The TEFSI project supported cooperation between 9 European universities to develop, implement and widely disseminate innovative teaching approaches, materials, methods and tools, and thus to increase university teachers’competences and innovation, and to improve the quality and effectiveness of university teaching. Usage of innovative teaching methods in TEFSI was illustrated for the subjects covering various aspects of sustainable food systems, in order to increase teachers awareness about the importance of including sustainability issues into their everyday lecturing, and therefore could be seen as a step of food science, human nutrition, agriculture, and related life science education towards sustainability. The project began with an in-depth analysis of the level of inclusion of food system sustainability issues in higher education by European University lecturers, the lecturing tools being used and perspectives for innovation in this area, followed by the development of quality training materials on the innovative teaching tools & concepts (presentations, handbook, short video lectures) and by sharing them during 5 international staff training events, implementing them in everyday teaching activities at participating universities, and finally disseminating during project Multiplier Events and other dissemination activities. Transnationality of the project allowed the biggest strengths of teaching approaches and strategies of all participating Universities to be extracted, analysed & put together in the project activities and outputs.

The “Enhancing Sales Capacity for Agri-food Products in Europe” (ESCAPE) project aims at developing and implementing aninnovative blended learning methodology to train food technology students in sales techniques.Most graduates with Master’s degrees in business are highly skilled in sales, but very often lack technical knowledge in food areas.On the other hand, Food Science programmes mostly train their graduates on technical issues, but do not provide training on salesskills. There is therefore a shortage of candidates with this highly prized dual competence. Some multinational food companiesrecognize this need and have developed graduate programmes which include training in sales techniques. However, SMEs, whichmake up the vast majority of EU food companies, are unable to develop and implement these kinds of training programmes.Against this backdrop, the main objective of the ESCAPE project is to develop an innovative training tool for food technologystudents motivated to work in sales services, in order to cater to the F&D industry needs, i.e. effective international salespersons withskills in food technology. Partners will collaborate to create an e-learning platform in English for use in a flipped classroom mode ofinstruction. It consists of a blended learning approach that moves lectures, content and activities to an online learning environmentfor individual study, followed by face-to-face active learning. The training materials will be complemented with face-to-facecollaboration and coaching activities, based on “real-world” needs and problems, during the SIAL2018 food fair.To reach its objectives, the ESCAPE project brings together 6 partners from 3 EU Member States (France, Italy and the Netherlands).The project is coordinated by Association Nationale des Industries Alimentaires (ANIA). ANIA chairs the French National TechnologyPlatform, Food For Life France, commissioned by the European Commission, which serves as a unique meeting place for foodcompanies, Ministries, Universities, Research Institutions, Clusters and Financing entities, across the food chain. Because of itsstrategic position and reputation in Europe, ANIA will be able to widely promote the ESCAPE training tool throughout Europe. ANIAwill benefit from the collaboration of two other national federations: Federalimentare in Italy and TKI Agri&Food in the Netherlands.Three HEIs delivering Master’s degrees in food science will also participate in the project: ISARA in France, Università degliStudi di Torino (UNITO) in Italy and Wageningen University in the Netherlands. These 3 leading European HEIs will develop thetraining content and support.To reach the project objectives, partners will implement a precise methodology, replicable by any interested HEI and transferable toother industrial sectors. The first step will be the definition of the specifications of the training, based on the needs of foodcompanies. All the partners will participate in this activity, which will aim at fostering cooperation between HEIs and companies. HEIswill develop the training content in English, and adapt it to the pedagogical objectives of each HEI and country. UNITO will beresponsible for the development of the platform on which the training content will be uploaded after validation by all the partners.The experimentation phase will target 20 students in each HEI. They will also have the opportunity to be coached by sales managersfrom the food sector. An analysis of the experimentation phase will be carried out so as to improve the e-learning platform ifneeded. The project will implement a wide dissemination campaign all along its lifetime. Partners will define a preciseexploitation plan in order to replicate the training in other European HEIs.The ESCAPE project should result in the development of several outputs that will have an important short-term impact:- Theoretical training ending with attractive practical training during the SIAL food fair: during 5 days, the students will be taught byfood sales professionals and will have the opportunity to exchange with them via coaching activities. This will improve the qualityand the effectiveness of the training, and lead to better student employability- A collection of reusable educational materials available in an open repository for educational and other institutions to use in theirprogrammes- A continuing education resource expandable to any working professional in related areas- A communication programme to engage other European institutionsThe ESCAPE consortium aims at providing the 28 EU MS with a suitable and relevant tool to help the European F&D industry recruitqualified professionals to sell food products on national and international markets. The ESCAPE methodology and platform will beeasily transferable to any European HEI and will improve the qualifications F&D professionals, a key factor in boosting thecompetitiveness of the sector.

Food business is the first sector in terms of employment in Europe, 90% of food companies being SMEs (majority of them being micro enterprises). Though innovation is the main leverage to improve competitiveness, there is neither high enough innovation and entrepreneurship spirit nor innovation transfer from High Education Institutes (HEI) to business. The partners of this consortium, involved for years in initiatives aiming at fostering innovation and interactions between students and industry on the basis of project-based learning approach, identified limits of the current training approaches. The project performance will be notably assessed against the generation of new products or processes and the creation of value and long term collaborations. For this purpose, it will create a European FoodBusiness Transfer Laboratory that will centralize new educational content and tools to foster stimulate entrepreneurship entrepreneurial skills and will allow constructive interactions between HEIs and foodbusiness stakeholders. Supported by a shared web-platform allowing multidisciplinary knowledge exchanges between the partners, this project will also produce best practices for entrepreneurship development, new learning and teaching approaches in closer contact with industry, etc. Taken together, FOODLAB project’s results will homogenize educational approaches; improve interactions between academia and industry; develop entrepreneurship spirit; foster innovation and competences transfer; promote integration of young graduated in SMEs. Ultimately this project will be the basis of competitiveness improvement in food SMEs and bigger companies. It will also help to maintain and increase employment in food sector and possibly in other sectors, as the present project is designed to allow transfer of methodology and best practices in training to other sectors.

