The data of IP meeting "Sustainability and Innovation in Rural Development" (SIRD) is from 30th of March till 13th of April, 2014.

The objectives of this IP is to teach last year bachelor and master students existing theories on innovation management and sustainable rural development with clarification of the competitiveness in rural areas; to reveal them what it means in practice; to enable students to critically evaluation in existing situation and to define the role of innovations management in building up sustainability of rural areas and it sustained development.

This objective will be realized by the help of identified and applied fields of IP study process:

The role of rural development in bionomics scenario of climate change;

Value of the innovation concept and its application in new findings for rural development;

Innovation revealed impacts on rural development models of local business;

Innovations for spatial and social dynamics in rural areas.

Target groups are undergraduate and/or graduate students (last year bachelor or master level students with certainly good English performance) and PhD students (last year of PhD studies as junior tutors) in agricultural sciences, environmental sciences, agriculture economics and management, rural sociology with a particular interest in sustainable and innovative development of agriculture, natural resources and rural areas; lectures.Students and Tutors should stay the whole period, late arrivals/early departures will not be accepted (no IP certificate for 5 ECTS course)

Location for IP is Lithuania, AleksandrasStulginskisUniversity (ASU) (former LithuanianUniversity of Agriculture )(in Kaunas district,120 km from capital city – Vilnius).

The preliminary number of students and tutors from the application are in the table, some corrections can be but total number we have to keep. Into IP project we have to involve together 32 student and 18 teachers from 13 partner’s institutions.

Part-ner / Country / No. of students / No. of teachers / Total
No. of participants / Duration in
days
(including
travel days
and weekend
days without
subject- related
activities) / Total
estimated
travel cost
EUR / grant support
for travel
based on total
estimated
costs and NA
ceilings (75 %
of real costs)
EUR
CO / Lithuania, Kaunas / 6 / 2 / 8 / 14 / 0 / 0
1. / Belgium, Gent / 2 / 1 / 4 / 14 / 1260 / 945
2. / Hungary, Budapest / 2 / 2 / 5 / 14 / 1480 / 1110
4. / Poland, Lublin / 3 / 2 / 5 / 14 / 1000 / 750
6. / Italy, Pisa / 2 / 1 / 3 / 14 / 1650 / 1238
7. / Italy, Padova / 3 / 1 / 4 / 14 / 2200 / 1651
8. / Slovenia, Maribor / 3 / 2 / 5 / 14 / 2500 / 1875
10. / Netherlands, Wageningen / 3 / 2 / 5 / 14 / 2150 / 1613
11. / Spain, Cordoba / 3 / 1 / 3 / 14 / 2200 / 1651
12. / Latvia, Jelgava / 3 / 2 / 5 / 14 / 750 / 563
13. / Slovakia, Nitra / 2 / 2 / 4 / 14 / 1480 / 1110
Total / 32 / 18 / 50 / - / 16670 / 12506

Travel costs will be reimbursed by the IP programme but only to the limits restricted by the budget available. It is recommended to keep travel costs as low as possible because the budget is restricted. Please see table before.

Please, look for low cost companies (Ryan air, Easy jet, …). For the travel, the most economical fares must be used. Rail travel must be used for journeys of up to 400 kilometres (according to the IP instructions of the EU). If possible, you may look for eventual alternative sources for travel costs (in particular for tutors and lecturers), which allows to increase the budget for students from more remote countries.

Closest recommended international airports: KaunasAirport, VilniusAirport.

Subsistence costs will be taken in charge by the programme for all participants.

We are starting to prepare the programme of lectures and other activitiesof IP SIRD.Please look and suggest the interesting topics and lectures, professors from yours Universities, who can came and to read the presentation or tutoring the student group.

Day / The preliminary programme of lectures and other activities
Data of IP: from 30 of March until 13 of April, 2014
1 / Arrival of participants
2 / 1. Introduction 2. Presentation about the concept of the IP 3. Presentation of innovations role aiming to gain sustainability in Rural Development 4. Presentation on the change in thinking of the new model of agriculture in Europe. 5. Presentations of sustainability and local/regional/national innovations in Lithuanian agricultural and rural development management and policy contexts. 6. Presentations of sustainability and local/regional/national innovations in rural development by IP Partner case.
3 / 1. Presentation of rural development management system and innovations 2. Presentation of rural resources management evaluation methodology. 3. Group work (practical organisation) 4. Presentations of sustainability and local/regional/national innovations in rural development by IP Partner case.
4 / 1.Visit to AleksandrasStulginskisUniversity scientific research laboratories, Training farm, Experimental Station - collecting data and necessary information about innovations for further analysis 2. Group work (practical organisation) 3. Presentations of sustainability and local/regional/national innovations in rural development by IP Partner case
5 / Visit to village - observation, local stakeholders interviews, collecting data and necessary information for further analysis about innovations (Marijampole, Taurage, Kaunas districts)
6 / Visit to village - observation, local stakeholders interviews, collecting data and necessary information for further analysis about innovations (Marijampole, Taurage, Kaunas districts)
7 / 1. Return to group, discussion about the experience in groups, Village development analysis and discussion
8 / Free time
9 / 1.Group work. 2. Methodology about transversal analysis. 3. Village presentation & discussions. 4. Presentations of sustainability and local/regional/national innovations in rural development by IP Partner case
10 / 1. Study trip to Institute of Forestry Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry (Girionys), Pazaislis Camaldolese Monastery (Kaunas district) 2. Group work. 3. Presentations of sustainability and local/regional/national innovations in rural development by IP Partner case
11 /
  1. Study trip to Vilnius region rural arias to recognize innovations. 2. Group work. 3. Presentations of sustainability and local/regional/national innovations in rural development by IP Partner case

12 / 1.Methodology about foresights creation. 2. Group work.
13 /
  1. Group work about transversal analysis and foresights. 2. Presentation of transversal analysis and foresights for sustainable development of pilot areas, discussion. 3. IP programme evaluation.

14 / Departure of participants

The deadline of suggestions of IP participants (students and tutors) is10th of February, 2014.