Building an Excellency Network for Heightening Agricultural ecoNomic researCh and Education in Romania – ENHANCE

For three years, the Horizon 2020 Twinning project ENHANCE links the Faculty of Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and Rural Development (FMIEADR)of theUniversity of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest (USAMV)to three centers for agricultural economic research.Situated in Austria (BOKU), Germany (IAMO), and Switzerland (AGROSCOPE),these project partners designed several measures with extraordinarily divers content and methods for knowledge-transferin order to raise the standards of research and education at FMIEADR for future collaboration in joint research projects.

ENHANCE offers an appropriate way toimprove the research quality and excellence, increase thevisibility of the involved institutions, establish fruitfulcooperation. Nevertheless, institutionalobstacles have to be adjusted and competition among universities and academies of science addressed.

THE GENERALAIM

·  Enhancing the quality of agricultural economic research at USAMV

THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

·  Developing a system of quality assurance

·  Establishing institutions at faculty level

·  Implementing future dissemination and funding acquisition strategies

·  Creating the capacity for cutting edge research

·  Strengthening networks with international research institutions

·  Raising the standards of particularly postgraduate education

ENHANCE: HALF WAY THROUGH

·  A self-evaluation of the organizational structure of FMIEADR was conducted

·  A mentorship program was established in order to raise the competitiveness of the faculty and the quality of the research output

·  Several quality management tools in research were identified, complemented by a description of the current status of FMIEARD

·  The organizational framework for developing training courses was established as well as the curricula for econometrics, qualitative and quantitative research design, economic modelling and simulation methods

·  Seven training sessions have been conducted. Each session was open to up to 25 participants.

·  A participants’ staff exchange procedure was designed to maximize the impact of mutual exchange, to provide process clarity, to ensure transparency

·  An online-forum has been integrated in the project website in order to connect all participants in the staff exchange activities and facilitate the communication and good practice exchanges

·  Seven long-term stays of three months and three short-term stay of Romanian staff in partners’ institutions have been organized

·  3 short-term stays (two months each) of partners’ staff have been implemented so far at USAMV

·  2 Summer Schools have been organized together with BOKU and AGROSCOPE in 2016 and 2017. Each event was opened to up to 25 participants

·  A visual communication concept, including a logo of ENHANCE was elaborated

·  The ENHANCE project website (www.enhance-project.ro) was established

·  A Newsletter service was created

·  Summer school platform

EDGE CUTTING TOPICS COVERED BY ENHANCE PROJECT

·  Sharing Economy and Agriculture

·  Work satisfaction

·  Innovation in Agriculture

·  Burnout among farmers

·  Food consumption in Romania and Switzerland

·  Environmental impact assessment with LCA

·  Market integration for cereals: price transmissions

·  Environmental sciences

·  Direct payments

·  Wine tourism

·  Organization of PhD – Education

·  National Rural Development Program and Agri-Tourism

·  Demography of Romanian Agriculture

MORE AT:

Website: www.enhance-project.ro

Email address:

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