Universtity Studies of Agricultural Engineering
in Europe; a Thematic Network

POMSEBES

Past events

- The project coordinators met on 15-17 March 2007 in Brussels, Belgium to establish the linkage between EU and US teams, review the project objectives and work-plan and discuss strategies and future planning of activities

- The First Workshop took place on 14-15.06.2007 in Minneapolis, Minnesota (click on the corresponding MINUTES) and tackled the five following topics:

a) Definition of the new discipline of Biosystems Engineering

b) Identification of the current/future employers

c) Identification of the areas of expertise in the discipline

- A Second Workshop placed on June 20-21, 2008 in Crete, Greece, prior to the AgEng 2008 Conference and tackled the following four Objectives:

d) Identification of the research needs/opportunities

e) Accreditation and professional licensing issues ecognition of discipline/registration issues

The main Workshop's deliverable is the Proceedings of the 1st Workshop

- The EU members met on 14 November 2007 in Rome, Italy in order to evaluate the progress to be made and the organisation of the 2nd Workshop. Click on the corresponding MINUTES

- Synergic actions were initiated during this meeting, while the EU coordinator attended the EUR-ACE Implementation Project Board meeting events on the 13th of November in the Faculty of Engineering and the participants attended on the 14th of November at the Open Workshop on “Scientific and Technical Education and the Bologna Process” that was organised by ENAEE, the Conference of the Deans of the Italian Engineering Faculties and the TechnoTN.

- The University of New Brunswick and Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) hosted the Canada-EU/US Project Directors' Meeting from February 17-19, 2008 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. Click on the corresponding MINUTES

a) Development of a uniform structure (framework) for compatible programs of the Biosystems Engineering disclipline

b) Description of the Biological / Biosystems Engineering programs of study in the U.S. and the current trends in EU, focusing on Education and Research

c) Identify needs of industry (current and future employers)

d) Develop a pilot accreditation programme (in terms of policy / strategy) for the Biosystems Engineering discipline, in conformity to the existing accreditation process conducted by ABET in the US and by EUR-ACE in EU

The main Workshop's deliverable is the Proceedings of the 2nd Workshop

(Click on the corresponding MINUTES )

Outline

This multilateral project seeks to address a challenge in an international perspective by developing an environment in which a systematic exchange of experience and ideas on the recently evolving Biosystems (or Biological in a broader sense) Engineering discipline in the USA and the EU will allow for the establishment of policy oriented measures in support and guidance of this evolution. The innovative goal and main objective of this project is to contribute, by means of specific policy measures, to the structural development of the emerging discipline of Biosystems Engineering and the enhancement of quality and linkage of Education and Research in this area, by enhancing collaboration between the European Union and the United States.

This project will provide the platform for the exchange of ideas and encouragement of discussions on studies and policy-oriented matters in the area of Biosystems Engineering leading, to the improvement of mutual understanding of these specific issues in the framework of the EU - US High Educational Area relations.

This project is launched by the European Commission jointly with the US Department of Education, Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary education (FIPSE) under the ATLANTIS programme (Actions for Transatlantic Links and Academic Networks for Training and Integrated Studies) in the framework of the 2006-2013 EU-US agreement in higher education and vocational training.

Goals

The specific goal of the project is to contribute, by means of specific policy measures, to the structural development of the emerging discipline of Biosystems Engineering, by enhancing collaboration between European Union and the United States. The specific objectives are to:

(1) Provide a platform for a systematic exchange of experiences and ideas between the US and EU to establish appropriate policy oriented measures,

(2) Develop policy as well as appropriate curricula for Biosystems engineering and

(3) Encourage compatible educational programs of studies within EU as well as between EU and US.

PartnerShip

European Commission