Archives for Erasmus+

Cultivating Tomorrow’s Agriculture: The AgriSkills Journey

AgriSkills meetings and multiplier events

Let’s begin with an inspiring quote from the Japanese art critic Okakura Kakuzo: “The art of life is a constant re-adjustment to our surroundings.” We can adapt this inspiring saying to agriculture as: “The art of agriculture is a constant re-adjustment to emerging trends” like Precision Agriculture, IoT, Vertical Farming, Data Analytics, and many others. This idea embodies the essence of change, which is key to achieving better results.

In the ever-evolving landscape of agriculture, it is of utmost importance to stay ahead of demands not through traditional farming knowledge, but also with proficiency in digital innovation and entrepreneurial skills. We are excited to share with you the latest updates and accomplishments of the AgriSkills project, a transformative initiative launched in 2022 and funded by the European Erasmus+ Program. Our mission is to support rural development by fostering awareness and equipping farmers with the necessary skills for digital, smart, and precision farming.

As we near the conclusion of our project, we are excited to proudly share our results with you.

We created the AgriSkills Training Course

AgriSkills Training Course

At the heart of this groundbreaking endeavor lies the AgriSkills Training Course, a comprehensive curriculum crafted to address crucial gaps in the skills needed by farmers and the evolving demands of modern agriculture. This program goes beyond conventional farming techniques, diving into the realms of new digital technologies in agriculture, entrepreneurial skills, and sustainable practices. By bridging the gap between traditional knowledge and cutting-edge advancements, the AgriSkills Training Course ensures that participants are equipped to thrive in a rapidly changing agricultural landscape.

The AgriSkills Training Course is designed as a “guided tour” through the vast realm of digital opportunities in agriculture. It is available in English, German, Greek, Slovenian, Macedonian. The course consists of five comprehensive modules, tailored to address the needs identified through our initial survey: “Uncovering Essential Skills for Adopting Digital Technologies in Agriculture.”

We collected 45+ Good Practices

AgriSkills reference catalogue

Learn from real-world examples, discover good practices, and gain insights that can shape your own journey towards excellence in the digital realm of agriculture. Within our consortium, we’ve meticulously collected 47 good practices, all harmonized within a specialized reference catalogue titled the “AgriSkills Guidebook on Digitalization in Agriculture.” This catalogue serves as an indispensable complement to our training course, offering firsthand glimpses into the innovative strides made by real farms and agricultural organizations. Furthermore, the catalogue showcases innovative technologies for small and big farms and agronomic services. All good practices are thoughtfully organized based on their areas of application, presenting a diverse array of use cases that illustrate their impact across the agricultural value chain.

Moreover, the guidebook offers insightful insights into the current agricultural landscapes of Germany, North Macedonia, Greece, Slovenia, and Austria. By diving into the unique challenges and opportunities present in each region, it provides a roadmap for cultivating the essential skills necessary for fostering faster and more sustainable development.

The feedback from stakeholders speaks volumes: “We’ve long awaited such a practical source of information,” and “This guidebook has proven indispensable, offering much-needed guidance.”

We launched the AgriSkills 4.0 e-Learning Platform and mobile app

AgriSkills 4.0 e-Learning Platform: https://training.agriskills40.com/

Through AgriSkills 4.0 e-Learning Platform participants gain access to all resources created in the project. It is another key factor in the success of the project.

Whether learning about skills in precision farming or exploring the potential of agro-technical solutions, learners can do so at their own pace and convenience, removing barriers to education and fostering a culture of continuous learning.

One of the key strengths of the AgriSkills 4.0 e-Learning Platform is its adaptability and scalability. Built with a user-centric approach, the platform caters to diverse learning styles and preferences, ensuring that every participant receives a personalized and enriching educational experience. Additionally, its scalable infrastructure enables seamless integration of new content and modules, keeping the curriculum in line with the latest developments in agricultural technology and practices.

In its interactive database of good practices searchable by various criteria, learners can access only those that pique their interest.

