International Applied Soil and Plant Ecology Knowledge Erasmus Project

Project Title

International Applied Soil and Plant Ecology Knowledge

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Environment and climate change; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Agriculture, forestry and fisheries

Project Summary

Soils are the basis for plant production and provide numerous ecosystem services like water storage, water purification and carbon sequestration. Interactions of soil and plant ecology with economy must consider wide bio-geographic differences and global challenges. At the same time, resource management decisions must be fitted to regional specifics and local needs. It is therefore important to transport the knowledge on these issues trans-nationally and -regionally to various fields of higher education and to establish links to potential users in agriculture, food processing, industries based on natural products but also to nature protection and environmental management. The teaching of soil and plant sciences is demanding and thus needs improving. It is hard for students and enterprises to get in touch and get essential information thus it needs a tool for knowledge transfer. Employability has to be facilitated and improved.
The main aim of the project was to bring together the expertise of different partners to provide an interface between teaching, research and employability for students in the field of soil and plant sciences. Our aim was to improve students education, to open up employment opportunities for the graduates of the partner universities and to increase graduates’ employability. The goals of the project were reached by establishing the learning/teaching toolbox titled „Carbon in Terrestrial Ecosystems“ and organizing the Virtual Career Day.
The IntASEK project brought together 5 partners from 4 counties across Europe. During the creation of the outputs, the strength of Estonian University of Life Sciences was in the area of soil management, as well as plant physiology. The University of South Bohemia strengths were wetland ecology and soil microbiology. Aix-Marseille University strength was soil organic matter turnover and CNRS strength plant ecophysiology (especially drought). University of Ulm expertise was in the area of wetlands, plants and soils under limited oxygen supply and in general plant ecophysiology.
First intellectual output includes the toolbox and provides outputs regarding mainly teaching and didactic topics and is available https://intasek.thescholr.com/ Toolbox consists of database of existing materials, lecture materials, short manuals of practical exercises, tests and videos. The materials were tested during intensive summer schools and during regular teaching of Erasmus exchange students (not as a official part of the project). More than 500 students from partner and other countries were involved during the project period.
Second intellectual output was to create a Virtual Career Day as the applied part of the project. This ensured the improvement in the students’ employability. Students got job and internship possibilities which were introduced via webinars and web-page https://www.uni-ulm.de/nawi/nawi-intasek/virtual-career-day/ It was created database of the companies willing to employ internationally. Virtual Career Day itself was hold as webinar with possibility to join from different parts of the World. On three career days more than 140 participants from different countries participated with improving number on each time.
Projects aims and outcomes were introduced during several conferences, seminars and webinars reaching to the wide audience. 80% from the participants of multiplier event would use the toolbox in their work or studies in the future. Virtual seminars and teaching is the new reality now. Short feedback survey inside of project partners revealed that people (both teachers and students) who participated in the virtual career day, were more open and ready to teach and work via virtual platforms and didn’t afraid these digital challenges.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 148806 Eur

Project Coordinator

EESTI MAAULIKOOL & Country: EE

Project Partners

• UNIVERSITAET ULM
• CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
• UNIVERSITE D’AIX MARSEILLE
• JIHOCESKA UNIVERZITA V CESKYCH BUDEJOVICICH