Dipartimento Unibo coinvolto: Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences
Partner:
- Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica – COSTARICA
- Universidad ISA - REPUBBLICA DOMINICANA
- Ministero dell’Agricoltura - REPUBBLICA DOMINICANA
- Universidad Nacional Del Litoral - Santa Fe – ARGENTINA
- IILA – Istituto Italo-Latino Americano – ITALIA (Organizzazione Internazionale)
Obiettivo:
The overall objective of the project is not to simply allow exchange visits, but to establish standing connections useful for students and research staff, in the framework of an innovative teaching scenario and to promote collaborative research activities.
The herein developed valorisation laboratory, widely diffused and established in all the venues involved in the project, will have the characteristics of a living laboratory in which all the related activities will be promoted and shared through an effective networking action.
Under these premises, the laboratory wants to:
- foster exchange activities between the research organizations involved both at the level of students and of teaching and research staff;
- encourage the development of master's and doctoral theses on the topics of reduction,
- management and valorisation of food losses and waste;
- facilitate technology transfer of knowledge, focused on valorisation of specific food losses and waste;
- propose new scenarios of industrial symbiosis to be in-twin reproduced;
- adopt innovative teaching strategies through dynamic modalities by sharing the delivery solutions adopted (e.g. lectures, face-to-face and remote exercises)
Budget: 20.000 €
Perché collaborare con l'università coinvolta nel progetto può essere significativo per Unibo?
This project proposal is an opportunity for DISTAL and the University of Bologna to consolidate some long-term collaborations/relations with Latin America Universities and Institutions and establish some new ones through a multidisciplinary and integrated educational approach based on the creation of a permanent virtual laboratory, a summer school, the exchange of MSc and PhD students and teaching /research staff with complementary expertise.
The specific topic of the project idea is the reduction, management and valorisation of food losses, waste, co- and by-products which is consistent with the objectives and policies set at national and international level being in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, identified by the United Nations, with particular reference to the objectives zero hunger, responsible consumption and production and quality education.
Overall, the project will:
- Promote the internationalisation and visibility of DISTAL in Latin America.
- Offer students from Italy, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Argentina the opportunity to test their knowledge and competences in an international environment.
- Create a permanent virtual lab as an educational environment for the development of MSc and PhD thesis focused on innovative solutions to specific challenges and issues on the reduction, management and valorisation of food losses, waste, co- and by-products . The participation of ILA will guarantee the sustainability of the virtual lab even after the end of the project thanks to its proactive role in promoting and strengthening relationships between Italy and Latin America.
An innovative aspect of this project is related to the creation of the virtual lab where students can develop a research project with a multidisciplinary approach thanks to the mentoring of researchers with complementary fields of expertise, and the involvement of different public and private actors through a co-creation process. This is an opportunity to improve the quality and the impact of the didactic programmes, facilitate acquisition of knowledge and promote scientific thinking through a problem-solving approach, which are necessary to better cope with current and future global challenges.
Moreover, the possibility for the best students to visit food companies and directly interact with relevant stakeholders will favour the development of new collaborations also with relevant public authorities and with local and international enterprises.
While strengthening relationships among the partners of the project, the permanent living lab can become a reference innovation centre for international high qualification teaching and research staff, and private and public stakeholders to respond to specific local needs and challenges. This will in turn promote strategic collaborations and participation in scientific networks, national and international research projects on the reduction, management and valorisation of food losses and waste, and favour the extension of the educational and mobility activities to other universities interested in such thematic area or participation to joint proposal within other programmes, e.g. Capacity Building in the field of Higher Education within the Erasmus+ programme (2021-2027).
Principali risultati raggiunti/attesi
In general terms the expected results of the LatinLAB project aim at contributing to the achievement of the targets of the new Internationalization strategy of the University of Bologna that is based on the recognition and enhancement of the disciplinary variety and the ability to network with foreign universities and is also summarized in the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education 2021-2027. The medium-term strategy identifies a list of activities and targets, which are strictly correlated with the objectives of this project such as:
- Learning Mobility for study and placement;
- Teaching and technical staff mobility;
- Mobility windows: development of study programmes containing mobility windows open to a wide range of activities abroad aimed to the achievement of well-defined learning outcomes;
- Joint Programmes and Programmes with enhanced International outlook at BA, MA, PhD level;
- Development of innovative multilateral projects.
The LatinLAB project represents the opportunity to integrate and scale up the activities and the results of other initiatives. Some of these activities suffers from financial constraints due to the limited availability of overseas funding opportunities.