Ponds and “pondscapes” (networks of ponds) are crucial for biodiversity conservation and their multiple societally beneficial ecosystem services (ES) provide the means to play a crucial role in mitigating and adapting to climate change. However, ponds are largely neglected in water- and nature-related policies and there is insufficient knowledge on how to manage and restore ponds to maximize their role as nature-based solutions (NBS) to increase resilience of ecosystems and society to climate change (CC). The overarching aim of PONDERFUL is to facilitate improved implementation of ponds NBS for CC mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation and delivery of ES through generating and integrating biodiversity, ecosystems, social, economic and policy knowledge and providing evidence-based guidance and tools for pond NBS implementation. To achieve this, PONDERFUL will: 1) evaluate the interactions and feedbacks between biodiversity, ES and climate in pondscapes at multiple spatial scales; 2) together with stakeholders, develop future scenarios for pondscapes in EU and CELAC in the context of CC, land use change, and changed policies; 3) develop and test the implementation of effective multifunctional NBS in close collaboration with the stakeholders using DEMOnstration sites in EU and CELAC countries; 4) develop a sustainable finance and investment guide for NBS, in collaboration with local stakeholders; 5) assess the potential for large-scale implementation of the proposed NBS in relation to existing barriers, enabling factors, financing and as economic viability, as well as social perceptions of benefits from pond NBS. Ultimately, the stakeholder-oriented approach adopted by PONDERFUL will ensure that the scientific knowledge produced on the benefits of using pondscapes as ecosystems delivering multiple ES is explicitly considered in decision making from local management to EU policies.

Context/background of the project We are facing nowadays a global population growth causing increasing natural resources limitations and environmental problems. Loss of biodiversity and pollution of the environment are provoking drastic changes in the ecosystems and human health. The only way is to introduce sustainable development on the Earth - reasonable usage of the natural resources and less invasive farming systems. We need to develop sustainable models of the future farming, husbandry and food production systems. We observe that sustainable food systems are not enough covered by the study programs in the European Universities. Without well educated alumni we are not able to provide leaders for the sustainable development. Therefore we need new teaching programs and innovative teaching / learning methods in order to achieve all necessary goals.ObjectivesThe aim of the project is to support cooperation between eight European Universities to develop and implement innovative educational materials and methods in the subject of sustainable food systems. The goal is to provide students with necessary knowledge, competencies and skills and to support sustainable food sector and increase students’ employability.Number and profile of participating organisations1.Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS-SGGW) – a leader of the consortium - is the oldest and the biggest agricultural university in Poland. 2.University of Copenhagen is one of the largest institutions of research and education in the Nordic countries.3.Estonian University of Life Sciences is the only university in Estonia with the sustainable development of natural resources as the priority. 4.University of Kassel is the newest university in the state of Hessen. Interdisciplinary research is a priority for the University of Kassel. 5.University of Applied Sciences (MUAS) is a valued, innovative partner on a regional, national and international level. It is one of the largest applied science universities in Germany.6.ISARA – Lyon is a French Higher Education Institution. One of the specialities is agroecology and sustainbble development.7.University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy is a private non-profit institution, active in the area of sustainable food systems and innovative education. 8.Universidad Politécnica de Madrid is the oldest and largest technical university in Spain. It is the main Spanish University that deals with agricultural issues. Description of undertaken main activitiesI. SUSPLUS surveyTask: In-depth analysis of students' understanding of the sustainable food system concept and their expectations towards education within this subject area. The survey has been conducted with ca. 100 respondents in every University.II. Development of innovative teaching tools & contentsTasks: development of tools and contents (for e-learning, Intensive Study Programme, Small Research Projects, lectures in schools).III. Testing materials & methods:A. E-learning module 'Sustainable Food Systems & Diets’. Virtual e-learning platform with on-line video lectures, group works, on-line quizes. Participants: 32 students (4 from each country) from BSc and MSc studiesB. Intensive Study Programme 'Sustainable Food Systems & Diets’Time: 23 rd July – 4 th August 2017. Place: Kiry (Tatra Mountains) & Warsaw. Participants: 32 students (4 from each country) from BSc and MSc studies.Lecturers: 10 lecturers (3 from coordinating university and 1 from each other university).C. Small Research ProjectsDescription: Students will cooperate with stakeholders active in the area of sustainable food systems, to find, analyse and describe best practise examples within the food chain.Participants: 4 students from each partner university (2 teams x 2 students, supervised by University lecturers).D. Lectures in schoolsDescription: Lectures about sustainable food systems were given by the students in schools (secondary schools) under supervision of the university lecturers.Participants: 4 students from each partner university (2 teams x 2 students).Results and impact attained•Reports, programmes and syllabuses of the mentioned educational activities are produced and disseminated within the Partnership and beyond, to be implemented into existing teaching programmes.•In addition, a guide/booklet on the sustainable food system concept is jointly elaborated by the project consortium and disseminated to all interested stakeholders.•Dissemination: a) Building a network in the topic of sustainable food systems b) 1st SUSPLUS international conference 'Sustainable Food Systems - Outcomes of the SUSPLUS project’ (Nuremberg, 14 II 2018) c) 2nd SUSPLUS conference 'Sustainable Food Systems - Outcomes of the SUSPLUS project’ (National – in each country, V – IX 2018) d) SUSPLUS conference 'Sustainable Food Systems – results of the SUSPLUS project’ – International, Terra Madre, Torino, 22 IX 2018