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Agrobiodiversity Summer School 2022 – Application open now

Photo of two hands holding a pile of earth and buttons with keywords for the Summer School.

Click the picture for further information. (Photo: ZHAW)

 A group of young people listen to three speakers on an alpine meadow.

Agrobiodiversity Summer School 2021: The excursion to Schamserberg offered the students an insight into the management and biological value of alpine meadows. (Photo: FiBL, Mirjam Schleiffer)

Ecology and innovation in an international context: The Agrobiodiversity Summer School 2022 for students from all over the world takes place in Spain. The ten-day course aims to show approaches to sustainable, diverse agriculture and food production. It is organised by FiBL Switzerland, ZHAW (Zurich University of Applied Sciences) and Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain – supported by the Mercator Foundation. Applications are being accepted now.

Are you interested in agrobiodiversity and learning about resilient food systems with other young people? During the Agrobiodiversity Summer School 2022, you will learn about various perspectives on agrobiodiversity and its contribution to the sustainability and resilience of food systems. In small groups of international students and experts, you will have the chance to deeply investigate the opportunities and challenges of the existing local production systems and food supply chains and how they are connected to agrobiodiversity. Together with local stakeholders, you will develop strategies and solutions for addressing their challenges through different aspects of agrobiodiversity. The program also offers you an opportunity to improve your intercultural competencies and work in an international and interdisciplinary context.

Tangible agriculture

The example of the past Agrobiodiversity Summer School, which took place in Switzerland in 2021, shows what this could look like: 23 students who had travelled from various countries in Europe, South America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia got to know the framework conditions of the Graubünden mountain agriculture, as well as different approaches to agrobiodiverse food production on various excursions. The cooperatively organised Alp Curtignatsch included the innovative organic saffron-farmer in Arezen, the passionate cheese production in Andeer and the star chef in Lohn – they all made the diverse approaches of the agriculture and food industry tangible.

In addition, the students worked in small groups and exchanged with local actors on seven regional case studies. The creative approaches ranged from the innovative use and marketing of sheep's wool to the vision of a culinary co-working and art hotel in Tenna.

Apply now

The Agrobiodiversity Summer School 2022 takes place in Galicia, Spain, from August 31st to September 10th, 2022. Apply now until February 6th, 2022. The Summer School is mainly directed to students enrolled in a Master program related to agricultural science, environment, food technologies and processing, rural development, sustainability assessment or associated topics. It is organised by ZHAW IUNR, FiBL Switzerland and Universidad de Santiago de Compostela.

Further information

Contact

Link

zhaw.ch: Further information of the Agrobiodiversity Summer School 2022 and to the application form