Partners
The consortium includes partners from three countries (CH, SI, IT). In each country one VET centre is flanked by an institution of the forefront of R&D, and by a representative of the world of work interested in employing skilled operators.
These «triplets» cooperate in transfers in two dimensions, within and between each country. This clustering allows efficient transfer of innovation from R&D through feedback from economy into educational practice.
Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften
ZHAW is a centre for education, applied research and know-how transfer, with about 7'400 Students. The Institute of Natural Resource Sciences (IUNR) offers B.Sc. and M.Sc. degree programs specialising in Nature Management, Renewable resources, Environ-mental Education and Urban Agriculture. IUNR emphasizes the interdisciplinary approach to the applied research on the sustainable use of natural resources in both urban and rural areas. Since more than 20 years IUNR offers continuing vocational education in «green Jobs», notably Aquaculture, nature gardening, Swimming ponds construction, and Green care. The Ecotechnology research group has established itself as one of Europe’s foremost authorities on the implementation of Aquaponic systems. By leveraging the broad knowledge base of its constituents, combining expertise in the fields of education, ecology, horticulture and aquaculture, the ZHAW team is ideally suited to devising a curriculum for vocational training in Aquaponic.
Univerza v Ljubljani (Zdravstvena fakulteta)
University of Ljubljana has more than 63000 students, 4000 academic staff, 22 faculties, 3 academies and one University College. Faculty of Health Sciences (UL ZF) is involved in AQUA_VET project. UL ZF has 123 of total staff, of which 92 are academic staff. Main activities of UL ZF are higher education and research. Department of sanitary engineering (SE) as part of the UL ZF will be participating in the proposed project. SE is active in pedagogic, research and expert work in the field of wastewater treatment, water protection, recirculating aquaculture systems and aquaponic. The lecturers of SE have broad international and national experiences. They are lecturing at other universities, and in high school and vocational educational programs regarding environmental issues. Researchers at SE have been and are involved beside national in many international projects (6FP Chem-free, 6FP Play-with-water, 7FP Sanbox, Eureka FISH-CWUS, Cornet AOP4Water).
Contact: Prof. Dr. Tjaša Griessler Bulc
Università di Padova, Dipartimento di Agronomia Animali Alimenti Risorse naturali e Ambiente
The Department of Agronomy Food Natural resources Animals Environment of the University of Padova (DAFNAE) is the place for research in the sectors of agriculture production and protection, biotechnologies, animal farming, and the environment.
It is composed by 59 docents and 50 technical and administrative personnel. It also has about 70 PhD students, 50 post-doctorate research assignees, 20 scholarship holders, and ten collaborators with contracts for coordinated and continuous work supporting research aims.
Contact: Prof. Dr. Maurizio Borin
The activities are focused on the management of agricultural and natural systems, as well as water, soil, animals and microorganisms.
DAFNAE carries out research on water pollution control using facilities installed at the Experimental University farm and monitoring full-scale wetland systems located in private farms and in areas managed by public authorities.
In Italy DAFNAE is leader in this field and well connected with international structures and organizations.
It is provided with labs for chemical and physical analyses of water, vegetation and soil samples.
Link to the AQUA-VET Project Webpage of Università di Padova
Biotehniški center Naklo
VET centre Biotehniški center Naklo is a public educational institution. Centre is organized in 3 units:
- secondary school (in the fields of gardening, agriculture, nature preservation, floristics, and food processing)
- vocational college (in the fields of agriculture and nature preservation)
- inter-enterprise educational centre
BC Naklo performs various assignments in the field of practical training of secondary school students, college students, and those in the process of lifelong learning. BC Naklo carries out the preparation for confirming national vocational qualifications and performs the practical part of final exams and vocational graduation. Due to fast technological advances in work processes and the labour market BC Naklo also provides training in specific fields by introducing and developing new technologies and innovations. BC Naklo currently has 106 employees.
