The Executive Committee of the ICA Community of Practice for Bioeocnomy Education (ICA-CoP Bio-Edu) is organising the workshop “Engaging with industry to ensure that graduates and professionals are well prepared for employment in the Bioeconomy“, to be held at Warsaw University of Life Sciences from 26 to 28 April 2023.

Download the flyer with details and agenda.

A  Workshop focus

Educators and employers are experiencing a gap between the competences of graduates and what is needed by the employer in the bioeconomy. Although it is not possible to prepare students for specific jobs, it should be possible with the support of industry to prepare students more effectively for their future careers in the bioeconomy

The key objectives of the workshop will be to:

• recognise and examine the gap between expectations of graduates and industry on the working ethos of the bioeconomy industries.
• identify the specific generic competences required by graduates for careers in the bioeconomy
• recognise the need to embed in our graduates the mindset for the bioeconomy  – referring back to the Colloquium in 2022
• exchange good practices in realising cooperation between representatives of employers and educational institutions to improve the engagement of industry employees in curricula at VET, Bachelor and Master education levels.
• examine how to develop life long learning cooperation between employers and educational institutions in support of up-skilling industry employees for the bioeconomy

B   Expected Outcome

It is expected that participants will:

• address how to realise an optimal engagement of employer partners in the educational programmes to prepare graduates and professionals for their future employment.

C  Target Audience

Degree programme coordinators, lecturers, members of committees responsible for the (strategic) development of curricula. National education advisors and employers, who have a special interest in cooperating with education institutions, are also invited to contribute to the discussion.

D  Workshop Format

On the Wednesday afternoon there will be a joint plenary session focusing on all three workshop themes.  The Thursday session has three parallel sessions, one for each Workshop Theme. The Friday session will start with the three parallel sessions and then come together for a final plenary session.

Each Session of the Workshop theme will be addressed by keynote speakers followed by round table breakout groups to discuss the issues raised, with a concluding report from the breakout groups of the issues raised in the final plenary session on Friday morning.

Overview of the three Workshops:

1)  ICA Network for Innovation in Life Sciences Higher Education (ICA-Edu)

Workshop Title: The Student Engagement Challenge

The nature of learning is changing with a greater emphasis on blended approaches and flexible learning paths.  Students themselves have changing expectations about how, when and where they learn and the types of extra-curricular activities they are interested in and willing to engage with.

2)  ICA Community of Practice for Bioeconomy Education in Europe (ICA-CoP Bio-Edu)

Workshop Title: Engaging with industry to ensure that graduates and professionals are well prepared for employment in the Bioeconomy.

Educators and employers are experiencing a gap between the competences of graduates and what is needed by the employer in the bioeconomy. Although it is not possible to prepare students for specific jobs, it should be possible for universities with the support of industry to prepare students more effectively for their future careers in the bioeconomy.

3)  ICA-Edu Special Interest Group (SIG) for Sustainable Entrepreneurship Education

Workshop Title: Embedding student challenges and competitions in sustainable entrepreneurship education

This ICA-SIG Workshop will focus on the role of student challenges and competitions as catalysts for entrepreneurial learning and student engagement within life science universities.

BioeconomyVentures – Future of Industrial Circularity

For more information please consult:

• https://platform.bioeconomyventures.eu/opencalls-innovators/future-of-industrial-circularity/
• https://www.bioeconomyventures.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/BV_OC3-INNOVATORS-Guideline-for-Applicants-fv.pdf

GenB is a EU funded project whose aim is to inform and educate young people to build a future Generation informed and interested in bioeconomy.
Last 21 and 22 February 2023 the GenB Common Ground Camp on bioeconomy education took place in Athens to promote bioeconomy practices in school settings.
During two intense days many projects, initiatives, teachers and science communicators were engaged in a discussion on how to better design bioeconomy communication in formal, non-formal and informal contexts.

On the first day many speakers provided inspirational and innovative educational and awareness raising tools developed so far in the framework of EU funded projects and practical educational experiences in schools, presenting more than 50 good practices.

The second day was dedicated to the co-creation of innovative formats with education experts, who addressed the following questions:

• Where does the field of bioeconomy stand currently?
• What do formal and non-formal educators need?
• What are the challenges/barriers?
• What are the key concepts to educate about within the bioeconomy?
• What do I want pre- and early-school students to learn about the bioeconomy?
• What do I want elementary school students to learn about the bioeconomy?
• What do I want middle and high school students to learn about the bioeconomy?

Additional activities engaging young generations as active promoters and ambassadors of the green transition will be organised in the next months – follow the project via the tag @biovoices on all social media and stay tuned for future initiatives!

🗓 Circular Bricks’ first knowledge-sharing webinar will be held on 10 March at 3:00 pm CET.

💻 The CB webinars are aimed at providing all participants with the opportunity to share experiences and results already achieved in teaching the circular bioeconomy in the EU.

🍃 This first webinar will be focused on addressing the need to facilitate knowledge and experience sharing among institutes from different Member States, supporting VET teachers in the adaptation of their training offer to changing skills needs, green and digital transitions and economic cycles.

To attend the event:

unitelmasapienza.it/sustain/circular-bricks/webinar/

Or

youtube.com/live/Cu-S3Euayqk?feature=share

Bioeconomy for sustainable food and agriculture is one of 20 programme priority areas in the FAO Strategic Framework 2022–31.

But what is bioeconomy? And how can we explain the concept in an easy-to-understand way?

To address these questions, FAO has developed a suite of visual aids in all six UN languages, comprising a video, benefits of sustainable and circular bioeconomy infovisual, and sustainable and circular bioeconomy definition card.

These assets are perfect for promoting bioeconomy awareness on all major social media channels, while demonstrating FAO’s commitment to multilingualism. They encapsulate some of the core elements of a bioeconomy that balances food security and social and economic wellbeing with more responsible consumption and production and sustainable natural resource management.

The repository with all FAO’s bioeconomy assets can be found here.

At this page you can download all the graphics in different languages.

Additionally, you can download the FAO policy brief on Sustainable bioeconomy here.