The project aims at building the capacities of higher education institutions in Western Balkans countries, in order to help them offer curricula aligned with the needs of the labour market and society. The objective of the project is the development and the implementation of a new Joint MSc programme on “Sustainable Food Production Systems” (STEPS), which will be linked with the national - and regional - priorities of the countries involved.The scope of the preparatory tasks is to analyse the needs of stakeholders, the structure and the content of relevant MSc programmes at national, European and international level, and identify and analyse “best practices” on the links of education with the world of work, national strategies and rural societies. The objective is to meet stakeholders’ needs through the development of scientific background and competencies of graduates. The STEPS programme will be a blend of courses on engineering, management, economic and social sciences, structured according to the Bologna convention. Courses will be designed and developed based on modern educational methodologies and ICT tools. Seminars will be organised for transferring and exchanging knowledge between peers, aiming at improving the quality of education offered by HEIs and also, their capacity to innovate and increase their participation in European and international projects. The joint degree programme will be applied for accreditation in the national authorities and agencies. The programme will be delivered, monitored and evaluated, based on standards and guidelines of the European Higher Education Area. A dissemination campaign will focus on raising the awareness of project results and exploitation tasks will be devoted to ensure their sustainability after the project lifetime. Coherent management with transparent processes and responsibilities clear decision-making and conflict resolution procedures will ensure the successive implementation of the project.
Main objective is the implementation of a "MSc program on Sustainable food production systems" compliant with Bologna convention. Food cultures and sociology, agriculture and rural development, food engineering, quality and safety, environment, management/governance will be combined in a flexible and modular educational program, designed/developed in the light of the European initiative for the transition to circular economy. PC HEIs will provide an education aligned to the needs of labor market
Sustainable food production systems are the focus of SDGs and offer opportunities for economic benefits/jobs creation. Transition towards them is based on interventions at all levels. WBC are facing challenges in agricultural production and rural development, linked to regional/global issues, whose call for cooperative actions. STEPS project aimed developing of a MSC in: Sustainable Food Production Systems, offering advanced knowledge the graduates to contribute on the transition of food systems
<< Background >> Sustainable food production systems are the focus of SDGs and offer opportunities for economic benefits/jobs creation. Transition towards them is based on interventions at all levels. WBC are facing challenges in agricultural production and rural development, linked to regional/global issues, whose call for cooperative actions. STEPS project aimed developing of a MSC in: Sustainable Food Production Systems, offering advanced knowledge the graduates to contribute on the transition of food systems << Objectives >> Main objective is the implementation of a "MSc program on Sustainable food production systems" compliant with Bologna convention. Food cultures and sociology, agriculture and rural development, food engineering, quality and safety, environment, management/governance will be combined in a flexible and modular educational program, designed/developed in the light of the European initiative for the transition to circular economy. PC HEIs will provide an education aligned to the needs of labor market << Implementation >> Work plan was organized in 10 WPs: Connection of MSc program with the world work, social, economic/environment issues; Structure-courses design; Professional development of teaching staff; STEPS development; Infrastructure development, LMS platform with open source utilities, customized tools to upload/harmonize the STEPS courses teaching material; Application for licensing/accreditation, STEPS program delivery, Quality plan/evaluation of project progress, Dissemination/Exploitation, Management << Results >> 39 Reports present all results linked to: assessment on stakeholders’ needs, Selection of MSc program best practices, stakeholder’s input mechanisms; STEPS structure-courses design, training needs-improvement teaching staff capacity; LMS platform, education materials digitization, teaching learning environment, research labs, Experiments/simulations, training materials, licensing/accreditation of STEPS MSc program, quality plan, internal/external evaluation, workshops, dissemination strategy etc