core to our mission at Sollum,” adds Jenny Zammit, Vice President of Marketing, Sollum Technologies. “By providing this opportunity to attend Indoor Ag-Con, we hope to inspire and empower students who are passionate about making a difference in sustainable agriculture and technology.”
Applications are now open, with a deadline of December 15, 2024, and available at https://indoor.ag/sollum-student-scholarship/
College students studying agriculture, sustainability, technology, or related fields are encouraged to apply for this scholarship and immerse themselves in the innovation and advancements presented at Indoor Ag-Con. Student scholarship winners will be notified by January 6, 2025.
ABOUT INDOOR AG-CON
Founded in 2013, Indoor Ag-Con has emerged as the largest trade show and conference for vertical farming | greenhouse | controlled environment agriculture (CEA). The event brings together industry professionals from across the globe to explore the latest trends, technologies, and innovations in the CEA sector. Its events are crop-agnostic and touch all sectors of the business, covering produce, legal cannabis | hemp, alternate protein and non-food crops. More information, visit www.indoor.ag
ABOUT SOLLUM TECHNOLOGIES
Sollum Technologies designed the only 100% dynamic LED lighting solution that modulates the full spectrum of the Sun’s natural light to illuminate closed environments such as greenhouses, research centers and laboratories. Sollum’s award-winning, turnkey solution consists of internet of things, AI-powered light fixtures that are controlled by Sollum’s proprietary SUN as a Service® cloud platform. For more information, www.sollum.tech
DANVILLE, VA (OCTOBER 4, 2024) — Building on the success of previous years, the third annual Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Summit East returned to the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) in Danville, VA from October 1-2, 2024. Co-hosted by Indoor Ag-Con and the CEA Innovation Center—a joint project with Virginia Tech’s School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, IALR and the Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center —the event attracted almost 250 attendees from 35 US states, Canada, the Netherlands, and Hong Kong. The diverse audience of growers, educators, scientists, Extension personnel, suppliers, tech specialists, and government leaders gathered to explore the latest advancements in CEA technology and build valuable partnerships.
“We’re proud to see the CEA Summit East improve year after year,” said Brian Sullivan, CEO of Indoor Ag-Con. “The diversity of expertise represented here is impressive, and it’s a testament to the collaborative nature of this growing sector. “
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, a steadfast supporter of the indoor agriculture sector, kicked off the event with a keynote address to a standing-room only audience. His session was immediately followed by the session, “What Is CEA: It’s Mission, Definition and Purpose,” with Paul Brentlinger, CEO, CropKing, Inc; Jessica Soare, Senior Director of Marketing, BrightFarms; Mike Ross, Co-Founder & CEO, Beanstalk; and Dr. Michael Evans, Virginia Tech and Co-Director of the CEA Innovation Center. On the second day, the Leadership Insights Panel welcomed John McMahon, Co-Founder & COO, Better Future Farms; Molly Montgomery, Acting CEO Executive Chair, AeroFarms ; Carl Gupton, CEO, Greenswell Growers; and moderator Emily Gee, CEA Alliance Board Member and Marketing Director, AeroFarms, to the stage. In addition, the panel “Horizon Ahead” moderated by Kelli Rodda, Editorial Director, GIE Media, brought together Andrew Brooks, Business Development Manager, Priva; Cody Journell, Founder | CEO, Vegg, Inc; and Maximilian Knight, CEO, Rooted Robotics, to discuss emerging trends, technological advancements and innovations shaping CEA today.
The CEA Summit featured three educational tracks – Production, Business and Education, Workforce and Training– that brought academics, growers and business experts together covering a wide range of topics ranging from food safety, economics of CEA, crop selection and aquaponics to strategies for energy management, onboarding training programs for new employees, building international partnerships. Other panel discussions and 15-minute CEA Industry & Research Showcase sessions gave attendees the chance to hear about some of the latest research findings and other industry success stories.
In addition to conference sessions, attendees had ample opportunities to visit with the Summit’s 21 tabletop exhibitors during coffee breaks, luncheon roundtables and an afternoon cocktail reception.
This year’s summit hosted the 2nd CEA Graduate Student Poster Competition to provide an opportunity for graduate students to share high quality CEA-related research; to expose commercial companies to qualified candidates; to foster collaboration between individuals in academia and in private industry. Eight finalists competed and Liam Reynolds, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign took first prize for his poster, “Evaluation of Radish, Broccoli, and Lettuce Microgreens Irrigated with Hydrothermal Liquefaction Aqueous Phase.”Nathaniel King-Smith, The Ohio State University, was awarded second place for his poster, “Exploring Sustainable Alternatives for Critical Materials: Hydroponic Cultivation of Rubber Dandelion ( T.kok-saghyz) for Rubber Production.”
The event wrapped up with group tours of the CEA Innovation Center. Conference attendees took advantage of the unique opportunity to get an inside look at the CEA Innovation Center’s hydroponic systems and facilities, including the greenhouse and vertical growing racks. They also got to hear more about some of the Center’s exciting research projects.
