The list of available courses in Smart Agriculture now counts with a new international master's degree, whose successful implementation is confirmed by the 17 new master students who completed their training, developed over the course's pilot years, just last  week.

In the celebrations of the final event of the ERASMUS + project "masTERs course on smArt Agriculture TECHnologies (TERRATECH)", which was hold in Thessaloniki, Greece, several partner companies and universities were gathered, presenting the main results achieved in the scope of the project to various stakeholders in the area. At the meeting, the next steps to be taken for the master's degree, now fully operational, were also discussed. 

Over the last two years, researchers from GreenUPorto – Sustainable Agrifood Production Research Centre and FCUP coordinated the project, in a European consortium that brought together universities, Small and Medium-sized Companies, and other research centers, working together on the development of new international master's degree in precision agriculture.

Among the partner universities were the University of Debrecen (Hungary), International Hellenic University (Greece), University Pompeu Fabra, Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (Latvia) and Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (Italy). The consortium also included several SMEs (Cerca Trova Ltd – Bulgaria, ECQA GmbH – Austria, Evolutionary Archetypes Consulting SL – Spain, AgriWatch – Netherlands, Agroop Lda – Portugal), a research center (Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania – Greece), an agricultural cooperative (Fédération Régionale des Cuma de l'Ouest – France) and an agricultural company (Ktima Filippou-Schoinoplokakis – Greece).

The innovative curriculum of the new master's degree in Smart Agriculture technologies includes interactive teaching methods, along with partnerships with cooperatives and agricultural companies that work with technology-based solutions, in order to provide enriching practical and theoretical training in the area of ​​precision agriculture.

During the course, the 17 students that successfully graduated last week, have acquired skills to use the latest technologies in agriculture, such as sensors, positioning technologies, new data analysis tools and advanced networks via the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine communication (M2M). These technologies will allow for the real-time monitoring of the physical parameters of crop fields and local weather conditions, as well as precise control of irrigation, fertilization and pest control through automation.

Throughout the master’s course, the students also had the opportunity to enjoy periods of mobility in partner companies, putting the acquired skills into practice. Teachers also take advantage of this mobility, traveling to the Universities of Debrecen (Hungary) and Hellenic (Greece) to teach practical classes.

The new MSCs graduates thus finish the course, with a degree awarded by the International Hellenic University (Greece), as technicians capable of incorporating technological solutions into agricultural production systems, which will allow them to develop new solutions adapted to the needs of local farmers and also implement innovative business ideas.

The TERRATECH project began in 2020 and received European funding, within the scope of the Erasmus+ Programme, in the amount of 989,890 euros.