Digitalization Brings Opportunities for Student Collaboration and Learning – HAMK Participates in Agricultural Virtual Exchange Program in Africa
There are a lot of untapped opportunities for entrepreneurship in African agriculture. Agricultural experts play a key role in combating and adapting to climate change. To find sustainable and effective solutions and to develop practical methods, these experts need a global understanding of climate change. Graduates, in turn, need an entrepreneurial mindset and entrepreneurial skills. Not everyone has the opportunity to go on exchange abroad, but virtual collaboration makes it possible to learn together and from one another.
In Africa, agriculture is the most important livelihood, both for food security and for addressing climate change. The population is growing rapidly, and the majority are young people. It is essential to provide quality education for large numbers of students. Online solutions can help make this possible.
HAMK has joined as a project partner in a three-year virtual exchange program promoting agricultural entrepreneurship, coordinated by the German University of Applied Sciences Weihenstephan-Triesdorf (FH Weihenstephan). The project involves universities teaching agriculture as well as NGOs that promote youth entrepreneurship from four African countries: Senegal, Ghana, Ethiopia, and South Africa. In addition, an organization from Serbia with strong experience in system and process-level development related to entrepreneurship is participating.
In the virtual exchanges, students collaborate in international teams in six-week programs. Over the course of three years, the Agri-MOCKS project aims to reach 2,500 young people. From HAMK, the international Sustainable Forestry degree program from Evo will participate in the first phase. Before students join, the project will provide training for trainers and develop the virtual exchange learning content and materials.
Planning virtual collaboration requires careful consideration. Young people from different continents, countries, and backgrounds have different expectations, cultural practices, and learning styles. HAMK plays an active role in designing the virtual exchanges and developing the working methods.
The themes and tasks of the virtual exchanges are related to entrepreneurship. The goal is to equip students with workplace skills, foster critical thinking, and promote active citizenship. The project teaches entrepreneurship through business simulations. Collaboration enhances students’ understanding of agriculture, its conditions, and the entrepreneurship connected to it. All of this is essential to help graduates create solutions that support environmental and human well-being while also considering economic and entrepreneurial perspectives.
Entrepreneurship is also taught through an online simulation developed by one of the project partners. In the African context, it is important to teach the skills of participatory and active citizenship. Through these skills, students are encouraged to actively seek and discover opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship. International collaboration, teamwork, and learning to use online tools are all valuable for students.
All project partners have experience in online teaching, and this project builds on successful practices, models, and methods. Throughout the project, the network will learn and develop approaches together, which can then be applied more widely. Through shared learning and co-development, the goal is to create a model that could be used more broadly in virtual exchanges.
Overview:
Name: Mastering Opportunities scouting, Career guidance and Key job Skills in Agriculture (Agri-MOCKS)
Funding: Erasmus+ (the European Union)
Duration: 1 February 2025–31 January 2028
Budget: 499 991 €
Partners: Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Science (coordinator), Häme University of Applied Sciences
Beneficiares: Kumasi Institute of Tropical Agriculture Kumasi (KITA), University of the Free State UFS, Universite Gaston Berger de Saint Louis (UGB), Nicosa Youth Career Programme NPC Nicosa ycp, Entrepreneurship Development Institute EDI, Western Balkans Institute Webin, Bizmetrics (pty) LTD.
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