LOCAL-FOCUSED AGTECH EDUCATION FOR SUCCESSFUL AG TRANSITIONS
BACKGROUND
Agriculture is the economic sector most exposed to climate change with cascading effects on agro-ecosystems and food security (FAO, 2016). At the same time, agriculture is considered one of the main contributors to climate change (EEA, 2019). Innovations are, therefore, needed to adapt agricultural systems to extreme weather events, increase carbon storage and mitigate the effects of climate change.
The whole process of moving from current conventional farming practices to more sustainable ones is known as agricultural transition. The whole process of moving from current conventional farming practices to more sustainable ones is known as agricultural transition, for example agro-ecological, climate or energy transitions.
Agricultural technologies (AgTech) can contribute positively to environmental protection strategies.
In order to meet the challenges of the AgTech sector, there is an urgent need to re-adjust university programmes by addressing the main issues of the different actors of the labour market (industry, governmental and non-governmental associations, consultants and farmers).
Facts
Grant awarded by:
Erasmus+ French National Agency
Type of project:
Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnerships in Higher Education (KA220)
Project number:
2021-1-FR01-KA220-HED-000029775
Duration:
November 2021 - October 2024 (36 months)
Budget:
399 228 EUR
Who is involved in LATEST?
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
LATEST – Local-focused AgTech* Education for Successful Ag Transitions is an Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnerships project organised by a consortium of five European Higher Education Institutions:
Institut Polytechnique UniLaSalle (UniLaSalle), France - the coordinator
University of Hohenheim, Germany
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Austria
University of Udine, Italy
Harper Adams University, United Kingdom
LATEST aims at contributing positively to the development of AgTech as mitigation strategies against climate change.
OBJECTIVES
HOW LATEST
will help agriculture?
Analysis
LATEST embraces education as a key strategy to achieve this outcome, creating a multidisciplinary academic programme with up-to-date content that corresponds to the global needs of agricultural transitions, and innovative pedagogical tools.
Goals
LATEST aims to address the societal challenges of climate change by identifying and reducing skills mismatches in AgTech and developing student-centred learning outcomes and curricula.
Deliverables
Flexible learning pathways will be identified as well as modular course designs and the validation and recognition of short learning courses leading to micro-credentials