The primary objective of the AGRITECH EU project is the design and delivery of higher education programme(s) – I level master (at ISCED LEVEL 7 or equivalent), the enrichment of existing bachelor and master’s degrees and the development of related self-standing modules/courses (online or in-person) to train specialists in digital transition for farms and food companies, leading to recognized certifications. These objectives will be achieved by a European consortium of 7 higher education institutions, 5 businesses (SMEs and large companies) and 1 research and excellence centre.
Digitalisation of Agriculture
Digitalisation in the farming sector can generate multiple benefits: it can increase productivity, improve the efficiency and quality of work, reduce pressure on natural resources, and promote market integration. Moreover, it can enhance farmers’ access to knowledge, foster peer-to-peer learning, support innovation networks, improve rural-urban and producer-consumer links, and reduce bureaucratic burden. However, the opportunities of economic, social, and environmental prosperity enabled by digitalisation also come with risks. Indeed, unregulated digitalisation in the agricultural sector, or incentivising acceptance without offering sufficient (regulatory) protection, may have harmful economic, social, and environmental consequences for vulnerable individuals, communities, and regions across the EU. To maximise equitable opportunities and to mitigate the risks, companies of agriculture sector need to increase the training of specialists on digital transition that can act within farms and food companies to increase their know-how and capabilities to use digital technologies in effective and responsible ways.
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Digital technologies are seen as enablers to develop capabilities to foster the competitiveness of farmers
Through a multi-actor approach and a multi-disciplinary community connecting Academia, Research Organizations, SMEs, Private for Profit, NGOs, Development Agencies, from 6 different European countries (Diversity and Inclusion). We will foster the digital transition of farms and food companies training specialists for a sustainable introduction of Digital technologies.
The AGRITECH EU Consortium, in line with our overarching goal, will work to the design and delivery of international higher education programmes dedicated to train specialists in Digital Agriculture:
- for exploring technological solutions for digital agriculture with a responsible innovation approach
- to acquire the ability to interact with technology suppliers and developers for the design and selection of innovative applications
- to acquire the ability to use digital agriculture tools
- to acquire the ability to assess the socio-economic impacts of digital technologies
Design and delivery of educational programmes
The objective of the call will be achieved by the AGRITECH EU project through the implementation of the following framework:
- Object setting:
- To support the digital transition of agricultural enterprises through dedicated training of ecosystem actors such as digital specialists, enterprise workers, veterinarians, and agronomists
- Object achievement:
- Design of a project training catalogue shared by the partnership and containing different types of learning objects that can be implemented with different teaching methods and supports
- Design of new academic programmes and development of existing ones by drawing on the learning object (Los) in the co-designed catalogue. The different national programmes will have their own characteristic structure and single degree. They will include, modules from the shared catalogue co-designed. This in coherence with the training objectives of supporting the digital transition of the agricultural sector.