All AgriSkills outcomes are freely available for use by anyone under a Creative Commons license. Suitable for self-learning and blended learning, interested vocational education and training (VET) organizations can integrate them into their educational practices, ensuring widespread access to valuable knowledge and skills.

As the agricultural sector continues to embrace digital transformation, initiatives such as AgriSkills play a key role in shaping the future of agriculture. By empowering people with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in a technology-driven environment, AgriSkills isn’t just revolutionizing agriculture – it’s cultivating a new generation of innovative and resilient farmers ready to tackle tomorrow’s challenges head-on.

AgriSkills Mobile App for Android

About AgriSkills

“AgriSkills – Entrepreneurial Skills for Digitalization of Rural Agriculture” is a European project, funded by Erasmus+ Program. Our objective is to raise awareness about the digital transformation in agriculture and to provide a training program for entrepreneurial skills in digital, precision, and smart farming.

The AgriSkills consortium brings extensive experience in business development, vocational training, digital technologies, innovation management, and regional development.

The AgriSkills outcomes stimulate awareness, knowledge, and skills of learners and trainers in the field on the issues of digitalization and digital farming.

  • Initial Survey, titled “Survey Findings: Uncovering Essential Skills for Adopting Digital Technologies in Agriculture” is a study of the needs for the development of upskilling knowledge and competences useful for the adoption of digital technologies in agricultural production and management. The survey was conducted in five European countries: Germany, North Macedonia, Greece, Slovenia, and Austria. Link: https://agriskills40.com/goals-results/need-analysis-survey-findings/.
  • The AgriSkills Training Course developed as a ‘guided tour’ through the entire range of digital opportunities in agriculture, introduces the needed skills and competences implemented into a complete training. Link: https://training.agriskills40.com/training/.
  • AgriSkills reference catalogue, titled “AgriSkills Guidebook on Digitalization in Agriculture” promotes inspiring initiatives, good practices, and use cases with a special focus on fostering business development, thus making innovation happen in agriculture, especially in rural areas. Link: https://training.agriskills40.com/catalogue/.
  • The AgriSkills 4.0 e-Learning Platform serves as a virtual environment for interactive online courses, representing a completely new approach to understanding digital agriculture. Link: https://training.agriskills40.com.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. 

Project number: 2021-1-DE02-KA220-VET-000034651

All AgriSkills Intellectual Outputs are Open Educational Resources.

Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share-Alike 4.0 International License

Bridging Agriculture and Technology: AgriSkills Project Presents 47 Good practices showcased in a Reference Catalogue

Learn from real-world examples, discover good practices, and gain insights that can shape your own journey towards excellence in the digital realm of agriculture. Within our consortium, we’ve meticulously collected 47 good practices, all harmonized within a specialized reference catalogue titled the “AgriSkills Guidebook on Digitalization in Agriculture.”

This catalogue serves as an indispensable complement to our training course, offering firsthand glimpses into the innovative approaches made by real farms and agricultural organizations. Furthermore, the catalogue showcases innovative technologies for small and big farms and agronomic services. All good practices are thoughtfully organized based on their areas of application, presenting a diverse array of use cases that illustrate their impact across the agricultural value chain.

Moreover, the guidebook offers insightful insights into the current agricultural landscapes of Germany, North Macedonia, Greece, Slovenia, and Austria. By diving into the unique challenges and opportunities present in each region, it provides a roadmap for cultivating the essential skills necessary for fostering faster and more sustainable agricultural development.

The feedback from stakeholders speaks volumes: “We’ve long awaited such a practical source of information,” and “This guidebook has proven indispensable, offering much-needed guidance.”

All good practices can also be found on the AgriSkills 4.0 eLearning Platform. The “Good Practices” section is organized as an interactive database searchable by various criteria.  You can easily select and access the ones that are of interest to you. Each good practice as well as the reference catalogue can be downloaded as a PDF file to your own computer for convenient reference. Access the platform here: https://training.agriskills40.com/, and let the journey begin!

Join us in this transformative educational experience and embrace the opportunities that Digital Agriculture presents.

