Geography of Food Summer School ...
109
2 The Geography of Food Education Programme
2.1 Background and Goals
The programme was initiated by researchers and lecturers of the Zurich University of
Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL)
with the idea of developing a new international summer school in the area of sustainable food systems for students of the ZHAW’s Environmental Engineering Bachelor
degree. With the goal for international exchange during the summer school, further
partners were sought and found with the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia and the
University of Agricultural Sciences Bangalore (UASB) in India. Both universities
were interested in participating in the programme and offering participation in the
summer school to their students.
The programme was designed with the fundamental objective to provide young
researchers and future decision-makers in politics, business and society with
specialist skills in ‘designing food value chains to foster the Agenda 2030’, but
also to enable them to change perspectives and to work together interculturally. To
achieve these objectives, the following key elements of the new programme were
identified:
1. Provide students with fundamental knowledge about sustainability in the food
system and the relevance of FVCs in the context of the SDGs.
2. Provide students with international exchanges that enhance their ability to
understand global challenges in different local contexts.
3. Offer hands-on possibilities to both learn about and solve sustainability issues in
real FVCs.
4. Initiate and reflect on intercultural and interdisciplinary teamwork.
5. Involve practitioners and other stakeholders from the food system.
6. Offer free educational resources that can reach and educate a wider public.
With the jointly developed concept, the Mercator Foundation Switzerland was
successfully approached for financial support. This did not only allow for the new
course to be developed and offered, but also for the provision of full scholarships for
students to participate in the programme. The concept was designed and funded for
a three-year period from 2017 to 2019.
2.2 Educational Concept
The thematic focus and title of the Geography of Food programme from 2017 to 2019
was ‘Designing Sustainable Food Value Chains to foster the Agenda 2030’. This
focus was approached from different perspectives, including economic, ecological
and social aspects, using the SDGs as guiding principles.
The course was designed with three closely interlinked and mutually reinforcing
phases:
109
2 The Geography of Food Education Programme
2.1 Background and Goals
The programme was initiated by researchers and lecturers of the Zurich University of
Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL)
with the idea of developing a new international summer school in the area of sustainable food systems for students of the ZHAW’s Environmental Engineering Bachelor
degree. With the goal for international exchange during the summer school, further
partners were sought and found with the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia and the
University of Agricultural Sciences Bangalore (UASB) in India. Both universities
were interested in participating in the programme and offering participation in the
summer school to their students.
The programme was designed with the fundamental objective to provide young
researchers and future decision-makers in politics, business and society with
specialist skills in ‘designing food value chains to foster the Agenda 2030’, but
also to enable them to change perspectives and to work together interculturally. To
achieve these objectives, the following key elements of the new programme were
identified:
1. Provide students with fundamental knowledge about sustainability in the food
system and the relevance of FVCs in the context of the SDGs.
2. Provide students with international exchanges that enhance their ability to
understand global challenges in different local contexts.
3. Offer hands-on possibilities to both learn about and solve sustainability issues in
real FVCs.
4. Initiate and reflect on intercultural and interdisciplinary teamwork.
5. Involve practitioners and other stakeholders from the food system.
6. Offer free educational resources that can reach and educate a wider public.
With the jointly developed concept, the Mercator Foundation Switzerland was
successfully approached for financial support. This did not only allow for the new
course to be developed and offered, but also for the provision of full scholarships for
students to participate in the programme. The concept was designed and funded for
a three-year period from 2017 to 2019.
2.2 Educational Concept
The thematic focus and title of the Geography of Food programme from 2017 to 2019
was ‘Designing Sustainable Food Value Chains to foster the Agenda 2030’. This
focus was approached from different perspectives, including economic, ecological
and social aspects, using the SDGs as guiding principles.
The course was designed with three closely interlinked and mutually reinforcing
phases: