The main objective of the project was to develop an innovative, trans-disciplinary educational approach, combining academic knowledge and local actors’ experience in a real-world setting, to build a professional figure able to address in a multidisciplinary way the sustainable management of European pastoral systems. Specific project objectives were: i) defining shared guidelines and strategies for sustainable management of grasslands and farming valorisation; ii) defining teaching methods and strategies for stakeholder engagement in the teaching/learning process; iii) transferring knowledge to HE students on the complexity of grasslands management, including planning sustainable productive chains based on high-quality products, and the management of bottom-up processes. These objectives did not change during project implementation.
The project was designed to tackle dry grasslands conservation in Europe, in the face of climate change and of the current decline of pastoralism in the EU, which especially affected mountain areas, causing depopulation and impoverishment. The Consortium was aware of the urgency and necessity of defining a sustainable and participatory grasslands management strategy, striking a balance between the need of preserving one of the most biodiversity-rich ecosystems in Europe (a major goal in EU policies) and the cultural heritage linked to pastoralism, and the needs related to animal welfare, quality of products and incomes, and climate change adaptation. The Consortium was also well aware of the complexity of the task, which required an integrated approach and multidisciplinary skills that were lacking, when the project was drafted, both among local actors and in HE. In particular, HE suffered from a gap between academic theory and its real-life applications, which the project aimed to fill by fostering collaboration and exchange between HE teachers/students, and local stakeholders, so to enable HEIs and students to have a stronger impact on grasslands management practices, and increase graduates’ employability in the sector.