The project aims to enhance the professional profile of African VET teachers and trainers in the field of agriculture and rural development by offering online, face-to-face and work-based learning opportunities.
In order to do so, SEED4AFRICA will support the establishment of an international network of VET – Vocational Education and Training – providers in 3 different countries (Italy, Belgium and Spain) and 5 Sub-Saharan countries (Niger, Benin, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa) with the potential to furtherly extend within the EU, as well as in the whole southern African region.
Project activities will promote the enhancement of VET quality and attractiveness, with a specific focus on smart, digital and sustainable farming, in particular by:
1. Adapting and transferring the results of 3 good practices financed by the Erasmus+ programme for the design of innovative training approaches and materials in agricultural education, namely:
o SEED – Smart Entrepreneurial Education and training in Digital farming, which has developed a joint digital farming curriculum for the training of Digital Transformation Agents in Agriculture, mapped both of DigComp and EntreComp framework of the European Commission.
o PONICS VET – Hydroponics Agricultural Technician that offers a guide for VET teachers and trainers who want to specialize on Controlled Environment Agriculture methods and technologies, as well as an e-learning short course on sustainable agriculture techniques and innovation for rural and semi-urban farmers.
o LiveAdapt – Solutions for the adaptation of Extensive Livestock to Climate Change, a LIFE project that has supported the development of a flexible training plan consisting of several modules, that allows extensive livestock stakeholders to compose their own training program, according to their concerns and level.
2. Enhancing communication and cooperation among VET providers, at local and international level, exchanging good practices, initiatives and tools, also with the organization of job shadowing and technical visits for African VET teachers and technical staff in the schools of the ENNE National Networks represented in the project;
3. Innovating the provision of VET programmes encouraging the collaboration between educational institutions, public authorities and private companies, especially through the conduction of contest based initiatives, such as hackathons and innovation bootcamps, where mixed teams of VET students and Agriculture stakeholders will co-design digital and entrepreneurial solutions for societal challenges linked to the Sustainable Development Goals of the Agenda 2030.
SEED4AFRICA will have a duration of 36 months, from September 2022 until August 2025, and it will create the conditions to create a new sustainable cooperation among VET schools from different countries in order to create long term synergies to enhance VET attractiveness. For more information, please contact info@seed4africa.eu