About AgriSkills

“AgriSkills – Entrepreneurial Skills for Digitalization of Rural Agriculture”is a European project, funded by Erasmus+ Program. Our objective is to raise awareness about the digital transformation in agriculture and to provide a training program for entrepreneurial skills in digital, smart and precision farming.

The AgriSkills consortiumbrings extensive experience in business development, vocational training, digital technologies, innovation management, and regional development.

The AgriSkills outcomes stimulate awareness, knowledge, and skills of learners and trainers in the field on the issues of digitalization and digital farming.

The initial survey, titled “Uncovering Essential Skills for Adopting Digital Technologies in Agriculture” (https://agriskills40.com/goals-results/need-analysis-survey-findings/) is a study of the needs for the development of upskilling knowledge and competences useful for the adoption of digital technologies in agricultural production and management. The survey was conducted in five European countries: Germany, North Macedonia, Greece, Slovenia, and Austria.

AgriSkills Training Course (https://training.agriskills40.com/training/), developed as a ‘guided tour’ through the entire range of digital opportunities in agriculture, introduces the needed skills and competences implemented into a complete training.

AgriSkills reference catalogue,  titled “AgriSkills Guidebook on Digitalization in Agriculture” (https://training.agriskills40.com/catalogue/), promotes inspiring initiatives, good practices, and use cases with a special focus on fostering business development, thus making innovation happen in agriculture, especially in rural areas.

AgriSkills 4.0 e-Learning Platform (https://training.agriskills40.com) serves as a virtual environment for interactive online courses, representing a completely new approach to understanding digital agriculture.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. 

Project number: 2021-1-DE02-KA220-VET-000034651

All AgriSkills Intellectual Outputs are Open Educational Resources.

Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share-Alike 4.0 International License

Digital Nomads and Youth Work – Impulses for Regional Development

For many years, rural areas and smaller towns in the Odenwald have seen an outflow of young people and an increasing aging of the population. This leads to stagnation in regional development, social inequality, economic challenges and inadequate use of public infrastructure. Particularly since the economic crisis of 2008, migration has increased throughout the EU, with many young people often moving to larger urban areas in search of better opportunities.

At the same time, the digitalization of jobs and the emergence of new industries, such as digital content creation , digital marketing, etc., ushered in another trend: the possibility of remote work. This trend has continued to increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. The phenomenon of “digital nomadism” has also emerged, where thanks to modern technology, young freelancers can work from anywhere in the world and have the freedom to choose between different locations.

Since rural communities are often characterized by strong social connections, they could prove to be an ideal place for (digital) work and the life of digital nomads. Qualified youth work could therefore have positive effects for both digital nomads and local youth. Developing new opportunities for young people in the Odenwald will then help to stop migration and promote the growth and development of the region.

Are you interested in how digitalization and the settlement of young creative people can provide positive impulses for regional development in the Odenwald, e.g. in tourism? Are you looking for ideas to redesign “living in the country”?

Then we cordially invite you to take part in our discussion forum “Digitization – Mobility – Tourism: Regional Development in the Odenwald” on November 28th, 2023 in Waschenbach. The aim of this compact event is to show how developing new opportunities for young people in the Odenwald can help stop migration and promote the growth and development of the region.

Take advantage of the opportunity to learn about good practice examples and to openly discuss this topic with the speakers.

Address: Waschenbach community center, Maiacker 8, 64367 Mühltal

The event is free. Drinks, finger food and networking are provided.

Nomazine – a ticket into the world of digital nomads

Picture: Arctic Coworking Lodge, in Lofoten, Norway

The youth energy, amazing stories and inspiring places are the focus of the Nomazine – a magazine about digital nomads in the countryside. The colourful and youth-friendly magazine brings 11 stories of digital nomads with an insight into their world and places. Prepared by the international European Team from Slovenia, Spain, Germany and Croatia and as a part of the Nomadland Erasmus+ project, the magazine Nomadland is a journey into a modern countryside, combining the best approaches from rural and urban areas!

