Integration of good practices and new methods for professional training in the field of herbs processing for food and food supplements Erasmus Project

Project Title

Integration of good practices and new methods for professional training in the field of herbs processing for food and food supplements

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 addressing more than one field

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Quality Assurance; Reaching the policy level/dialogue with decision makers; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

The main objective of the project was to educate, train, inform and disseminate the latest/new scientific evidences, legislation in force, hygienic rules as well as the best manufacturing practices of herbs in order to ensure the quality, safety, nutritive and functional quality of herbs useful for food and food supplements industries. In this way it will be increased the opportunities of professional development and improved the professional competence, cooperation and competitiveness.
5 partners, 3 from Western and 2 from Eastern Europe with expertize in herbal food processing (spices, natural food ingredients and food supplements) but also in teaching, training, dissemination and knowledge transfer will work together for developing a training kit in the field of an emergency request by the food industry employees and also by the policy makers. A cooperation of 2 university, 1 food research institute and 2 associations with the main activity research and technology and knowledge transfer, putting together their expertize for implementation the project activities is one the big impact for the partners benefit.
In order to have the best audience and the most appropriate learning/teaching approach there will be taken into account the following specific objectives: finding the existing best practices in training/learning and analysis the actual context in those 3 domains; stimulation of adult interest and motivation for continuous learning; training adapting curriculum to different audience categories; using the creative thinking of trainers for courses design and deliver of teaching; facilitating of adult learners to participate to collaborative learning and practical demonstration, as well as the new learning opportunities; delivering accessible, interesting and attractive training; development of the new competences.
The target groups envisaged were adult learners, VET students, professors, teachers, trainers and educational and administrative staff employed at participating organizations.
The first activities wwre the Analysis of actual context in the field of herbs processing and Inventory of the best and innovative training/learning/teaching practices which have had the same approach: to collect data. An integrated report was done from bringing information from all country reports. The summary with the conclusions were extracted, posted on the website and published. The next activity, Developing a common route of the 80 hours curriculum on herbs processing, was followed by the adaptation/reviewed of the curriculum after receiving 100 questionnaires filled in by participant countries from different interested stakeholders. Further, a half a day workshop on ECVET procedures and modalities was organized by Spanish partners to follow it when the module is developed.
Developing a training guide was the next activity which accompany the course. The training guide is addressed to trainers who are people working in participant organizations. The learning kit package included a demonstrative movie which was recorded in partner organizations laboratories or pilot plants.
Developing an e-Good Herbs Platform which comprise the course, training guide and demonstrative movie was developed on the project website.
By piloting the curriculum before and after feed back was checked the functionality of the training curriculum both through conventional and e-platform. 5 adult learners was trained by each organization, in total 50 people, during 5 days Short-term Joint Staff Training Events.
A Meeting for policy recommendations and Project Sustainability was developed in order to better disseminate the outputs of the project and to identify the activities that were done in order to have the appropriate project sustainability.
2 Conferences were organized in Spain and in Romania for project results dissemination but also for defining the sustainability of the project.
Concerning the management activities, 5 transnational meetings were organized aiming to assess the progress of the work and to organize the next activities.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 181596,23 Eur

Project Coordinator

INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU BIORESURSE ALIMENTARE & Country: RO

Project Partners

• FUNDACION UNIVERSITARIA SAN ANTONIO
• OBCIANSKE ZDRUZENIE NO GRAVITY
• CENTRO TECNOLOGICO NACIONAL DE LA CONSERVA Y ALIMENTACION
• UNIVERSIDADE CATOLICA PORTUGUESA