The project URBAN GReen Education for ENTteRprising Agricultural INnovation (URBAN GREEN TRAIN) will create an innovative training path in the field of Urban Agriculture (UA) entrepreneurship. The project consortium includes excellence Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), innovative SMEs and NGOs of high level expertise on different and complementary fields: UA, education, dissemination, innovation in HE and University-Society- Business-Cooperation (USBC), with partners from France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. The project, that will last 36 months, will create a model of training curriculum on 5 key areas affected by UA: 1) Food and non-food production of UA; 2) Ecology, environment, resource management; 3) Resilience, social inclusion and sustainability; 4) Entrepreneurship, innovative business models and modes of financing; 5) Societal needs, market analysis and value chain development. These macro areas have been provisionally identified during the proposal preparatory phase and will be re-designed according to the results of the initial project phase (leading to the development of Output 1-New urban agriculture initiatives toward a mindset change). Within this phase, partners will undertake a survey aimed at identifying new entrepreneurial models, training opportunities and needs, as to update the state of art of UA entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education, also carrying out a comparative analysis of the results as to have a picture of what is going on in Europe on UA. As result of this work two inventories will be created and made available on line, respectively of business and training opportunities in UA, with a focus on identifying existing modules and resources to be further adapted and developed to respond to the target groups needs, and those missing to be developed ex – novo. The training path (Output 2 - URBAN GREEN TRAIN educational modules and resources) will be composed by a set of 5 modules, each composed by 30 h structured in 14 h at distance courses + 16 hrs in presence (8 h frontal + 8 h practical). This will result in a training offer of 150 h (70 h as e-learning, 80 h as two-weeks intensive course). The full set of modules will be tested in a joint international demonstrative blended course, that will involve 60 participants from partner countries representing HEIs, SMEs staff and Public Authorities (PA). The part of the course to be realized in presence will be implemented through a blended mobility action in Bologna (IT) aimed at strengthening knowledge and methodological exchanges. After testing the course, the curriculum will be improved and standardized according to partner HEI regulations and included in already existing BSc and MSc degree courses (Output 3 - Model and recommendations for an urban agriculture entrepreneurship curriculum). The model of curriculum will be accompanied by a set of policy recommendations for the validation and recognition of competences with reference to the European Credits Transfer System (ECTS) and the European Qualification Framework (EQF). Cooperation between HEIs, SMEs, NGOs and PA will be the basis for the development of improved and new SMEs covering the whole agriculture set of services (food system, urban planning, natural resources management, ecosystem and social services provisioning, etc.) in the urban environment. The project will adopt a participatory approach with active involvement of stakeholders in the different project phases. Furthermore, by creating and validating in the test blended course a set of collaborative modules, URBAN GREEN TRAIN will serve as an example of transnational USBC that may be adapted to any other course subject, providing long-term sustainability of the project outcomes. URBAN GREEN TRAIN dissemination will raise awareness on UA across Europe, opening the path for innovative and sustainable cities. Dissemination will be ensured by a dedicated website and use of social networks, a promotional video, and an eNewsletter to be distributed every three months in partner countries and all over Europe. Furthermore, a strong link with relevant scientific societies (International Society for Horticultural Sciences and more specifically the commissions on Landscape and Urban Horticulture – LUH – and on Education, Consultancy, Research and Training -ECRT) and international programmes on UA (FAO-Food for the Cities) will enable long-term sustainability and accessibility of project outputs. Within the projects, three national events will be realized in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands and a final international conference in France, where a EU CLUSTER on Urban Agriculture will be launched. The EU CLUSTER will involve all partner organizations from the project and further members from partner countries and other EU countries, representing different key actors and stakeholders in UA: HEIs, SMEs, NGOs, PA, etc. promoting knowledge and innovation exchange on different aspects of UA.
