NEXT FOOD - Educating the next generation of professionals in the agrifood system

UNIBO's Team Leader: Prof. Davide Viaggi (DISTAL)

EDU team leaders: Prof. Elena Luppi and Prof. Elena Pacetti

UNIBO's Departiments involved:

DISTAL - Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences

DIMEVET Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences

EDU Department of Education Studies -

Topic: Rural Renaissance – Fostering Innovation and Business Opportunities - Building a future science and education system fit to deliver to practice

Type: RIA Research and Innovation Action

Applicant: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden (SE)

Partners: Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna (IT); Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki- (GR), American Farm School Post Secondary Educational and Training Association (GR), Bioinstitut (CZ)

Ciheam-Centre International De Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Mediterraneennes (FR), Deutsche Welthungerhilfe E.V. (DE), Iseki-Food Association (AT),

University of South Bohemia (CZ), Lunds Universitet (SE), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NO), University College Capital (DK), Sekem Development Foundation - Sdf (EG), The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden (SE), Universidad De Chile (CL), Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche (IT),  Universitatea Din Oradea (RO), University of Mekelle (EP), Agronutritional Consortium of the Region of Central Macedonia (GR)

N.r Partners: 19

Partners’ Countries: SE, IT, RO, CZ, NO, GR, FR, EG, DE, AT, DK, EP, CL

UNIBO’s role: Partner

Project Duration (in months): 48

Start Date: 01/05/2018                  

End Date: 30/04/2022

Status: completed

Total Budget: 7.000.000 euro

Unibo Budget: 454.000 euro

EDU Budget: 66.528 euro

Project’s Topics: Innovative Science and Education for Sustainable Agricolture

Description (1000 words max.): NEXTFOOD will drive the crucial transition to more sustainable and competitive agrifood and forestry systems development by designing and implementing education and training systems to prepare budding or already practicing professionals with competencies to push the green shift in our rapidly changing society. NEXTFOOD will challenge the linear view of knowledge transfer as a top-down process from research to advice and practice, and support the transition to more learner-centric, participatory, action-based and action-oriented education and learning in agrifood and forestry systems. In several pioneering case studies, covering agrifood and forestry systems in Europe, Asia and Africa, farmers solve real challenges related to sustainability together with researchers, students and other relevant stakeholders while developing both green technical skills and soft collaborative competencies.

NEXTFOOD will assure quality in research and education by creating a peer-review system for evaluation of practice-oriented research outputs focusing on sustainability and practical usefulness. In addition, we will develop an international accreditation framework for education and training in fields relevant to sustainable agrifood and forestry systems. An innovative action research process will guide the NEXTFOOD project’s development in a cyclical manner, ensuring that the research process and actual case studies are ever-improving. This will exemplify how practice-oriented research can be instrumental to achieve: better collaboration between university and society, more innovation in the agrifood and forestry systems sector, and a progressive agrifood community ready to tackle complex sustainability challenges of the 21st century.