The European Bioeconomy University (EBU) alliance is strongly committed to expand the longstanding cooperation in the fields of education, research and innovation to shape the European bioeconomy. The alliance covers the entire spectrum of bioeconomic sectors and dimensions – from the production of renewable biological resources, through to the conversion of these resources and waste streams into value-added products, such as food, feed, biobased products and bioenergy, and also their marketing and sustainability assessment. Our strongest lever is our intellectual leadership in the field of the bioeconomy in Europe, while reflecting the heterogeneity of the European regions. The new alliance of the six leading European universities in the Bioeconomy field consisting of : Paris Institute of Technology for Life, Food and Environmental Sciences - AgroParisTech (APT), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna(BOKU), University of Eastern Finland (UEF), University of Bologna (UNIBO), Wageningen University and Reseach (WUR) and University of Hohenheim (UHOH) will act as a think tank for knowledge generation and as a creative hub for knowledge transfer to transform diversity into creativity, support the European approach of democratic, transparent and participative processes and foster actual change in an innovative and sustainable way. The major drivers of the EBU activities is the tremendous skills demand of the biobased industry and the European bioeconomy sector. Education and (vocational) training are vital to tap into the full potential of the future bioeconomy. The education offered at the six EBU institutions is already leading the bioeconomy education in Europe, however so far only few dedicated bioeconomy study programs with a rather national focus are in place (see description of participating institutions for details). Therefore, the EBU aims at integrating the following bioeconomy-relevant skills, competences and expertise into the manifold study programs at the EBU institutions, in addition to the disciplinary expertise: • Inter- and transdisciplinary skills based on a cross-sectorial mindset, • Sustainability competences including system thinking, strategic competence, normative competence, • Personal and interpersonal skills including critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, empowerment, reflection, participation, motivation as well as anticipation and transition knowledge, • International (digital) communication and collaboration skills, • Management and entrepreneurial skills, • Assessment, decision making, regulation and policy skills. This strategic partnership aims at integrating these skills, competences and expertise into existing master curricula and forms one of the building blocks in the establishment of the EBU. With this specific project, the alliance aims to: • Develop and implement of the EBU bioeconomy qualification supplement for master students of the six EBU universities to signalize and assure a joint educational strategy with an specific focus on inter- and transdisciplinarity, cross-sectoral collaboration, problem-solving, sustainability competences and soft-skills development. • Conceptualize the “EBU student journey” as pedagogical concept through which students strongly engage with each other across the EBU institutions by collaboratively working on real-world bioeconomic challenges based on a mix of several methodological approaches to obtain required knowledge, skills and competences. • Establish an interactive online platform easily accessible by all members of the participating universities (teachers, students, staff) and potential cooperating partners (e.g. companies, researchers and politicians providing input for bioeconomy challenges) that covers academic/subject specific, challenge based, horizontal skills related and organisational inputs. • Implement two pilot journeys, in which 72 master students will participate, will take place during 2022 and 2023 to apply the guidance materials, and execution of the journey framework and the other results. During these pilot journeys, there will be continuous assessment and improvements that will serve as input for the handbook of best practices in the bioeconomy education that will be a base for the future EBU student journeys. • Develop a best practices manual for bioeconomy education in Europe based on the previous results. Master students at the EBU, becoming the future professionals in the bioeconomy sector, will be prepared to tackle current and future environmental and societal challenges. EBU graduates will be able to analyze and consider the dynamics in industry, research and society for the development and implementation of innovations along biobased value chains, novel biobased products and new business models to drive the transition towards a circular and sustainable bioeconomy.
With this project, we aimed to develop, implement, and test new formats for Bioeconomy education by connecting experiences and expertise from the six partner universities and integrating the skills, competencies, and expertise into existing master curricula needed for the professionals and systems changers of the bioeconomy transition. Specifically, this strategic partnership aimed to develop a joint bioeconomy qualification certificate for master students of the six EBU universities to signalize and ensure a joint educational strategy with a specific focus on inter-and transdisciplinarity, cross-sectoral collaboration, problem-solving, sustainability competences and soft-skills development. To achieve this, we wanted to develop a hybrid and interdisciplinary European-bioeconomy course that could serve as a model for institutions approaching and creating interdisciplinary study programs. This course (EBU Student Journey) aimed to be built based on each partner's expertise on bioeconomy topics and to be developed in such a way that serve as a connecting platform where students learn from different perspectives, expand their knowledge, and develop relevant soft skills.
A transition towards a sustainable and knowledge-based bioeconomy could contribute to tackling some socio-ecological challenges by adopting novel production methods based on biological resources respecting the planetary boundaries. For this purpose, the successful integration of different scientific areas in an interdisciplinary approach is essential. The sustainable implementation of the bioeconomy requires changes and actions beyond technological innovations and economic aspects by transforming production and consumption models, governance approaches, and the embeddedness of these in society. The transition towards a bioeconomy is a priority in policy and research agendas and a key economic, social, and environmental challenge for the European Union. Given the crucial role of science in the bioeconomy, a key strategy comprises educating a new generation of European experts, fostering rigorous, relevant, and responsible research, and transferring knowledge into society. Being one of the pillars of the European Bioeconomy University (EBU) strategy, the education, we wanted with this project to create a model for a joint certification scheme and a model and prototype for an interdisciplinary European-bioeconomy course.