Contact: Uroš Strniša
Link to the AQUA-VET Project Webpage of Biotehniški center Naklo
Strickhof
Strickhof offers high-quality, interdisciplinary basic and professional development as well as further training for independent companies focused on services in the following areas:
- Agriculture
- Facility Management
- Horticulture
- Home economics
- Animal Jobs
- Food Technology
- Health
The reference to professional practice promotes active networking with businesses, professional organizations in the business world as well as other educational centers. In our work we follow the latest areas of knowledge to be competent, innovative and diverse. We support learners, students and clients to recognize their own potential, to formulate realistic goals and to implement them consistently.
Contact: Dr. Roger Bolt
Museo di storia naturale e archeologia Montebelluna
The Museum of Natural History and Archaeology of Montebelluna (MCM) is organised into two sections: a natural science section (Earth Sciences and Life Sciences), and an archaeological section (prehistory-protohistory -Ancient Venetiansand Roman age). The Museum is deeply rooted in its territory: it studies and spreads knowledge about its natural, environmental and historical-archaeological heritage. It is a culture-producing agency: therefore it is linked to other cultural poles such as nearby Universities, the network of museums, local cultural associations and schools. The Museum fulfils its cultural mission also by carrying out scientific research and experimentation in a variety of fields, such as the natural, historical-archaeological and educational ones. Through its operators, the Museum offers students, undergraduates, graduates and trainees in subjects connected to the activities of the Museum, the possibility to improve their skills through training.
Instituto Professionale per l’Agricoltura e l’Ambiente – Istituto Tecnico Agrario (I.S.I.S.S) Domenico Sartor
The agricultural School «D. Sartor» was funded in 1957. The original I.P.S.A.A. «D. Sartor» has worked in the Veneto Region for over 40 years. During this period, the School has always met young people's needs to be prepared at their best for the following specializations: Agriculture, Agro-Industry, and Environment. Today the school offers new vocational possibilities to the students and to the whole society of the region in which it is active. Our school is both technical and professional. After the fifth year, and the final examination, the students become agrotechnicians or agronomists. They can choose to work in companies, laboratory of analyses, as free professionals or to attend university.
Contact: Dr. Davide Tocchetto
Inštitut za vode Republike Slovenije
Inštitut za vode Republike Slovenije (IzVRS) encourages the development of an innovative water policy. The findings of studies, research and the services of IzVRS are pointed to the possibilities of reducing adverse effects of human activities to water and, in turn, contribute to the reduction of adverse effects of water to human lives and property. IzVRS implements and transfers new knowledge on the modern water management into practice, and creates opportunities for a dialogue among experts and decision makers in water-related issues. IzVRS is the leading research and advisory institution in integrated water planning and common EU water policy in the Republic of Slovenia. It deals with water planning, which covers all types of surface waters: rivers, lakes, transitional waters and the sea. It ensures scientifically justified expert solutions and services at all levels.
Contact: Dr. Nataša Smolar-Žvanut
Link to the AQUA-VET Project Webpage of Inštitut za vode Republike Slovenije
PIANTE ACQUA NATURA P.A.N. SRL
The Company PAN - Plants, Water, Nature s.r.l. is a spin-off of University of Padua. In full agreement with the Regulations of University, the spin off aims to give commercial fallout resulting from technological innovation and scientific research conducted in university's environment. PAN's products and activities are geared to protect and enhance environmental resources and land at local, national and international level. The company operates mainly in field of water purification systems, natural (wetlands) or artificial, including the development and applications of innovative solutions. PAN also designs and performs renaturalizations, nature trails and educational initiatives, and supports environmental monitoring activities. PAN is operating in organizing events for professional qualifications and training.
Contact: Dr. Michela Salvato
UrbanFarmers AG
UrbanFarmers AG was a technology spin-off from ZHAW incorporated in 2011. The Founding Team consisted of Roman Gaus (CEO) and Andreas Graber (Head of R&D).
The mission of UrbanFarmers was to provide systems and solutions that enable enterprises to grow the freshest vegetable and fish in your city reliably, and on large scale. The core technology used was Aquaponic, a method that allows to grow fish (Aquaculture) and vegetables (Hydroponic) in closed-loop water systems.
UrbanFarmer products were turn-key installations and easy to operate, as they are fully supported by hardware, software and respective services. They were designed to address the growing urban agriculture market worldwide, which now is in its early days with significant growth po-tential lying ahead.
