The meeting of the Supervisory Board was opened by Professor Dr Heinrich Schule (University of Applied Sciences Nuertingen-Gaislingen), Galia Zamaratska (Associate Professor of Molecular Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) and Ilva Hillburg (Vice-Rector, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences). Ms Hillbour emphasised the importance of international cooperation projects and strengthening the link between education and business to achieve the long-term goals of sustainable agricultural production:
"Higher education, including agricultural education, is currently in need of significant transformation around the world to meet the demands of both students and the industry of which they will become the future foundation. On the one hand, we face the challenge of attracting young people who are increasingly focused on short, career-oriented education, and on the other hand, providing graduates with relevant skills and abilities in view of the rapid development of technology to meet the needs of agribusiness for specialists with the appropriate level of knowledge and skills. Educational initiatives such as lifelong learning, such as those implemented under the SULAWE project, can be a popular and effective solution for maintaining professional competence beyond traditional educational programmes, which requires closer cooperation between education and business. The need to achieve complex and interrelated sustainable development goals, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, innovation and infrastructure development, poverty alleviation and hunger alleviation, etc. also requires more active cooperation," said the Vice-Rector of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
"Cooperation between universities and business representatives is important for creating an up-to-date educational base for further work on ensuring sustainable development of livestock in general and pig production in particular. By coordinating efforts and exchanging knowledge, educational institutions and businesses are working together to overcome the staffing crisis, and this will become a tool to counteract other problems - food, environmental, etc.", - the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders is convinced.
The Supervisory Board members focused on a comprehensive review of the current progress of the project in the key areas of its activities. Thus, representatives of Ukrainian universities shared their feedback on the experience of implementing the training modules on welfare, sustainable production and digitalisation developed under SuLAWe. In addition, they discussed the issue of student mobility and the possibility of using a virtual format to improve the experience of cross-border learning. In addition to updating student curricula, they discussed the experience of organising professional development for practitioners through specialised lifelong learning courses.
To help raise awareness of sustainable livestock farming practices and animal welfare, the project partners discussed in detail information dissemination strategies, outlining plans for publications and the development of multimedia training materials. The meeting concluded with a joint discussion, evaluation of the activities and planning of future events, followed by a tour of the Department of Molecular Sciences at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The project partners were able to get acquainted with a real example of ethical animal husbandry, sustainable practices and measures aimed at animal welfare on the example of the organic farm Resta farm, a farm that combines diversified agriculture with green tourism.
The European Union Erasmus+ international technical assistance project “Sustainable Livestock and Animal Welfare” (SULAWE) has brought together scholars from Ukrainian institutions (Stepan Gzhytskyi National University of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnologies of Lviv, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Poltava State Agrarian University, Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University, and the Scientific and Methodological Center for Higher and Vocational Pre-Higher Education) and European universities (Nürtingen-Geislingen University of Applied Sciences, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and the University of Ljubljana) with industry business associations (the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders, the Association of Milk Producers, and Animalprom).
During the implementation of the project from 2023 to 2025, representatives of the academic community and the livestock industry will have the opportunity to learn from the experience of leading European universities in training young professionals and upskilling specialists working at livestock enterprises.
The project is being implemented with the financial support of the European Union. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible for them.
