GEEK4Food

The “Global Ecosystems and Expanded Knowledge for skills and capabilities in the food sector” (GEEK4Food) proposal will develop a working, cross-sectorial framework to support the food system transition towards sustainable and green solutions by the development of disruptive tools able boost a fluid upskilling and reskilling of the current workforce of the next generation of future professionals.

This will be achieved by:

(1) Design and setting of an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based tool able to determine and forecast current and future green skills and capability needs for the food sector to timely support the development of both higher education (HE) and training design and better match the job market needs (GEEK4Food tool).

(2) Design and exploit forward-looking planning in training design and implementation of HE and cross- sectoral trainings for graduates and food professionals to enhance green skills.

(3) Mainstreaming innovative teaching practices and providing paths to entrepreneurial education oriented on green skills and associated technological scale-up of existing solutions via the integration of the knowledge triangle.

(4) Setting an interactive learner-centric virtual platform for green skill mapping to merge learners' needs with training offers and agri-food job opportunities (3P-GEEK4Food Hub).

(5) Boosting consolidating evidence- and impact-based solutions of the GEEK4Food project to embed multi-level and multi-actor policy actions that can support skill-fluidity for the green transition of the food sector.

The innovation potential of GEEK4Food is based on the switch to AI-supported and impact-driven patterns to favour innovative green training and educational models at the academia, corporate and people-to-people levels. GEEK4Food will also provide tools for policy makers to promote adherence to green transition and the whole institution approaches to sustainably twin change after the EU Green Deal.

The consortium is composed of five HE institutions delivering Education, Research and Innovations in the agri-food fields, two enterprises realising their business on a relevant sector covering this proposal's scope (Artificial Intelligence-Informatics technology, and green skills), two consultancy companies working on future thinking and socio-economic analysis, and one large EU organisation acting as a multiplier.

GEEK4Food directly impacts all three Erasmus+ Forward Looking priorities for Lot 1: Promoting whole institution approaches to sustainability, Developing the skills and competences of learners and educators related to sustainability, Empowering citizens to act on sustainability, the environment and climate change, including in the context of the new Education for Climate Coalition.

Importantly, the project plays a key role in the achievement of 12 out of the 17 UN SDGs1 and directly linked to EU Policies.

Duration: 36 months

Budget (Total): 996 217,00 € (partners co-financing: 20 %)

• Website: https://geek4food.com/