RIS Inspire – HealthySoil4Life
| Study location | Online |
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| Type | Inspire, e-learning |
| Nominal duration | 10 days |
| Study language | English |
| Application fee | €60.50 one-time Waivers may apply. If you wish to know more contact ana.silva@food4sustainability.org or margarida.palma@food4sustainability.org Including VAT. |
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| Entry qualification | Undergraduate diploma (or higher) |
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| Territory requirements | Applications are accepted from the following territories (based on citizenship): Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, French Guiana, Greece, Guadeloupe, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Martinique, Mayotte, Montenegro, Northern America, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Réunion, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, St Martin, Türkiye, Ukraine. |
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| Language requirements | English Good communication in English, both written and spoken |
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| More information |
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Overview
Over a period of 3 weeks, the programme provides you a dynamic and supportive environment for you to develop your knowledge on soil health, soil microbiology, eco-friendly farming practices towards sustainable and climate farming agriculture while contributing to business creation on food wealth.
Programme structure
During the 3 weeks, the programme will take place online with a combination of asynchronous and learning resources and live (synchronous) interactive virtual sessions:
Module 1: What is soil health?
Introduction to the challenges in soil health, sustainable agriculture and bio-based fertilizers.
- Importance of Soil in the Global Food System
- Soil formation, functions and threats – the Physical & Chemical properties
- Why is soil a dynamic entity?
A) Leveraging soil web biodiversity for sustainable agriculture
B) What are nematodes and what can they do for sustainable agriculture? - The role of microbes in nutrient cycling, plant growth and food production
A) Micorrhizal – Unlocking the secret ingredient: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi management for tomato, maize, and vine farming success.
B) Rhizobium – what can they do for carbon and nitrogen cycles? - NextGen of bio-based enhancers:
A) PGPB (plant growth promoting bacteria) – From soil health to crop yield: the potential application of biofertilizers.
B) Biocontrol. What is it and how it can be used?
Module 2: The Soil, how to look after it?
- Sustainable soil practices: Farming smarter, not harder: reducing inputs and boosting the farm’s bottom line.
- What is vermicomposting and I can it be of assistance to farmers?
- Climate change and soil conservation
A) K-lines
B) Desertification
Module 3: Tools to assess soil health?
The state of the art for soil health assessment.
- Soil health assessment: quantitative tools. Conventional and Next generation Sequencing (NGS) and enzymatic analyses
- Soil health assessment: hands on. Microbes know no boundaries: case studies of microbiome diversity across regions.
- Soil health assessment: hands on. Startups landscape on soil monitoring
Entrepreneurial learning will be transversal to all school modules. Please see the full agenda for more detailed information.
Monday 29th July –1st August (By invitation only)
Eco-Week in the village of Penha Garcia (Portugal) in the GeoPark awarded by UNESCO
Introduction of the Entrepreneurial Week; Presentation of case studies and major challenges; Sustainable Business Models, Pitch design and training; On-site visits
Subjects: Microbiome; Biocontrol; Biofertilizers; Mycorrhizae; Soil Health & Nutrition; Applied Cases; Develop your business
Price €50 for the full course (Waivers may apply)
ECTS: ECTS apply. Please contact the program manager for more details
Career opportunities
Training in entrepreneurship on Soil Health and sustainable practices for the agrifood sector you can create career opportunities as a university student, early career researcher or as young entrepreneur:
- By completing your plan of studies in agronomy, biology, and related fields.
- Through the creation of start-ups based on the ideas developed during the summer school programme.
- By boosting your chances of being employed by start-ups, SME´s and bigger companies across the sustainable food system.
- By improving your chances of being employed in local, national, and international activities in administration, teaching and training.
- By improving your chances of being employed by NGOs and media companies.