Rural areas in Europe face both challenges of the outmigration of young people and the increase in the ageing of the population. Day by day, there are fewer job opportunities, and challenges are growing. Although the trend started already before, the COVID-19 pandemic showed us that a countryside is a place for creativity. Due to the digitalisation of jobs and the emergence of new industries, a new trend has begun – an increase in remote work. Many employees began to understand that they could be as successful working from their home garden as in the office.

11 authentic stories of digital nomads

Nat Riley has been an entrepreneur, business coach and digital nomad since 2020. She’s one of 11 digital nomadas, presented in the Nomazine

We asked 11 digital nomads about their first steps into stepping out of their comfort zone and searching for their new home in the countryside. The journey was not easy; many obstacles and challenges were on the way, but benefits prevailed. Nature and rural life make way for an inspirational new start, as Gokulnath, interviewed digital nomad, acknowledged: »Walking in nature daily is a great inspiration and makes me more productive. I even noticed that I achieve better results at work now«. Each story is unique, revealing a part of the modern digital nomads’ world.

Soil, Sea, Ice and fire

“Coliving life, especially rural coliving, is like umami in cooking – many ingredients, colour, sensations, tastes, aftertastes, emotions, passion, laughter, tears, work, fun, relaxation… and all this – in perfect balance.” Katya Dimitrova, founder of Burgas Coliving in Bulgaria

Digital nomads have their stories, but the same applies to places that connect them to the local community and other digital nomads. Many new colivings, retreats and other projects have recently developed around Europe. A former farm has become a centre for makers, and a castle again has become an ideal place for remote work. In Nomazine, 20 unique places in the countryside are presented for the first time – each a hotbed for creative and innovative projects. Exploring interesting places has never been easier – complemented with attracting images, information about its funding and impact, and founders’ quotes. To quickly navigate the sites and their stories, we have sorted them into four groups: Soil, Sea, Ice and Fire.

Understanding sustainability

The Anceu Coliving in Spain has many activities where they also work with the local community

The new trend of digital nomadism is about new sustainable approaches for the countryside. Many digital nomads in Europe have found a new home in former or abandoned mansions, farms or houses. Instead of building new houses and creating an unnecessary carbon footprint, the precious cultural heritage is revitalised and ready for new settlers. Many ambitious and inspiring founders understand what technology and digitalisation can bring to the countryside. As co-founder of Project Bay, Toni Gurski said: “A supposedly structurally weak rural region can become a technology hotspot through the shift to digitalisation and thus lose its image as a purely agricultural and touristic region.” By settling in the countryside, digital nomads bring life, new skills and knowledge and support the local community by buying local food, developing new local projects and making new connections.   

Some coliving places, such as Anceu Coliving or Coconat, support working with the local community by organising unique festivals (Rural Makers, Coconauts programme).

Coliving – when young people return to their roots

Recently, many European rural areas have experienced the ageing of the population. Many young people have moved to the bigger urban areas. Established good practices and stories of digital nomads show us that new and innovative solutions already exist. Colivings are spreading into the rural areas from overcrowded cities.

Based on our survey, also published in the Nomazine, the cost of living is the most important aspect for digital nomads when choosing a place to live, followed by a reliable internet connection and a strong community.

The Nomazine serves as a first step towards the guide for attracting digital nomads in the countryside, which will be published in autumn 2023. It will be aimed at tourism workers, youth workers and other decision-makers interested in bringing the philosophy of digital nomadism to their areas. In May 2023, a training activity will be implemented in Iž, Croatia, which will help us to develop a strategy for attracting young digital nomads to the countryside and improving rural youth work. As recognised in the survey, 90 % of digital nomads would prefer to have a local facilitator to help them settle down in the area. Within the project, we will explore how youth organisations, including youth centres, can make a change by attracting digital nomads to the rural areas.

Explore NOMAZINE!

IMMERSE INTO THE STORIES OF DIGITAL NOMADS

Are you interested, how digital nomads feel about the countryside? Explore 11 stories of digital nomads who found their new home in the countryside! 

LEARN ABOUT NEW APPROACHES FOR THE COUNTRYSIDE

Would you like to find inspiration for your place? Then our magazine Nomazine is a great starting point with 20 selected good practices from  all over Europe!

