Creating Entrepreneurs in Food Erasmus Project
General information for the Creating Entrepreneurs in Food Erasmus Project
Project Title
Creating Entrepreneurs in Food
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 vocational education and training
Project Call Year
This project’s Call Year is 2016
Project Topics
This project is related with these Project Topics: Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship); Agriculture, forestry and fisheries
Project Summary
Short food supply chains are defined as having as ‘few links as possible between the food producer and the citizen who eats the food’. They typically involve local producers promoting local food produce and have continuously been highlighted as an area for potential market growth in Europe. The standard education for food producers has traditionally been based around production with no focus on sales and marketing, processing or other entrepreneurial-like skills that will empower producers to gain value for their products. Though identified as an important and growing industry, at the time of the project proposal there were no defined European strategies to develop the short food supply chain, though this is now becoming an area of increased research and priority across a variety of European initiatives.
The overarching aim of the project was to enhance entrepreneurial training in VET, encompassing work-based learning, aimed at those in the short food supply chain.
The specific objectives of the project were to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in Europe by:
•Developing a curriculum specific for the short food supply chain incorporating work-based learning to stimulate entrepreneurship
•Empowering food producers to gain control of their business models and move up the value chain through engaging in training and networking
•Providing a web platform for knowledge exchange between education and enterprises
The consortium comprised of four partners; Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT, Ireland), The University of Bedfordshire (UoB, UK), The Polish Beef Association (PBA, Poland) and the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA, Brussels). The partners were chosen for this project as they were all able to bring a wealth of expertise in the delivery of vocational work-based training programmes, the development of web based learning resources and access to the target group (those in the short food supply chain) for dissemination of information and project outcomes. All partners had previously been involved in transnational, EU funded programmes and therefore were highly familiar with the requirements of working in a consortium of this nature. The success of the partnership was such that the majority of partners are still working together across a number of different projects and project proposals.
Prior to commencement of the project a needs analysis of the target group was undertaken which was updated during the project. The consortium developed a communication plan and a dissemination plan as well as a timeline of activities to ensure that the project stayed on track. Five transnational meetings took place in Ireland (3), Poland (1) and the UK (1). Three multiplier events were organised by the consortium in the UK (1), Poland (1) and the final conference in Ireland to distribute the projects outputs to the wider European community. To ensure that the outputs were meeting the needs of the target audience, two Learning, Teaching and Training Activities (LTTAs) were orgainsed; the first a short-term joint staff training event focused on the required content and delivery techniques for output 1 (the curriculum) and the second a blended mobility of learners aimed at testing the developed curriculum with the target audience as well as brainstorming the requirements for output 2 (the web portal). Though CEJA were the main dissemination partner, all partners took an active role in the dissemination of the project outputs and continue to do so.
The outputs of the project included a Level 5 (EQF) course curriculum (designed to increase the development of food entrepreneurs) and a web portal to provide a platform for interactive discussion and networking as well as to disseminate relevant information and documentation. The main purpose of this project was to help create future job creators. By developing an entrepreneurial mind set, the project helped to empower participants to see the potential for their own businesses. It is anticipated that as the outputs of the project continue to gain traction that more food producers will go on to become entrepreneurs and develop jobs not only for themselves but also provide job opportunities for others.
The impacts of this project are far reaching and outputs are translated hence easily transferable. This is the first project to create a bespoke VET curriculum in the area of entrepreneurship aimed at those in the short food supply chain. By collaborating with European partners, the developed outputs benefitted from the contribution of a broader range of food entrepreneurs. GMIT has already integrated the curriculum into its teaching offering and has also successfully applied for further funding to roll the course out in Vietnam. UoB are also implementing the outputs. The web portal is now live and providing a platform for those involved in the short food chain supply to interact and connect. All partners have actively disseminated the project results.
EU Grant (Eur)
Funding of the project from EU: 195376,91 Eur
Project Coordinator
GALWAY-MAYO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & Country: IE
Project Partners
- CONSEIL EUROPEEN DES JEUNES AGRICULTEURS AISBL
- UNIVERSITY OF BEDFORDSHIRE
- Polish Beef Association