RIS Inspire – HealthySoil4Life

Study location	Online
Type	Inspire, e-learning
Nominal duration	10 days
Study language	English

Application fee	€61.50 one-time The price includes online course plus access to the in-person week in Portugal. In-person week covers attendance, accommodation and meals on-site except travelling costs to and from the venue. Waivers may apply. Please contact the program manager for more details. Certification awarded by EIT Food Certification Label. Including VAT.

Entry qualification	Undergraduate diploma (or higher)

Language requirements	English Good communication in English, both written and spoken

More information	learning.eitfood.eu/..-healthy-soil-4-life

Overview

Over a period of 3 weeks, the programme provides you a dynamic and supportive environment for you to develop your knowledge on soil health, soil microbiology, eco-friendly farming practices towards sustainable and climate farming agriculture while contributing to business creation on food wealth.

Programme structure

During the 3 weeks, the programme will take place online with a combination of asynchronous and learning resources and live (synchronous) interactive virtual sessions:

Module 1: What is soil health?
Introduction to the challenges in soil health, sustainable agriculture and bio-based fertilizers.

1. Importance of Soil Health in food production and main challenges
2. Why is soil a dynamic entity?
3. Soil formation, functions and threats – the Physical & Chemical properties
4. The role of microbes in nutrient cycling, plant growth and food production: Mycorrhizal – Unlocking the secret ingredient?
5. NextGen of bio-based enhancers:
   A) PGPB (plant growth promoting bacteria) – From soil health to crop yield: the potential application of biofertilizers.
   B) Biocontrol. What is it and how it can be used?

Module 2: The Soil, how to look after it?

Sustainable soil practices: Farming smarter, not harder: reducing inputs and boosting the farm’s bottom line

Module 3: Tools to assess soil health
The state of the art for soil health assessment.

1. Soil health assessment: quantitative tools. Conventional and Next generation Sequencing (NGS) and enzymatic analyses
2. Soil health assessment: hands on. Microbes know no boundaries: case studies of microbiome diversity across regions

Entrepreneurial learning will be transversal to all school modules. Please see the full agenda for more detailed information.

Monday 28th July –1st August (limited spots)*

Eco-Week in the village of Penha Garcia (Portugal) in the GeoPark awarded by UNESCO

Introduction of the Entrepreneurial Week; Presentation of case studies and major challenges; Sustainable Business Models, Pitch design and training; On-site visits: Real Idanha, and Herdade do Vale Feitoso.

*The onsite week has a limited number of spots available. Spots will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. To secure your place, you must commit to completing the course — either by submitting the final assessment or delivering a pitch.
Deadline to express interest: July 11th

Subjects: Microbiome; Biocontrol; Biofertilizers; Mycorrhizae; Soil Health & Nutrition; Applied Cases; Develop your business

Price €61.5 for the full course (Including VAT). Waivers may apply.

ECTS: ECTS apply. Please contact the program manager for more details.

Applications clearly made solely using AI text generation and un-proof read will not be accepted and rejected.

Career opportunities

Training in entrepreneurship on Soil Health and sustainable practices for the agrifood sector you can create career opportunities as a university student, early career researcher or young entrepreneur:

1. By completing your plan of studies in agronomy, biology, and related fields.
2. Through the creation of start-ups based on the ideas developed during the summer school programme.
3. By bringing your own agrifood businesses ideas to launch or scale
4. By boosting your chances of being employed by start-ups, SME´s and bigger companies across the sustainable food system.
5. By improving your chances of being employed in local, national, and international activities in administration, teaching and training.
6. By improving your chances of being employed by NGOs and media companies.