The project URBAN GReen Education for ENTteRprising Agricultural INnovation (URBAN GREEN TRAIN) created an innovative training path in the field of Urban Agriculture (UA) entrepreneurship, based on University-Society-Business Cooperation (USBC). The project was coordinated by the University of Bologna (Dept. of Agricultural Sciences, IT) and the consortium included excellent Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), innovative SMEs and NGOs of high-level expertise on different and complementary fields: UA, education, dissemination, HE, with partners from France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. The project lasted 36 months, and created a model of curriculum and course in UA Entrepreneurship structured into five modules and topics: Module 1: Introduction into urban agriculture concept and types Module 2: Resource use from a challenge perspective Module 3: Urban agriculture types/production systems and short food chains Module 4: Networking and governance Module 5: World of business and urban demands. The topic areas, provisionally identified during the proposal phase, have been re-designed according to the methodological guidelines presented in IO1 NEW URBAN AGRICULTURE INITIATIVES TOWARD A MINDSET CHANGE. IO1 presents new entrepreneurial models, training opportunities and needs resulting from the work undertaken by partners to update the state of the art of UA entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education, as well as to analyse training needs of the project target groups: SMEs, NGOs, HEIs, PAs. As result of this work, two inventories respectively of business and training opportunities in UA, were created and made available on the project web site at http://www.urbangreentrain.eu/en/?id=UA_Enterprises and http://www.urbangreentrain.eu/en/?id=UA_Enterprises&category=419. The five URBAN GREEN TRAIN MODULES AND RESOURCES (IO2) globally resulted in a training offer of 150 hours, including various types of educational resources, specifically developed by partners or collected among existing ones: presentations, articles, videos, images, eBooks, discussions, etc. The full set of modules was tested in a joint international pilot course, offered both fully online (on Moodle educational platform of the University of Bologna, IT) and in a blended modality (combining face to face and online training) and involving participants from different countries and professional backgrounds. The face to face part of the course was conducted through a 2 weeks intensive course in Bologna (IT), including a blended mobility for adult learners and a joint training staff event, aimed at strengthening knowledge and methodological exchanges. After the testing, the modules and resources were improved and translated in the partner languages (IT, DE, FR and NL) as well as in Portuguese, as additional language. The model of international curriculum developed during the project to serve as prototype for collaborative creation of further courses/curricula in UA entrepreneurship is illustrated in IO3 “MODEL AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A CURRICULUM IN URBAN AGRICULTURE ENTERPRENEURSHIP”. This output addresses non partner-HEIs, other training providers and public / private stakeholders and presents the main training actions and elements that define the URBAN GREEN TRAIN curriculum, accompanied by a set of recommendations. URBAN GREEN TRAIN was accurately disseminated in partner countries and across Europe to raise awareness on UA, and to support the opening of the path for innovative and sustainable cities. Several tools were developed for this purpose: the project web site www.urbangreentrain.eu (available in EN, FR, DE and IT), an e-Newsletter distributed periodically in four languages (IT,DE, FR, EN), a promotional video and a brochure presenting the main results and IO3 recommendations. Four national multiplier events (two in Germany, one in Italy, and one in the Netherlands) and one final international conference (in France), were organised in 2017, to launch the EU Cluster URBAN-AG and present the project results. The EU Cluster URBAN-AG involves more than 80 members from partner and non partner organisations, from several countries in Europe and beyond, representing different key actors and stakeholders in UA, as to promote knowledge and innovation exchange. URBAN GREEN TRAIN had a relevant impact on partner organisations and target groups (HEIs, SMEs, NGOs and PAs) and significantly contributed to strengthen the cooperation among Research, Education and Business and to modernise the HE system, also enhancing its role in building a sustainable economic and social growth. URBAN GREEN TRAIN succeeded in developing and offering a course and a model of curriculum in Urban Agriculture Entrepreneurship which gives a clear and comprehensive overview of the sector and its potentials, as well as a set of policy recommendations, as to serve as prototype for collaborative creation of further courses/curricula in urban agriculture.