60+ Good practices and more in “Industry 4.0 Skills”

Good Practices, Interactive Database and a Catalogue with all collected materials free for download

We, the team of the European project “Skills and Competences for Work in Industry 4.0”, funded by the Erasmus + program, are proud to present the results of our work, intended for all stakeholders interested in increasing their knowledge and adapting their skills to the challenges of Industry 4.0.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, as a trend towards automation and data exchange in production technologies, requires a transformation in various basic technologies, processes and organizational changes. This framework serves largely as a guideline for companies and their work teams in their quest to become part of Industry 4.0 with the right technologies and the right skills.

We are ready to inform about more than 60 successful examples of how to make the transition from labor-intensive work to intensive work in an industrial environment, and present to stakeholders (such as trainers in VET and adult education, human resource management, labor market policy experts, industry workers, students and job seekers) good examples of how other organizations have implemented new policies, initiatives, methods, programs and projects to achieve the necessary transformation of skills in their work teams.

We have been working on the topic for two years and now our work on the project is coming to an end. In this regard, we are proud to announce our achievement.

A collection of good practices. More than 60 good practices have been collected as use cases and successful approaches for implementing professional training according to the needs of Industry 4.0. Our focus on people and their skills, as transversal competencies, present many technology use cases that illustrate the changes occurring at the company level and the resulting benefits for both organizations and employees. In addition, three types of technologies are described as examples: enabling technologies, process improvement technologies, and organization improvement technologies.

Catalog “Skills and Competences in Industry 4.0”. Valuable information, together with all good practices, are presented in a special catalog that can be downloaded for free from anywhere in the world. Link https://industryfourzero-skills.eu/best-practices-catalog /.

Database. All good practices can be searched and downloaded separately from our purpose-built electronic platform, position on our website. The database is publicly available here: https://industryfourzero-skills.eu/database/.

Forum. We have created a Facebook page and group as a forum for discussion and various topics. There we promote various materials, educational videos, articles that present opportunities and obstacles that Industry 4.0 brings to businesses and employees.

Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/industry4skills/ .

Our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/industry4skills/

Nomadland in Slovenia

Three-day meeting in Idrija, June 21 – 23, 2022

Idrija, Slovenia

An introductory face-to-face meeting of the Nomadland project partners was held in Idrija and was aimed at reviewing the project work already started in April ’22 and planning future activities.

Additionally, the ID20 hosts had organized an interesting tour of beautiful Idrija and its surroundings. We visited the Giser mining house, emblematic of the region, with interest. We also went to the Zgornja Idrijca Landscape Park and got to know the culinary and other beauties of the Ledin Plateau.

Nomadland is a European project funded by the Erasmus+ program, aimed at a growing group of people who are increasingly imposing a new trend in the way of working and living – these are the digital nomads. They travel the world and can work anywhere as long as they have a computer and a good internet connection. Rural areas have great potential to become a desirable destination for digital nomads and a preferred place to stay and work. On the other hand, in this way a negative trend associated with the outflow of young people from rural areas can be significantly reduced.

That is why the Nomadland project presents a completely new look at the countryside as an entry point for digital nomads and, therefore, the development of young people in the countryside.

Nomadland project is co-financed by the European Commission as part of the Erasmus+ project.

Stay tuned for more from our work in Nomadland.

Nomadland launched

On 12.04.2022, an extremely exciting European project named Nomadland was kicked-off online. The project will tell stories about the young people (millennial and generation Z), about the identity and needs of rural area, about the support and helping each other.

The project is a voyage through different rural areas of Europe, exploring stories of the digital nomads, discovering young people in rural areas, believing in the potential of rural areas between different generations and guiding youth workers on the same path.

© Simona Pilolla

The representatives of all partner organizations in the consortium of four European countries Slovenia, Croatia, Spain and Germany met online in high spirits and good mood. Under the leadership of ID20, our project coordinator from Slovenia, we laid the foundations and distributed our first tasks together.

