USAGE-NG
Up-skilling Agricultural Engineering – Next Generation in Europe and Abroad (Erasmus +)
In cooperation with the Institute of Agricultural Engineering.
About USAGE-NG
Countries worldwide are exposed to climatic changes and need to adapt to a changing environment. Agriculture is the most exposed economic sector to shifting environmental patterns with cascade effects on ecosystems, food security and rural societies. Under these conditions, producing high-quality, healthy and sustainable food and agar products is increasingly difficult. In order to help farmers in Europe and elsewhere to adapt to environmental transformations, the project USAGE-NG works on educational offers to upgrade and upskill farm students on smart farming solutions. The digitalization of agriculture is considered fundamental to prepare farmers for coping with environmental changes.
There is certainly high demand of the agri-food industry for digital solutions throughout the production and processing of products. However, upgrading and upskilling also applies to small and medium farmers. Evermore, as smart farming technologies indicate better protection of natural resources, less energy consumption and reduction of the required labour force. Small and medium sized farms are playing an important role in Central Europe, especially in mountainous and hilly countries like Germany, Austria and Italy.
Project Goals
USAGE-NG aims to empower all kinds of farming students to use digital agricultural technologies to monitor, quantify and mitigate the impacts of climate change on their individual farms.
The aim of this project is to produce a comparative analysis on diverse international learning opportunities for all university students, to design effective outreach strategies for small and medium farming systems in rural areas and to build on the above outlined network components.
USAGE -NG will create modules on a modular system consisting of micro-credentials based on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) and follow the requirements of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). Micro-credentials will be designed to support flexible learning pathways, including the possibility to combine, validate and recognize micro-credentials from different systems.