Alliance for Fostering Innovation in Education and Enterprises through Digitization of Agriculture Supply Chains

The ASC4INN project aims to develop innovative capacity-building curricula and training tools for Higher Education (HE) and Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Digital Transformation Management of Agricultural Supply Chains (ASC), a sector of paramount importance for the entire European Union. It is motivated by the growing availability of digital technologies, which challenge agricultural supply chain managers in their efforts to remain competitive while addressing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) goals. A consortium of experienced organizations (comprising 2 universities, 2 VET providers, 7 representatives from the labor market, and 1 EU-wide network) will implement the project.

Following a systematic needs analysis, four disruptive deep-tech technologies have been selected for the development of specialized courses, considering not only their significance in the sector’s digital transformation but also their direct impact on climate change, sustainability, and food safety (automated robots and drones, Internet of Things (IoT) and Blockchain technologies, and Big Data and advanced analytics).

An innovative learning methodology is proposed, which, in addition to traditional blended learning tools, will incorporate game-based learning integrated into the project’s central e-platform, virtual scenarios demonstrating the integration of the proposed courses in the digital supply chain context, an augmented reality experimentation system for hands-on training, and a modern accreditation framework featuring micro-credentials and micro-pathways to address skill mismatches, particularly among VET students.