Agriculture and innovation: agreement with ITAGG in the presence of Minister Bianchi

Precision agriculture, sustainable development, supply chain management and enhancement of Made in Italy agri-food products at the heart of the collaboration

26 May 2021 - L'Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma and the Giuseppe Garibaldi Agricultural Technical Institute start a common path to develop training, innovation and research in one of the most consistent assets of Made in Italy: agriculture and food (according to Istat it is the sector in which 4,3% of the added value of the entire economy was formed). The three-year agreement, signed this morning in Rome in the presence of Minister of Education, Patrizio Bianchi, was created to impact one of the sectors with the greatest potential for innovation from a scientific and technological point of view, in which there is a trend of ever-increasing attention from the younger generations and which plays a leading role in the recovery and resilience of the Village.

The didactic and scientific collaboration between the two realities, which may involve other public and private entities in the future, is focused on research training activities for the students of the Giuseppe Garibaldi Agricultural Institute in collaboration with theUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma on issues such as food science and technology, advanced sensors and artificial intelligence for precision agriculture, nutraceuticals and precision nutrition for preventive medicine, advanced automation technologies for the agri-food chain, resilience to climate change as well as joint participation in national and international projects on training and research.

The collaboration also includes the activation of ITS post-diploma professional training courses, degree, first and second level postgraduate in the sectors of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Food Science and Technology and Supply Chain Management, Technologies for Sustainable Development, also with the launch of Summer schools organized byUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma.

"The one signed today is an important agreement for the collaboration between the world of schools, universities and businesses – said the education minister, Patrick Bianchi. We must support initiatives like this, nurturing and strengthening relations between institutions that aim to develop the skills of our girls and boys, building a technical-professional training chain capable of attracting the talents of young people, especially in a phase of great productive transformation like the one we are going through. A fundamental element for the relaunch of the country is the collaboration between the education and training system with that of the university, research and businesses, focusing on the ability to innovate and on the aptitudes of our students".

“We intend to contribute to giving immediate substance to the objectives of the PNRR – highlights the Rector ofUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Raffaele Calabrò - as regards the training courses of young people who, from the ITS technical institutes, with the collaboration and contribution of the University in strengthening their skills, can find full employment response in the needs of the productive world, or continue their training in the field always through an open and shared dialogue with businesses. This agreement with Itagg, in particular, sanctions an important concept in which we strongly believe: investment in terms of cultural and professional growth in a sector such as agriculture and agri-food production which represent one of the fields with the greatest innovation and in which our young people can give a boost to development and recovery by bringing competitive knowledge and skills to the area to enhance one of the most important assets of our culture, our identity and our economy on international markets. In this area, as a University, we are very committed also with the support of merit and with a massive activation of scholarships".

“The agriculture-innovation combination in favor of sustainable development, of production processes capable of enhancing quality and defending our environmental heritage, biodiversity, respect for local traditions - highlights Laura De Gara, Dean of the Departmental Faculty of Sciences and Technologies for Man and the Environment ofUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma - these are concepts that are entering everyone's awareness, starting from the youngest, attentive and motivated to the challenges of climate change and the objectives of the 2030 Agenda, eager to contribute personally to the recovery of an innovative dimension in the agri-food world. It is an important trend that brings together the business world, which is struggling to find professionals capable of expressing transversal skills in the management of food supply chains and food and nutrition sciences, with the vocations of young people who deserve to being able to count on structured training courses that are consistent with one's aspirations".

“The Giuseppe Garibaldi Agricultural Technical Institute - highlights Andrea Pontarelli, Headmaster of Itagg in Rome - it was the first headquarters of the Royal Agricultural School whose 150th anniversary we will celebrate next year. We are in a unique territory within Rome Capital, with 70 hectares of nature reserve. Thus we are moving towards the creation of a high-level training center in agri-food thanks to the integration between the secondary school, the Higher Technical Institute for Agri-food and theUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, giving the opportunity to expand the offer of growth and professionalization paths so that students can choose, based on their aptitudes, the most appropriate type of training consistent with the development of the primary sector par excellence: the agri-food".