Over the past 5 years the Industry 4.0 revolution managed to rapidly transform all major industrial sectors, including the agricultural domain. At the pinnacle of this revolution the Internet of Things (IoT), providing a network of physical “smart” interconnected devices that exchange & process data without (or with minimal) human intervention. The availability & affordability of this new technology allowed the development of a range of services from new data fusion analytic tools to the development of advance networking systems. The masTERs course on smArt Agriculture TECHnologies (TERRATECH) project aims to develop an advanced interactive MSc course related to Agriculture IoT Engineering that will train individuals with the necessary skills & knowledge to work in the rising “Smart Agriculture” industry. The course is also formulated to stimulate transversal competences such as the increased sense of initiative & entrepreneurship. The course is designed to follow the European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System (ECTS) credit standards for certification recognition across the EU.The novel curriculum consists of interactive teaching methods & partnerships with expert academic & agricultural organizations in order to give to the students a solid background for starting a fruitful career in the industry.
TERRATECH main goal was to co-develop and implement an innovative MSc Curriculum on Smart Agriculture Technologies, integrating multidisciplinary contents, interactive teaching methods, and partnerships with educational, industrial, and farmers organizations, giving students a solid background and skills for starting a fruitful career in the agri-food sector embracing new technologies and their benefits and driving to lead local communities towards more innovative and sustainable practices.
The transition to sustainable production systems relies on the use of technology at different levels: data acquisition, IOT platforms for connectivity, data storage, artificial intelligence etc. A future generation of farmers technologically upskilled is necessary. Under the scope of ERASMUS KA2 objectives and to tackle European Agriculture Digitalization targets, innovative educational transnational approaches are necessary, It was under this scope that the TERRATECH project was conceptualized.
<< Background >> The transition to sustainable production systems relies on the use of technology at different levels: data acquisition, IOT platforms for connectivity, data storage, artificial intelligence etc. A future generation of farmers technologically upskilled is necessary. Under the scope of ERASMUS KA2 objectives and to tackle European Agriculture Digitalization targets, innovative educational transnational approaches are necessary, It was under this scope that the TERRATECH project was conceptualized. << Objectives >> TERRATECH main goal was to co-develop and implement an innovative MSc Curriculum on Smart Agriculture Technologies, integrating multidisciplinary contents, interactive teaching methods, and partnerships with educational, industrial, and farmers organizations, giving students a solid background and skills for starting a fruitful career in the agri-food sector embracing new technologies and their benefits and driving to lead local communities towards more innovative and sustainable practices. << Implementation >> A MSc course (60 ECTs) on Smart Agriculture Technologies, was launched, whose curriculum included 27 courses offered by 6 universities, distributed in 2 semesters, and 3 mobility periods between the 2 hosting universities (2) and 1-month internship at the SMEs and Farmers Associations partners of the project. A TERRATECH e-Learning platform, based on the open-source Moodle platform, was developed (https://terratech.ea.consulting/) ensuring a great interactivity within the teaching process. << Results >> 22 deliverables were produced, along with 13 milestone reports. One MSc Course curriculum was delivered and piloted. The pilot edition of the developed MSc course received 71 applications, from candidates from 22 countries. 100% of enrolled students (18) achieved a passing grade in all the courses. 95% secured a high score average (≥7). Terratech dissemination achieved 20,000 people and generated 85,000 interactions. Partners were responsible for 50 presentations/publications.