We, at INI-Novation GmbH, are proud to be part of this great consortium. Stay tuned for more news and information about the project Nomadland.

Web-platform for Blended Learning “CreatINNES Academy”

Hallo! Здравейте! Helló! Здравo! Salut!

Our CreatINNES Project consortium is happy to announce that our web-platform for blended learning called “CreatINNES Academy” is ready. It is created under Erasmus+ Program with the participation of six partner organizations from Germany, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Hungary and France. The coordinator of the work on the development of the web-platform is the team of professionals of our Bulgarian partner Budakov Films EOOD.

What is “CreatINNES Academy”?

The web-platform “CreatINNES Academy” provides effective organization of the learning process and ensures secure access and registration of all users. It contains two training programs: “Entrepreneurship for CCI freelancers and startups” and “Creative Thinking for Innovation”. The training programs have been developed with the participation of all partners from the CreatINNES consortium. Each training program contains 8 modules with very well selected short-burst of information which is clear, concrete and easy to be memorized.

You can enter CreatINNES Academy by following the link: http://moodle.creatinnes.eu .  Create your user profile and start your learning journey.  

The Users of “CreatINNES Academy“

All interested students, organizations and people with activities or professions belonging to the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) ca be trained or can have self-training through the web-platform. Training Program 1 “Entrepreneurship for freelancers and startups” will fulfil their need for knowledge in business development, financing and IPR.  

Also, non-CCI startups and small companies who need more creativity in their working process are welcome. Training program 2 “Creative Thinking for Innovation” is for them.  

Navigation of “CreatINNES Academy”

“CreatINNES Academy” is aesthetically designed to provide easy, free and secure access for every user. The platform is based on the Moodle software package, designed to create web-based educational courses and websites. The “CreatINNES Academy” interface is designed to provide learners with easy-to-use learning materials in six different languages. For many potential users, may be, our training platform will be the first that they will use.

Website: www.creatinnes.eu    Facebook www.facebook.com/CreatINNES  Twitter  #creatinnes

CreatINNES presents the Training Program “Creative Thinking for Innovation”

The first second training program, called “Creative Thinking for Innovation” is aimed at non-CCI digital companies and startups who are facing the need for more creativity in their work.  Innovation is closely linked to creativity, thus, topics such as design thinking, branding, growth hacking, brainstorming and problem solving are covered in 8 modules. The focus is mainly on concept development and creative thinking. All modules are available in six languages: English, German, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Hungarian and French.

All partners of the CreatINNES consortium were involved in the content creation process. They created 26 exercises and 19 good practices to support the learning experience of the students. 

Learners have easy access to the training program. All modules are uploaded on a special training platform for blended learning “CreatINNES Academy”. CreatINNES Academy is an aesthetically designed web platform for providing easy, free and secure access. The platform is based on the Moodle software package, designed to create web-based educational courses and websites. The platform is currently being tested.

Website: www.creatinnes.eu    Facebook www.facebook.com/CreatINNES  Twitter  #creatinnes

CreatINNES presents the Training Program “Entrepreneurship for CCI Freelancers and Startups”

Training program 1 “Entrepreneurship for CC Freelancers and Startups”, CreatINNES project

The first training program, called “Entrepreneurship for CC Freelancers and Startups”, is aimed at freelancers, small companies and start-ups working in the cultural and creative sector. Topics such as business development, visualization, management, business plan, financing, intellectual property rights, digitalization and strategic growth are covered in 8 modules. It is available in six languages: English, German, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Hungarian and French.

All partners of the CreatINNES consortium were involved in the content creation process. They created 26 exercises and 19 good practices to support the learning experience of the students. 

Learners have easy access to the training program. All modules are uploaded on a special training platform for blended learning “CreatINNES Academy”. CreatINNES Academy is an aesthetically designed web platform for providing easy, free and secure access. The platform is based on the Moodle software package, designed to create web-based educational courses and websites. The platform is currently being tested.

Website: www.creatinnes.eu    Facebook www.facebook.com/CreatINNES  Twitter  #creatinnes